The Three Foot Rule

© Paul Johnstone
There are many sales manuals and Network Marketing Gurus who promote this. In many sales-oriented networking books and course, people are taught that networking is a selling tool and part of that lesson is what’s known as the Three Foot Rule: “Anyone within three feet of you is an opportunity to make a sale.”

Here we teach that networking is all about telling people how we can help. Never, Never sell at a networking event, you are not there to sell. It is at best short sighted. At worst very rude.

At a networking event the people there ARE NOT YOUR MARKET they are your route to market, and always remember that.

Some organizations are set up so you promote your product and service directly to other members or visitors. Now there is no doubt that some members will find your products or services useful to them. But many products promoted through networking are Network Marketing or MLM. That is all perfectly normal.

However many people involved in network marketing find it difficult not to pitch directly to anyone within 3 feet. The down side is it also creates a negative feeling to the whole concept of networking in the minds of others.

As a result, people begin to avoid any event or activity labeled “networking” because they neither wish to participate in this hard-sell technique, nor do they wish to be exposed to it, especially in a concentrated form, in doing so we all lose out on valuable opportunities for service, connection and growth.

But what so many people miss is the detrimental effect on others. If I have been pitched by a NLM person, I will not get involved. I am already part of a NML organization and would not want to take n another product. But basically they are telling me they want to use me so they can make money.

What they have done is close the door to my contacts.

What should they have done?

They should have told me what their product or service can do for my contacts.

Avoid the three foot rule in networking

Helping Real People do Real Business through Real Networking

The Seal of approval in networking situations, events and methods

Paul Johnstone
How many places are there to network? How many occasions are there where your networking skills can be used with effect? Far more than you might imagine.

Most of us tend to think only of the best known business networking clubs and websites. But why stop there? Business networking can be done virtually anywhere that you find business-people.

Take a look at the following list; there are some alternative situations and methods for business networking

Many of these networking situations are simply opportunities to meet people relevant to your aims, when your initiative and creativity can turn vague potential into worthwhile networking.

For all networking opportunities, your success is dependent on the relevance of the situation and the quality and energy of your involvement.

The A - M more next time...

Annual General Meetings AGMs are by their nature a regular occasion offered by corporations and membership organizations to engage with its members. Some are very formal and tightly run with little networking opportunities, but others are more sociable affairs, in which case if the group is relevant to your aims, and you can become a member it's worth consideration.

Breakfast networking clubs
There are lots of these -so start the day with some business with your Corn-Flakes. Some companies will run one-off events to connect with the local business community. There are two primary types of club. Fixed and Forum. Chose the type that suits you.

Business networking websites Since the development of interactive website technology in the late 1990s there are increasing numbers of online business networking organizations. There are lots but LinkedIn is probably the biggest and most useful. You can find lots quite easily by searching the web.

Chambers of Commerce Every county has at least one 'chamber of commerce', and many towns have chambers. Many run networking events and/or other meetings and activities which are ideal for networking.

Community social websites
Facebook is the obvious example. There are many others. Culture and demographic profile are different in each. Some of these websites and memberships are vast. Bigger than countries. This is because of the social aspect, which might initially be appealing, but making a business impact can be very challenging due to the scale of these operations.

Conferences Conferences are full of people with common interests. Coffee breaks are an ideal time to make introductions.

Conventions Conventions are organized for all sorts of special interest groups. If the group is relevant to your aims in any way, then their convention could offer excellent networking opportunities.

Exhibitions Are obviously full of business people with a common interest. Most exhibitions rightly do not like visitors to canvass the exhibitors, but there are plenty of other situations to meet people and network. The coffee bar is a great place just to start a conversation and see where it leads you.

Foreign trade visits
Local chambers of commerce, regional development agencies, routinely organize trade missions and gatherings to promote international trade for their region and/or members. Scratch the surface and you will be amazed at the connections you can make at these events.

Hospitality events Fewer these days but they still happen. They are usually organized by corporations to get to know their suppliers and customers. If you find yourself involved in one of these it will present some of the best conditions for business networking that you will ever experience. Elevator pitch and memory magic will serve you well.

Institutes for industries Every industry has its own institute or similar. Various events and methods generally exist by which outsiders can engage with the institute's membership.

Interactive special interest websites Networking has been made much easier with the advent of interactive membership websites. When you have identified your target groups, there will be a specialist membership website somewhere which represents and brings them together.

Lectures and seminars These occur widely and are held or promote various organizations. Obviously they attract a common grouping of people interested in the subject concerned. Practice talking to open groups at these events.

Local networking events Anyone can set up a networking event, so you can find isolated or more permanent networking operations cropping up near you.


So there you have it the A - M - Fill your boots as the saying goes. N - z follows shortly

Helping Real People do Real business through Real Networking

Help others first and you will get better rewards

Paul Johnstone
It is always better to give than it is to receive, as the old saying goes….So prioritise helping and giving to others ahead of taking and receiving for yourself.

Be helpful to others and you will be helped in return.

There are lots of sayings about the joy of giving and the rewards you get as a result of your actions so why not get on with it?

Networks of people are often highly complex organisms. Frequently it is not possible to see exactly how and why they are working for you. Therefore you must trust that goodness is rewarded, even if the process is hidden and the effect takes a while to come to you.

Use the principle of 'what goes around comes around' because it does.

Giving first shows to members of the network you are serious about contribution to the group. It sets you apart from the hunters and fishermen in the networking community.

Good deeds and helpfulness tend to produce positive effects. They are usually remembered and frequently repaid. The giver builds reputation and trust. Referrals tend to result.

Imagine yourself having lots of personal connections like this. You become known as a helpful person. Word about you spreads, and your reputation grows.

People who give are seen to have strength to give. Followers gravitate to strong giving people.

Helping others extends far beyond your personal speciality or line of work.

Networking is about working within a system of people, enabling relevant high quality introductions and cooperation’s, which get great results for the participants. These enabling capabilities transcend your personall ability and area of speciality.

Giving works on so many levels. In networking you reap what you sow many times over.

Helping Real People do Real Businees through Real Networking

Who sais That?

Paul Johnstone
I spoke a business coach at a Refer-On breakfast recently and asked him what his favourite quote was. He responded that he had two favourite quotes. However I will focus on one quote to demonstrate a point.


The coach said that the quote was often attributed to Einstein, but he had seen variations of the quote. He wanted to find out definitively who the quote was by. The quote is “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting to get a different result.” I did a quick search on the Internet and here is what I found:


“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting to get a different result” Albert Einstein


“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting to get a different result” Benjamin Franklin


Now we have a dilemma because these are the same quote. I went to the library and asked them to check their quotations reference books to see who the quote was attributed to. Either version of the quote wasn’t in any of the reference books that they checked.


Doing some additional research, I found “The New Quotable Einstein” by Alice Calaprice, senior editor at Princeton University Press. I went through the entire book manually because there was no way to do it electronically, and I couldn’t find the quote.


Should I assume that the quote must be by Benjamin Franklin? Not likely! I have not been able to find a definitive answer so whenever I use the quote I say popularly attributed to Einstein and Franklin.


The point I wanted to illustrate to you is that because several people are citing information and attributing it to a source, doesn’t mean that the information is accurate. It simply means that they are all citing from the one source so you have to exercise some due diligence.


I was so exasperated I goggled it and guess what Einstein and Franklin came up time after time. This looks like the perfect example of someone wants to believe one particular person said something, no matter what the facts are.

Moral, check your facts first and don’t go on believing everthing you read. And check your facts if you are presenting at a networking event.


Helping Real People do Real Business through Real Networking

How do you maintain a Twitter presence?

Paul Johnstone

Twitter is a great way to generate business, but it can eat into the time you have top devote to your business.

There are some techniques to success on twitter and Nancy Williams from Tiger Two has some great ideas on who to follow and why.

In her article ‘Do you follow Back’ she opens up the dabate on how to get peole to follow you

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Helping Real People do Real Business through Real Networking

Its Not Apple - Trust is the killer app

Trust is the killer application:
Paul Johnstone

Research produced by IBM concludes; "Individuals in higher-trust societies spend less to protect themselves from being exploited in economic transactions. Trust is an economical substitute for extensive contracts, litigation, and monitoring in transactions and thus economizes on transaction costs."

Lack of trust kills Organizations again and again. This lack of trust stifles innovation and productivity. Look at non competitive agreements. Most have been through the courts and appear not to be worth the paper they are written on. Time after time Judges have thrown them out of court. So far the only one not challenged is the 6 month non competition contract. The reason? I don’t know of anyone who has one or has been asked to sign one.

William Davies at the Institute for Public Policy Research published a ground breaking paper that examines the role of the government in the increasingly decentralised social and political activities taking place online.

He states there are three sources of trust: State, Community & Online Community. Notice the absence of corporations. He goes on to say that “out of nowhere trust has become the most talked about abstractions of our times” and notes that online communities have an unusual propensity to create environments of trust.

One of the most comprehensive studies of the open source community was conducted by Yochai Benkler to understand how Linux, a free operating system, and a raft of other Internet facing software products that have come from nowhere. They all challenge mainstream paid for products from Microsoft, IBM and others. Benkler concludes:

“Removing property and contract as the organizing principles of collaboration substantially reduces transaction costs involved in allowing these large clusters of potential contributors to review and select which resources to work on, for which projects, and with which collaborators.”

Microsoft formally has for many years acknowledged the threat from Linux to its revenues. It has even started to play this new game by releasing portions of its Windows code ‘open source’ style. I wonder why?

So how do networkers develop trust based relationships that counter the large company threat? If we don’t trust corporations why should people trust us?

The short answer is through B2B networking take time to develop trust based relationships with other people who will advocate for you. Develop and advocate marketing strategy to generate business year on year.

Helping Real People do Real Business through Real Networking