Title:

Performance Metrics - Measure Your Networking Effectiveness

Word Count:
335

Summary:
Performance metrics in the area of networking are those measurements that will tell
you whether your efforts are resulting in business. You need to know where to
spend your time and you do this by analyzing key performance metrics.

Keywords:
Performance Metrics, Performance-Metrics

Article Body:
Performance metrics in the area of networking are those measurements that will tell
you whether your efforts are resulting in business. Networking and relationship
marketing are time intensive so you want to spend that time wisely. Performance
metrics are the keys to this analysis.

Your networking should include a variety of business organizations. To find out

which ones of these are worth pursuing you need to define, measure, and evaluate
key performance metrics. These performance metrics need to be measured on a
regular basis. Marketing through organizations and through networking is a
marketing medium just like direct mail, e-mail, offline, or print media.

Your marketing plan would certainly include analyzing performance metrics for your
advertising through television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Similar
performance metrics for networking must also be monitored.

Example Performance Metrics

Direct costs associated with the networking

Number of events attended
Number of contacts generated
Number of sales leads generated
Number of referrals
Number of sales
Number of service contracts
Dollars generated from direct contacts
Dollars generated from referrals

Analyze your performance metrics per organization on a regular basis. 6 months is a

decent time horizon. If the performance metrics don't show promise within this
time frame, drop that particular organization and move on.

Stop spending so much time with organizations that aren't working out over a period
of time. Foster deeper ties with those organizations and events that show the
highest returns. Your performance metrics will separate the duds from the
performers very quickly.

The Bottom Line on Performance Metrics

By tracking performance metrics you can determine very easily which of your
networking efforts are paying off and which are simply eating up your time. Use
performance metrics to compare one organization to another. Also use these
performance metrics to compare your marketing performance via networking with your
other marketing vehicles. This will tell you overall, what works and what doesn't.
Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention
Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright
compliance}