Teaming for Success

As promised,

I’m launching my series on creating advisory boards to enhance, jump start or

re-focus your networking efforts.  An advisory board or team is a group of

people who meet for a purpose(s).  By definition, advisory means “to give

advice”; however, these groups can be much more than that.  The right

advisory board can help you:     

*Access your

target market faster and easier;

*Build a new

business or expand an existing one;

*Take advantage

of opportunities and sort through challenges;

*Fulfill a need

for camaraderie.

If you build

your own networking group from scratch, you can set it up with the right

conditions and structure from the start, resulting in a sustainable,

“win-for-all” group.

Terra firma

Teams need to start on solid ground with a strong base to have the best chance

to grow and thrive.  I’ve recently published a set of guides that cover

the steps required to do this.  Here are a few excerpts from the guides,

re-phrased for the topic of networking:

Clarity

What do you think or assume a team designed around networking will do for

you?  (Answering this gives you clarity about whether a team is the

right vehicle for you or not.  You may find you can get your needs met

better some other way(s)—i.e., hire a lead generation firm to send you

contacts; pick 2-3 trusted colleagues and set up an informal exchange of giving

and receiving based on balanced reciprocity; recruit a sales expert who is

devoted to building your business for you.)

• Do you have the time, focus and clarity required to build a team

  from scratch and then manage it?

   

  It takes time and work to create one properly, covering all the bases:

  people, logistics and leadership. 

• Do you have the patience to carefully screen,

  select and invite members professionally and respectfully? 

• Are you willing to facilitate it or find

  someone who will, and address any issues that might arise?

• Do you know all of the logistical items you

  need to cover for successful meetings?

• What format do you want?

   (Paying attention to this is a smart strategy that will save you

  time when recruiting and screening prospective members.  See “Types

  of Groups” below to help with this). 

Types of Groups

There are a variety of

formats to choose from for your advisory team.  Here are a few examples:

• Share the Wheel—Each team member receives equal time at every

  meeting to speak and ask for help.  Or, each team member gets a whole

  meeting devoted to them.  Either way, the concept is to take turns.

• Hub Group—Your networking efforts are the sole focus of

  every meeting with others attending to be in support of you.

• Homogeneous Base—All team members come from the same

  category—i.e., friends only; business colleagues or entrepreneurs only.

• Variety Base—A mixture of people from different parts of

  your life, such as professional service providers (accountants; attorneys;

  financial planners; consultants) friends; former co-workers; family;

  industry experts.

• Single Theme Team—Meetings are always based on a single theme

  that does not change, such as writing a business plan or launching a new

  product.

This may seem like a lot to

consider, and it is!  However, if you feel drawn to creating an advisory

team for networking, it is well worth setting it up right from the start. 

Next time, I will give you some information on logistics—the “what, where, when

and how” of a thriving advisory board.  If you’d like to explore this more

in depth, the guides are available for purchase at www.creatinganadvisoryboard.com.