What do you have to GAIN by adding structure to your 121 meetings? People can often waste opportunities to gain more referred business by just having a 121 over a cup of tea or coffee. They spend the first 45 minutes talking about “stuff” in general then they think” oh we’d better hurry up as we only have 15 minutes left!
When I suggest that by adding structure to your 121 meetings you will get more business clients can sometime think that the meeting will be too formal. However, by adding structure you can still run a meeting that helps you understand each others business on a deeper level and in a less formal manner.
A commonly used format for a successful 121 is an acronym called GAINS. Below is a breakdown of what it means and how it helps.
G stands for Goals. Most people love to see others succeed and are happy to help people achieve their goals. If you start by discussing each others business and personal goals you can begin to get a genuine connection and feeling of how you can help each other achieve them. Sharing you goals also gives people an insight of whats important to you and what drives you to succeed.
A is for accomplishments. This should be more than just family goals such as becoming a parent or being married “x” amount of years, though these are of course important and part of what makes a great life. Here you should think about what you have achieved that would make it easier for someone to refer you to the target market clients you want to connect with. If you want to work with management teams in certain sized companies, what have you done that would attract them to you? Have you implemented changes that generated cost savings or made process efficiencies? Have you designed staff development programs, or implemented a restructure? Remember to demonstrate why you would be a great referral for your referral partners contacts.
I is for interests. Unlike accomplishments this is an opportunity to talk about the things you like doing as it gives people a reason to connect with you around something that’s just not business. I have connected two people who didn’t know each other but who were both in my network over their love of playing saxophone. This initial connection developed into a friendship where they are now both happy to refer each other business. Don’t be afraid to talk about what you like to do outside of business here, as helping people connect over a shared interest helps them and it helps you too as the person who generated that new connection.
N is for networks. Many people make the mistake of thinking a network is just about who they know in their business network. A network is a group of people you are connected with through any activity you do. Networks could include, your golf/sports club, your children’s school, fellow members of any club, professional body or society you’re member of, religious groups, anywhere where you spend time with others with a shared interest. Make sure you think bigger than just business here.
S is for Skills. As in accomplishments, think of skills that you possess that would encourage your target market clients to want to meet with you. Are you a creative thinker, can you build teams, are you an effective speaker, trainer, facilitator? Do you have industry specific skills, can you use particular software packages etc?
By using the GAINS format you can really educate your referral sources in how they can best refer you to their contacts. The beauty of using GAINS as a guide is that it can be very conversational and yet it gives people a format to follow to get more business through referrals.
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To your continued success
Dave