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Chapter

26

Octopus Networking: Stretch Your

Tentacles and Inspire Others to Help

Romanus Wolter

Y

esterday as I sat down to get a haircut, I noticed for the first time that I
was the only customer in the shop. My barber anxiously asked, “How
do I bring in new clients? I’ve never had to network before but I think I
have to now. Over 40 percent of my clients have moved out of the city
in the past year.”
Reality has hit his business, and as a small business owner, he doesn’t
have the advertising budget of a large company to lure customers back with
special deals or direct customers to his doorstep. How can he reach and excite
these customers to buy his service?
The way for any traditional business or any network marketing business
to grow and prosper is much the same. With some imagination, willpower,
and a technique I call octopus networking, anyone can create new opportuni-
ties to increase sales. The key is to create a marketing message that inspires
other people to help you succeed.
Octopus networking is the ability to make one networking effort pro-
duce multiple results—increasing returns without increasing effort. When you
hit an octopus on the head, its tentacles stretch out and reach in different di-
rections. Network marketing business owners can do the same thing. By
leveraging their own value and targeting other businesses or successful peo-
ple, a single networking effort continuously pays off.
In addition to prospecting typical individuals, we can grow our network
marketing businesses with velocity by targeting centers of influence. The head
of the octopus is any person or place that reaches a large number of your po-
tential customers or prospects. This includes nonprofit organizations, famous
people, small store owners who sell to your target market, or companies that
offer complementary products. You want to inspire these entities to deliver
your message to your potential customers and future partners, helping you
network even when you are not physically present.