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 We’re
all connected. The “six degrees of separation” concept
postulates that everyone on earth is connected through no more
than five intermediaries (in-betweens).
The “six degrees” concept
is based on a hypothesis called the “small world problem,”
developed by psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. We’ve
all been there, at a party or get-together and we meet someone
and soon find ourselves saying, “Wow! It’s a small
world!”
Well, it is, if you believe in the “six
degrees” concept.
If we are all connected, we should start
using those connections to our advantage, through networking.
So, what is networking? Various definitions get us close to a
good picture.
Networking is:
- Making contacts to improve business for both parties
- Meeting people who can be of help to you and being a help
to them
- Connecting with people for mutual opportunities
In general, networking between individuals
might be called “mutual self-marketing.” It implies
that people meet and talk and a connection happens that benefits
both.
Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals:
Network Your Everyday Contacts into Sales (3rd Ed., McGraw
Hill, 2005), says that the Golden Rule of Networking is: “All
things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business
to, those people they know, like and trust.”
Burg cautions that it’s important
to remember that networking is about giving, not just receiving.
He says, “When you give purely out of the love of giving,
you cannot help but receive. Yet when you give only in order to
receive, it doesn’t work out nearly as well.” It’s
certainly true that people can intuitively read your intent and
the energy from your willingness to give can be very powerful.
Networking is an important business skill.
People in all types of businesses network. If you know someone
who is a member of Rotary, that’s a perfect example of business
networking. There are specific organizations, like BNI, that have
developed networking systems at the local, state, and national
levels for business people. BNI (short for “Business Network
International”) says it “provides a structured and
supportive system of giving and receiving business.” Like
Rotary, only one person in each profession or specialty is allowed
to join each BNI chapter. Visit its Web site (www.bni.com) for
more information.
Even while you are here in chiropractic
school, you should be networking, for a few of reasons:
- It might help you get patients in clinic.
- It might help you get a position or find a practice to buy
or start when you graduate.
- It will help you practice your networking skills.
 When
you get into clinic, use your clinic business cards. Get used
to handing them out as you have conversations with prospective
patients. The business card is key to gaining new patients, because
it puts something in the person’s hand in writing. Ivan
Misner, founder of BNI, believes business cards are “the
most powerful single business tool—dollar for dollar—you
can invest in.” The two main functions of your card, he
says, are “to gain business from the person you give it
to and to get your name out to other people with whom the first
person comes in contact with via referrals.” His suggestions
for maximizing your business cards:
• Make sure you always have them
with you; in other words, “don’t leave home without
them!”
• Take them with you to community
events and hand them to people you talk to who seem interested.
• Write something personal on the
card when you can, like a cell phone number or a name of someone
to contact as a referral. Writing something on the card increases
the chance that the person will hold on to it and do something
with it.
• Remember that the only person
who will promote your practice is YOU. Your greatest single source
of patients will be your ability to connect with potential patients
and with those who can refer patients to you. Start learning how
to network now, so you can use these skills when you
get to your new practice.
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