Who Is Making Money Off of You? How to Grow Your Business with Your Personal and Professional Network

“If I’m bringing you business, you should do the same for me – end of story.” That’s the philosophy of C.E.O. We don’t just network, we contribute to each other’s bottom line by committing to sending business to each other. But you’re already spending money with a wide variety of service providers. Because they’re getting your business, these “providers” should be converted into “partners” to help you grow your business, as well. 

Who’s making money off of you?

Think about who is in your personal and professional network. Since you already have a relationship with these people, they’re the most logical ones to reach out to in order to begin to develop a powerful network of business partners. Make a list, including your:

• Accountant
• Financial advisor
• Insurance agent
• Doctor
• Dentist
• Real estate agent
• Lawyer
• Travel agent
• Equipment or car rental company
• Advertising agent
• Auto repair shop
• Banker

How to turn them into partners

Once you have a list of people who get your money, start calling them. Start with the ones you have the best relationships with and are most likely to have contacts that would need your products or services. 

Remember that this isn’t just about you. It’s a win-win. You want to show them how you can be of benefit to them as well. Reach out and ask to schedule a call to learn more about each other’s offerings to see how you can mutually support each other. Most people would be intrigued by this idea.

Some subjects to discuss:

• Ask them about all their business services 
• Ask them about their ideal clients
• Tell them about all your services or offerings
• Think about who you know right now who can use their services and ask them if they also know someone who could benefit from what you offer
• Ask them: Are you willing to contribute to the bottom line of my business as I contribute to yours? 

What if they aren’t interested?

By this time in your conversation, if the person you’re speaking to is serious about growing his or her business, you have probably inspired the person and you are well on the way to creating a business partner. Swap with them the names and contact information of people you think could benefit each other and see how it goes from there.

However, if the person is not really interested and cannot see the value in your offer, walk away. If the initial name-swap does not lead to ongoing business from the person, walk away. There are plenty of other lawyers/financial advisors/bankers out there who have the foresight and the vision to jump at partnering with you. Some of them are in C.E.O.