Andy Lopata

How NOT to Get Referrals

Categories: Business, Communications, Leadership, Marketing, Motivational, Sales

Andy Lopata is labeled ‘One of Europe’s leading business networking strategists’ by the Financial Times and ‘a true master of networking’ by The Independent. He is the author of three books on networking and referrals strategy, with a fourth being commissioned. Andy was the Managing Director of leading UK business network Business Referral Exchange for eight years before establishing his speaking and training business in 2007.

Andy speaks across the globe and has worked with clients such as HSBC, GlaxoSmithKline, BP, Wella and Paypal. He is a Fellow and former Board Member of the Professional Speaking Association (UK and Ireland) and of the Learning and Performance Institute; a Master of the Institute of Sales Management and a member of the Global Speakers Federation.

How NOT to Get Referrals
Challenging sales teams and sharing the mistakes that lead to most businesses not getting as many referrals as they could

With growing competition and more demands on budgets, it’s becoming harder and harder to win new business. Yet still so many sales people leave potential new revenues untapped and unexplored.

The reason is very simple. Across a range of industries, referral strategies range from tired and predictable to passive to simply non-existent. A large number of sales people and business owners become complacent when it comes to referrals and simply expect them to appear. Networking is still treated as a skill, not a core business strategy. Where referrals strategies do exist they tend to be lazy, poorly timed and ineffective.

As a result, potential new business simply goes elsewhere.
In this talk, Andy will share with you the key mistakes he sees practiced by so many unsuccessful companies time and time again. The mistakes that ensure that they don’t get anywhere near as many referrals as they should.

It’s Who Knows You
Why networking is so important and why it’s essential to have a strategy.

For many people networking is simply about passing out business cards at events or collecting contacts online. More successful business people, however, realise that it’s a far more strategic tool with a big impact on many areas of their business or career.

This session is designed to enable participants to understand the power of their network, surround themselves with people who will support them at each turn and influence how other people see them. It can be run as a 45 minute talk or 90 minute interactive session.

Make the Room Work for You

Does the word ‘networking‘ simply leave you cold? Do you avoid all networking opportunities if you possibly can? When you go along to a networking event, do you find yourself standing on your own, talking to your work colleagues and watching the time wondering when you can leave?

A session that focuses on some of the key skills which make networking so much more effective…and enjoyable.

What You Will Learn

What is Networking?
Overcoming fear of a room full of strangers
Who to approach
Moving on
What do you talk about?
Exchanging business cards
Leaving the elevator pitch on the ground floor
Following up
How to build and develop relationships

In addition, in the interactive talk delegates at your event will have the opportunity to introduce themselves to each other in a safe environment and start interesting conversations which will help them identify what they have in common and build rapport. Can be delivered as a 30-45 minute talk or 90 minute interactive session.

Connected Leadership

Why is networking relevant to top leaders? How can you make a difference by connecting with connecting with key employees, stakeholders, influencers and others? Andy interviewed a number of top leaders on why networking is so important to them and in this presentation he shares their thoughts, combined with his experience of the power of networks.

What You Will Learn

The role networking plays in successful businesses
How to identify your brand as a leader
Why your values need to be congruent with the values of your organisation
How your network can communicate your brand and your values
The importance of mentoring
The role of strategic alliances
How your network can keep you in tune with what is happening in your company, in your industry and beyond
The importance of long term relationships

In addition, in the interactive talk delegates at your event will have the opportunity to introduce themselves to each other in a safe and constructive environment and start interesting conversations which will help them identify what they have in common and build rapport. Can be delivered as a 30-45 minute talk or 90 minute interactive session.

Bigger Than You – The Hidden Power of Your Network

What the audience will gain from this session:

You can’t do it all on your own.

Whatever you think about your abilities, and whatever you’d like other people to think, you will achieve so much more in your career, in your role and for your business if you’re open to the support of others. Yet, unfortunately, whether because of time pressures, the need to save face or sheer lack of focus, very few of us achieve anywhere near the level of success that our network could help us reach.

This session is designed to help you change that. Over the course of this presentation, we look at:

Why we don’t like to let anyone help us
The importance of a trusted network and where to find it
When and where to share
The role of mentors and sponsors
Mastermind groups
How networks can give us key business intelligence
Innovating and creating new ideas with the help of our network
The support offered through online networks

What the organisation will gain from this session:

Participants in this session will go away with a much clearer focus on how to harness the power of their network to find answers, to challenge them and to drive their career or business to the next level.

As we move from a society where experts hoard knowledge and towards a more ‘networked’ or ‘social’ age of collaboration and information sharing, the culture of many organisations needs to shift and this is being recognised across a number of industries. Lack of an immediate answer is no longer routinely dismissed as a ‘weakness’ but nor is not knowing enough. It’s important to develop a trusted network to help to find the answer.

This presentation provides the foundation block to putting that new, inclusive and supportive culture into place. Letting employees know that it’s OK to ask for support and encouraging them to be honest about their shortcomings, while empowering them to do something about it.

More openness and honesty within an organisation can lead to:

Better performance from individuals and across the organisation
Resilience
Greater employee engagement
Support for leaders who may feel isolated in their roles
Increased innovation

Can be delivered as a keynote speech or longer interactive presentation, it can work on an organisational/leadership level or as a wider piece across the organisation or for specific teams.

Leveraging the Power of your Network

How much business are you winning through introductions from your network? Perhaps more importantly, how much business could you be winning through such referrals?

Most companies recognise the importance of referrals as part of an effective sales strategy yet so many fail to do anything proactive about finding them. Instead they leave referrals to chance, leaving substantial amounts of business untouched. Even companies who believe that they are ‘referral aware’ often fail to achieve anywhere near the real potential offered by their networks.

In this talk, Andy Lopata will focus on where to find referrals, particularly the ones right under your nose, how to make it easy for people to refer you and how to build an effective strategy to keep a flow of referrals into your business.

You’ll leave with simple steps you can take to win high quality referrals with little effort.

What You Will Learn

What does a quality referral look like?
Who is your ideal referral?
Identifying key introducers
Who is in your network and who do they know?
Why would people refer you?
Getting your message right
Building a referral book

Can be delivered as a 45 minute keynote talk or 90 minute interactive session

How to Use LinkedIn as a Referral Tool

Social media has exploded in popularity as a business tool in recent years and LinkedIn has been at the heart of that explosion. A large number of business people now have profiles on LinkedIn, but how many truly understand how to use it effectively?

What you will learn

Where the power of LinkedIn really lies
How to put together an effective profile to attract key prospects
Who you should and shouldn’t connect to
How to raise your profile and connect with key influencers in your prospects’ industries
The difference a good testimonial can make, and what it should say
How to search for key connections through your existing network
How to ask for referrals through LinkedIn

By the end of the session, participants will understand the simple steps they need to take to set up an effective LinkedIn profile and how they can generate substantial new business with just a small time investment every week. Can be delivered as a 45 minute keynote or 90-120 minute interactive session

Andy designed and facilitated a bespoke workshop for a group of Health Outcomes Consultants within the Pharmaceutical industry. I found Andy’s approach very flexible and it was clear that Andy was very keen to ensure his workshop offered tailored value to our team. I was impressed with the amount of research Andy did prior to the workshop to understand our world (working with the NHS). The delivery of the workshop was facilitation (no power point slides!) and all members of the team were highly engaged. The workbooks Andy had designed to help people capture notes and to write down comments during breakout sessions worked very well. As a direct result of Andy’s workshop, we are now implementing a “networking strategy” that is aligned to supporting our key business goal. Andy’s advice/insights have made me re-think all my customer interactions and even in the short term I am getting results. The “after” support Andy has provided in terms of “reminder videos” and 1:1 phone conversations has been much appreciated.
~ Adam Newman, Health Outcomes Consultant, GSK

Andy, thanks again for making our Balance HK event a huge success. The audience gave you their undivided attention and you
could hear a pin drop when you were speaking. I have never witnessed that before, with a room of 170+ people!
~ Maggie Suttie, Chair Balance Network, HSBC Hong Kong

It is great to work with a speaker like Andy who really wants to understand the audience he speaks to and tailors his content to them. It’s also great to have all the post event content Andy prepared specifically for us and so quickly. It has been a pleasure to work with him.
~ Galina Lebedeva, Education & Events Senior Co-ordinator, Wella UK & Ireland

Andy has provided three fantastic talks for us as part of a “Networking” programme he tailored to our needs. He is really engaging and left the audience wanting more which is a rarity when you work in Finance! He is extremely professional and personable and it felt like Andy really knew the topics and had researched the audience. Just thinking about what the next set of talks he can provide will be…!
~ Nicola Hradek, Co-Chair HSBC Balance Employee Network

Andy Lopata

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