Leads group takes a new tack: Building the relationships first

Sales-leads groups, Floyd Rowley says, typically expect their members to share a lead or two at each meeting.And over time,members might develop personal relationships.

A group launched by Rowley a couple of years ago, however, sets the traditional model on its ear.

Northern Nevada Executive Council pays more attention to the relationships, and it figures that the sales leads will be shared as members become friends.

After nearly two years,Rowley says the nonprofit group is beginning to work as intended.

The members of the Northern Nevada Executive Council about 20 in recent months meet monthly as a group.

They're encouraged to get together informally for lunch or coffee at other times during the month, and the organization sponsors a quarterly social event.

It's hardly a hard-boiled sales approach.

"Some people have gotten and given more than others,"Rowley says."But there's a strong degree of camaraderie and participation."

And members who come up with a sales lead are likely to turn first to people they know and trust.

The roster is limited to one participant per industry, and members are either owners or senior staff members of businesses.Members today cover fields as diverse as law, business education, venture capital and telecommunications consulting.

The decision to limit membership to one representative per industry has served to keep the group's membership around 20 to 24.

"We sort of ran out of professions,"Rowley says.

Along with Rowley,who specializes in brokerage of investment properties for Colliers International,Northern Nevada Executive Council is spearheaded by Alice Heiman, a Reno-based sales training consultant, and Jack Beattie, an integrator of audio and visual systems.

Rowley was inspired to start the group by Colliers-sponsored sales training that encourages brokers to develop leads groups on their own.

Six months after he started, the executive council was up to a dozen members.

A year ago, the group had gotten serious enough that it formalized its procedures, became an incorporated nonprofit and launched a Web site (www.nnec.biz).

Membership in the group costs $250 a year.