A What? CNO … in other words a Chief Networking Officer.

I recently blogged on the topic of networking … and then looked to BNI founder and networking virtuoso, Ivan Misner to see what he had to add to the topic.

We are of the same thought that adopting the mindset of a CNO will help you grown your business.

There are a few simple steps to ensure that you are playing the part of CNO …

1. Participate in two to three networking events each month 
AND follow up with people you meet. 
Can we all say we do that regularly?

2. Make a list of the people you wanted to keep in contact with and put them into your calendar and reach out to them once a month via a personal phone call – try to schedule at least two per week.

3. Send a note to people you’ve fallen out of touch with and with whom you’d like to reconnect – past clients, past vendors, a friend of a friend, another business owner you chatted with at your local coffee shop a few months ago. This will keep you foremost in these people’s minds

4. Take good care of your database.
 If you don’t currently use a sales database, send me a quick email and I will direct you to some free database management tools. This is your GOLD – so mine it.

5. Always thank your referral partners.
 Extending a simple “thank you” is probably the single biggest action a CNO can take to maximize the number of referrals you get.