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Other Added - 3 Easy Ways to Boost Your Business With Networking
Just a few short years ago, telecommuting was a rare benefit for a select few. Employers were reluctant to give up the belief that employees needed watching, and that working from home really meant a day of watching soap operas, devouring chocolates, and catching up on the laundry. The traditional 9-to-5 in the office was the accepted standard for assuring that employees were where they were supposed to be and doing what they were supposed to do. For most, proof of productivity was measured by hours in the office, rather than by results.However, with the help of laptops, PDAs, and high-speed internet, the practice of measuring productivity with time seems to be taking a few hits. More and more employers have begun to realize the benefits of telecommuting: lower overhead, less infrastructure, more productive employees, and greater retention. Some who already had programs in place for a few are expanding the programs they have to include more employees. Lar
3 – Create strategic alliances
Would you rather meet a thousand people, one at a time, or meet a few people who will each introduce you to a thousand. Most people see networking events as a place to get contacts one at a time or make one sale at a time.
Now think about this. What about looking for people who have the same target market as you, but are not your competitors, and offer great complementary products or services to you. So that working with them will be a great opportunity to access their clients
Does your company have a community business relation strategy? You need one. You need to join the team, the community and maintain your relations with other local businesses. There are many ways to do this, one is to join your local chamber of commerce, yet only on average 10% of the proprietors of small businesses ever do this. You should be in the top ten percent shouldn’t you? After all you have a lot at stake and have invested a small fortune in your American Dream, do make it count.Ask not what your community can do for you, it is time for you to give back a little, get involved and reap the rewards of being a community based business that cares about your current and future customers. I have put together an outline of some of the things you might do to promote your new image as a community based small business. Now realize my business is different than your business; we are in the business of Mobile Car Washing and Auto Detailing and your business is
Here are 3 easy and low cost ways to maximize your networking results:
1 - Follow-up
Usually, people like big events. They feel great when they enter a room packed with people. Big events are great if your goal is to get a bunch of business cards, but not if you are trying to get business. What do you do with all those cards? Be honest, most people put them on their desk or in a shoe box, eventually enter the information on their rolodex, but don’t do anything with them. Why? Because they collected so many that they are overwhelmed and don’t know how or where to start.. They just don’t have a follow-up system.
Statistics show that we need to hear or see a message at least 7 times in order to notice it. So if you follow up only 2 or 3 times you are losing business. A networking event is a way of introducing yourself and starting a relationship with the people you meet. It is definitely not a place to sell. That is why so many people are confused – they missed the point and wanted to sell right away. You may get a client after an event but usually networking takes time, patience and consistency.
That is why it is important not only to have a follow-up system but to have a 7 step follow-up system in place.
• Send an email in the next 24 hours.
• Send a thank you note (in this age of technology, sending a handwritten thank you note will make you stand out from the crowd).
• Send a postcard
• Send articles or information related to their industry
• Use direct mail
• Send a newsletter
• And of course, call them
Be creative in order to follow-up and differentiate yourself from others, especially from your competitors. Stand out from the average entrepreneurs. Be unique!
2 – Join a networking group. Choose the best format for you.
Personally I prefer small events because I get more business out of it. That is why with Biba4Network most of my events are limited to 15 people. Even if sometimes I organize mixers - where I have 30 to 60 people - as a way of spreading the word and bringing everybody together. But small groups allow you to: start a relationship right away, have the time to really introduce yourself and your business, which is more efficient than speaking with somebody for 3 seconds, giving your card to them and then going on to the next person.
Recently, I attended an event, where there were about 80 people. I thought I was actually joining a more intimate group but it was too late to leave. So I decided that my goal would be to speak with 5 people so that way I would have the time for a real conversation. While I was speaking with somebody, a woman came up to me, interrupted our conversation and said, “I just wanted you to have my card.” She put her card in my hand and left. She didn’t introduce herself, tell me her name or find out who I was or what I did. But apparently her goal was to give out as much business cards as she could during the event. Not only is this attitude very rude but it is also totally useless. However, I thought that maybe she was new to networking and didn’t know how it works so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. The next day I sent her an email to follow-up, to get a chance to learn more about her business. Guess what! She never returned my email and of course never called. So what is the purpose? No wonder so many people say that networking is not working.
To achieve better results in networking, join a minimum of two groups and commit to it instead of trying to go to every event and meet people only once. Being committed to a group will help you to build a relationship, learn about people, trust them and then do business with them. When you get to know and trust them you will either work with them directly if you need their products or services, or you will give them referrals because you know that if you send people to them they will be satisfied with the result. And you don’t want to be in a position to refer somebody to someone else whose work is bad, as this will have a negative impact on your reputation.
3 – Create strategic alliances
Would you rather meet a thousand people, one at a time, or meet a few people who will each introduce you to a thousand. Most people see networking events as a place to get contacts one at a time or make one sale at a time.
Now think about this. What about looking for people who have the same target market as you, but are not your competitors, and offer great complementary products or services to you. So that working with them will be a great opportunity to access their clients o
In our first few articles of last year, we urged business process based management as against functional management as a way of getting the most from your organisation and delivering better value to your stakeholders.First, a Fishy Tale:A newly minted fishery Ph.D decided to set up a catfish fingerling production operation. The results of three dismal trials were as follows:First try: Owing to power failure during the night, the newly fertilised eggs died for lack of heat (usually provided by a 60 watt bulb)Second try: There was nothing with which to crush the pituitary for preparing the solution to be used for injecting the female (to induce spawning)Third try: The hand put in charge to watch the fry failed to control the water level in the flow tank. There was an overflow and over 90% of the fry were lost.We'll keep this story in mind as we continue.20:20 Vision - Gaining Process Clarity
Statistics show that we need to hear or see a message at least 7 times in order to notice it. So if you follow up only 2 or 3 times you are losing business. A networking event is a way of introducing yourself and starting a relationship with the people you meet. It is definitely not a place to sell. That is why so many people are confused – they missed the point and wanted to sell right away. You may get a client after an event but usually networking takes time, patience and consistency.
That is why it is important not only to have a follow-up system but to have a 7 step follow-up system in place.
• Send an email in the next 24 hours.
• Send a thank you note (in this age of technology, sending a handwritten thank you note will make you stand out from the crowd).
• Send a postcard
• Send articles or information related to their industry
• Use direct mail
• Send a newsletter
• And of course, call them
Be creative in order to follow-up and differentiate yourself from others, especially from your competitors. Stand out from the average entrepreneurs. Be unique!
2 – Join a networking group. Choose the best format for you.
Personally I prefer small events because I get more business out of it. That is why with Biba4Network most of my events are limited to 15 people. Even if sometimes I organize mixers - where I have 30 to 60 people - as a way of spreading the word and bringing everybody together. But small groups allow you to: start a relationship right away, have the time to really introduce yourself and your business, which is more efficient than speaking with somebody for 3 seconds, giving your card to them and then going on to the next person.
Recently, I attended an event, where there were about 80 people. I thought I was actually joining a more intimate group but it was too late to leave. So I decided that my goal would be to speak with 5 people so that way I would have the time for a real conversation. While I was speaking with somebody, a woman came up to me, interrupted our conversation and said, “I just wanted you to have my card.” She put her card in my hand and left. She didn’t introduce herself, tell me her name or find out who I was or what I did. But apparently her goal was to give out as much business cards as she could during the event. Not only is this attitude very rude but it is also totally useless. However, I thought that maybe she was new to networking and didn’t know how it works so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. The next day I sent her an email to follow-up, to get a chance to learn more about her business. Guess what! She never returned my email and of course never called. So what is the purpose? No wonder so many people say that networking is not working.
To achieve better results in networking, join a minimum of two groups and commit to it instead of trying to go to every event and meet people only once. Being committed to a group will help you to build a relationship, learn about people, trust them and then do business with them. When you get to know and trust them you will either work with them directly if you need their products or services, or you will give them referrals because you know that if you send people to them they will be satisfied with the result. And you don’t want to be in a position to refer somebody to someone else whose work is bad, as this will have a negative impact on your reputation.
3 – Create strategic alliances
Would you rather meet a thousand people, one at a time, or meet a few people who will each introduce you to a thousand. Most people see networking events as a place to get contacts one at a time or make one sale at a time.
Now think about this. What about looking for people who have the same target market as you, but are not your competitors, and offer great complementary products or services to you. So that working with them will be a great opportunity to access their clients
Some 30-odd years ago, MLS listings were printed on small cards that fit in shoeboxes, and Realtors were their gatekeepers. Thanks to the Internet, agents as well as consumers have access to all kinds of information. As a result, real estate firms are changing the way they interact with customers and reevaluating their roles in the age of information. "Whereas before clients depended on Realtors for information, they're now finding their own information and then coming to us for services," explains Chee, CEO of Prudential Locations. "That's meant a lot of changes for the industry and has made the job of a Realtor much, much more complex." Around 1995, when the Internet first hit real estate, it was the kickoff of consumers getting much more involved in the transaction, because it brought more information to the customers. Discount Brokerages Has all this paved the way for Discount Brokerages to take over, akin to what has
2 – Join a networking group. Choose the best format for you.
Personally I prefer small events because I get more business out of it. That is why with Biba4Network most of my events are limited to 15 people. Even if sometimes I organize mixers - where I have 30 to 60 people - as a way of spreading the word and bringing everybody together. But small groups allow you to: start a relationship right away, have the time to really introduce yourself and your business, which is more efficient than speaking with somebody for 3 seconds, giving your card to them and then going on to the next person.
Recently, I attended an event, where there were about 80 people. I thought I was actually joining a more intimate group but it was too late to leave. So I decided that my goal would be to speak with 5 people so that way I would have the time for a real conversation. While I was speaking with somebody, a woman came up to me, interrupted our conversation and said, “I just wanted you to have my card.” She put her card in my hand and left. She didn’t introduce herself, tell me her name or find out who I was or what I did. But apparently her goal was to give out as much business cards as she could during the event. Not only is this attitude very rude but it is also totally useless. However, I thought that maybe she was new to networking and didn’t know how it works so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. The next day I sent her an email to follow-up, to get a chance to learn more about her business. Guess what! She never returned my email and of course never called. So what is the purpose? No wonder so many people say that networking is not working.
To achieve better results in networking, join a minimum of two groups and commit to it instead of trying to go to every event and meet people only once. Being committed to a group will help you to build a relationship, learn about people, trust them and then do business with them. When you get to know and trust them you will either work with them directly if you need their products or services, or you will give them referrals because you know that if you send people to them they will be satisfied with the result. And you don’t want to be in a position to refer somebody to someone else whose work is bad, as this will have a negative impact on your reputation.
3 – Create strategic alliances
Would you rather meet a thousand people, one at a time, or meet a few people who will each introduce you to a thousand. Most people see networking events as a place to get contacts one at a time or make one sale at a time.
Now think about this. What about looking for people who have the same target market as you, but are not your competitors, and offer great complementary products or services to you. So that working with them will be a great opportunity to access their clients
Actually, “the boomerang effect” is a relatively new trend of inviting back talented former employees into the fold.Surveys indicate 12% of employers cautiously admit they would re-hire ex-employees (alumni). An additional 21% say they welcome back alumni without hesitation because of the time and dollar savings. In fact, the Gartner Group estimated that in 2003, 60% of midsize to large companies will have routinely hired back former employees.Here are three simple strategies you can consider to reclaim lost talent swiftly:Keep your alumni on your press release distribution list. Keep them in the loop!Send current and former employees alike a list of your job openings, departmental news and announcements, and other events related to changing human capital needs.Invite alumni to company picnics, holiday parties, and other casual, festive events. Don't ostracize them but make every effort to maintain harmonious, open-door relation
To achieve better results in networking, join a minimum of two groups and commit to it instead of trying to go to every event and meet people only once. Being committed to a group will help you to build a relationship, learn about people, trust them and then do business with them. When you get to know and trust them you will either work with them directly if you need their products or services, or you will give them referrals because you know that if you send people to them they will be satisfied with the result. And you don’t want to be in a position to refer somebody to someone else whose work is bad, as this will have a negative impact on your reputation.
3 – Create strategic alliances
Would you rather meet a thousand people, one at a time, or meet a few people who will each introduce you to a thousand. Most people see networking events as a place to get contacts one at a time or make one sale at a time.
Now think about this. What about looking for people who have the same target market as you, but are not your competitors, and offer great complementary products or services to you. So that working with them will be a great opportunity to access their clients
It's a fact: the best jobs attract loads of competition. So it pays to do whatever you can to stand out as a persistent, creative candidate, one that any sane employer would love to hire.But how can you do that, in this impersonal age of email, chat rooms and mega job sites?Easy. Just do what has worked for others.Here are 3 mini case studies from job hunters who got hired by creatively persisting and going after the positions they really wanted.How can you emulate them?1) Follow up creatively and get them talking"I remember one job seeker trying to transition from geologist into a position as a copywriter in an advertising agency," recalls Elizabeth Laukka, National Recruiter for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Minneapolis."He sent me a resume and work portfolio, then a few days later sent a follow-up note with a stone attached, that read: 'I am tired of being taken for granite in my current industry,'" says Laukka.<
3 – Create strategic alliances
Would you rather meet a thousand people, one at a time, or meet a few people who will each introduce you to a thousand. Most people see networking events as a place to get contacts one at a time or make one sale at a time.
Now think about this. What about looking for people who have the same target market as you, but are not your competitors, and offer great complementary products or services to you. So that working with them will be a great opportunity to access their clients or mailing list. You can cross-promote each other, you can organize events together, you can do a mailing campaign together, it is a win/win situation.
Let’s say you partner with 2 new entrepreneurs a month and have access to their rolodex. I am not saying that they will sell you their list of clients or prospects, but through them you can get exposure to their clients or prospects. If they have one thousand, two thousand, or even twenty thousand people on their mailing list, instantly, you have access to those thousands of people.
For example, when I mentioned on my Biba4Network newsletter, “Biba Recommends” the business that I am promoting to get exposure to the two thousand people on my list. People pay more attention because I am the one who recommended the product or service. The people on my list know me and trust me, so they will check and learn more about this product or service. It is more effective than if you just put out a regular ad. And at the same time the business I am promoting is promoting my products and services on their newsletter and I get exposure too, to thousands of people that I don’t even know.
That is what I show in my program “The Power of Networking”. Instead of looking for one prospect or one client at a time, look for people or businesses you can partner with. Make a list of the businesses who are complementary to yours, to create strategic alliances with. Strategic alliances are one of the fastest ways to grow your business.
When you use networking that way, then you don’t need to meet everybody in the room. The only thing you need is to find a couple of potential strategic alliances. Look for quality instead of quantity. That is what happens at my events and all the testimonials of member’s success stories come from: first, people who commit to attend the monthly meetings, second from people who create partnerships, work together and promote each other. That is how some of my members were able to grow their businesses by 30% in less than 3 months.
Stop wasting your time attending every event and start growing your business with networking, learn more about “The Power of Networking”. In this 5 step program, you will find everything you need on how to maximize your networking results. You will learn: how to create an outstanding business card – how to polish an elevator pitch which will hook your audience so that people will remember you – how to create a 7 step follow-up system to turn more prospects into clients – how to use your newsletter to promote your products or services without hard selling – how to create strategic alliances to grow our business faster. You can read more about it and get your copy of “The Power of Networking” at www.biba4netwotk.com/networking.html
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