10 Effective Business Networking Tips
10 Effective Business Networking Tips
Networking is probably the most effective and least expensive marketing method you can use to build your business or practice, especially if you do business in your local area.
A lot of business owners and practitioners I talk to say that they don’t like to network or they haven’t found it to be effective. That’s probably because they don’t know how to do it or they may have unrealistic expectations about the timing of results.
I do a lot of networking both online and off. As a natural people person who likes to talk, networking is relatively easy for me. But even if you’re a bit on the shy side or have reservations about the potential for success with networking, you can gain value from this activity if you follow certain guidelines.
Here are some tips that can ensure your networking success.
1. Choose the right venues. Not every group of people will be right for you. Choose groups where people congregate who share your interests and/or are potential clients. Chambers of Commerce, men’s and women’s organizations, networking groups, special interest groups, and associations are all potential choices. Or perhaps a MeetUp.com group in your area will appeal to you.
2. Develop relationships. Networking is not about selling, but rather developing relationships that can lead to sales or referrals. The idea is to get to know people and allow them to get to know you.
Often, people approach networking with the hope of making a sale or getting a client after one visit to an appropriate group. That’s not how it works. People do business with those they know and trust and it can take time to build up that knowledge and trust. So approach a networking event without any expectation of getting new business. Instead go with the idea of meeting new people or schmoozing with those you’ve already gotten to know.
3. Dress appropriately and professionally. Establish yourself as a successful person, which you can do by dressing the part. This does not mean that you need to wear expensive clothes, but do wear something a bit on the dressy side and leave the comfortable baggy pants at home. If necessary, get advice from an image consultant.
4. Be prepared. Bring plenty of business cards, but only give them to people who show a real interest in what you do. Brochures or printed postcards can also be effective. Also, craft a short description of what you do — no more than 10 or 15 seconds.
5. Ask questions and listen. You don’t have to talk a lot about what you do in order to find potential customers. Rather, ask people you meet questions about them and their business, then listen carefully to their answers. Find points of commonality that you can bring into the conversation.
6. Sit with people you don’t know. Many events have walk-around networking followed by a sit-down meeting of some sort. During the walk-around, do talk to people you have met before to enhance your relationship, but sit with people you don’t know in order to widen your network and meet potential customers. Here too, ask questions and listen.
7. Talk to people who are standing alone. People attend networking events to meet others. If someone is standing alone, that’s the perfect opportunity to make a new contact. You might want to start the conversation by saying, “May I join you?”
8. Move on – politely. Don’t spend all of your time talking to one person. Gather the information you need, exchange business cards, if appropriate, and move on. I often say, “I’d like to do some mixing now. It’s been a pleasure speaking to you.”
9. Give to get. Focus on what you can do for others, not what they can do for you. Perhaps you know someone who could use your prospects services. If you do, make the referral.
10. Follow up. If you make a good connection with someone, after the event, send a note saying how much you enjoyed meeting them. If appropriate, send an article or some kind of information that they might find helpful. Do not add them to your mailing list without their permission.
Networking is a process, not a one-off event. Take the time to develop relationships with people who interest you. Be proactive and invite someone to a one-to-one meeting so you can get to know them.
Remember that most business owners and practitioners are looking for connections. Be bold and step forward into their world.
The Spiritual Upside of Managing Your Money
When you hear the words financial management, cash flow strategies, or balancing your checkbook, which of the following do you do?
- Roll your eyes and think to yourself, “BORING!”
- Zone out and think of something else.
- Say, “I’m not good with numbers.”
- Get excited about dealing with the numbers.
If you are like most entrepreneurs and practitioners, getting excited about the numbers is probably not one of your choices.
Believe it or not, despite the fact that doing business is about making money, entrepreneurs and practitioners often have little interest in learning the intricacies of managing money.
Yet the businesses that succeed financially are those with leaders who are willing to pay attention to their numbers.
A new way of looking at your finances Continue reading
The Difference between Optimism and Fantasy Thinking
Do you remember the fuss about the movie and book The Secret and the Law of Attraction? The basic theory presented was that if you get your mind in the right place, everything you need will just show up. I was amazed at how many people I met were absolutely sure they were going to win the lottery.
Long before The Secret came out, I did endless affirmations, created and hung a treasure map where I could see it every day, and imagined I was acting as if I was wealthy.
I was also training myself to stop worrying, criticizing myself, and complaining, and I was cultivating an attitude of gratitude.
Did money come flying in the window? Did I suddenly have a lot of customers? Continue reading
7 Essentials for Building A Successful and Profitable Business or Practice
I have listened to a lot of teleclasses and webinars by highly successful Internet marketers and business owners touting the systems they are selling to help people rapidly build a six-figure income.
I’m sure that these systems have a lot of value, but there’s something they’re missing.
The pitch goes something like this, I’ve done it, and you can too. I’ll show you what I did, and all you have to do is follow the plan.
But here’s what’s missing: Building a successful business or practice requires certain personality traits and skills, and these programs rarely talk about the personality traits. Let’s look at what is required. Continue reading
Unrealistic Goals Are a Danger to Your Bottom Line
A researcher at a Netherlands university conducted a study to see if women who want to lose weight are more motivated if they see a picture of a skinny model. The volunteers were given diaries to note what they ate and when. Half the volunteers got a diary with a skinny model on the cover and every page. The other half received a diary with a logo.
The results: The women with the diary with the skinny-model picture actually were not able to lose weight or gained weight, while those with the logo diaries lost weight.
The conclusion: The researchers said that “repeated exposure to models with unrealistic body sizes changes the dieter’s belief about the attainability of a thinner self.” This demotivates the dieters and they tend to move away from rather than towards their goal.
How does this relate to your finances? Continue reading
Using The Power Word Technique for Current World Conditions
Uncertainty caused by economic conditions, political conflicts, and extreme weather events is making lots of people nervous and stimulating feelings of vulnerability. The erratic up-and-down movement of the United States stock market is a perfect mirror of this uncertainty.
Because of everything that’s going on in the world, it’s important that you use all available tools to help you deal emotionally with current events, and one of the most effective is the energy psychology technique Be Set Free Fast (BSFF). This simple technique allows you to quickly shift your emotions from fear and anxiety to a more peaceful state.
I first started using BSFF in 2002. I had been using EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) with my clients and for myself, then decided to have a few sessions with Larry Nims, the creator of BSFF, to see what it was like. I immediately found it to be effective and liked it better than EFT because I could treat so many more issues and subtleties of issues in rapid succession. I still like it better because no tapping is involved, which makes it easier to use in a meditative state, which I prefer.
Continue reading
It’s Time for a New Story
A few weeks ago, a friend gave a talk at The Celebration, my spiritual community, and she talked about changing your story in order to move forward. I’ve heard this before and have even suggested it to people, but this time it really hit home, and I asked myself, “What does one have to do in order to accomplish this?”
I immediately thought about the book I have been writing for the last two years about my journey to physical, emotional, and financial health. This story has been difficult for me to write because, along the way, I passed through many interesting but uncomfortable dramas. I realized that the time had come to finish the story.
For the next week, I worked on the book with the goal of finishing it by my December 30 birthday. The toughest part was recounting the story of when I had to close the business that I loved so much, Joan’s Crystals, and declare bankruptcy (in 1989). As I wrote, I was filled with emotion, but knew I was finally reaching the point where I could let go of the painful memory. Continue reading
How Childhood Messages Affect Your Finances
I recently had a few new AHAs about how family-of-origin experiences and messages from parents during childhood affect finances years later.
In a nutshell here they are:
1. Craving money or feeling poor is similar to the feeling of wanting to be touched. This forms in early childhood because of inadequate bonding and lack of affection.
2. Any kind of childhood abuse, including mild but frequent emotional abuse, can lead to feelings of low self-worth that are acted out through underearning, debting, overspending, and other financial behaviors.
Because this is a fairly complex issue, I’d like to suggest that you listen to the audio below. This audio, which is about 15 minutes long, is taken from the introduction to the December 6th Peace of Mind & Prosperity program teleclass.\
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At the beginning of each of the Peace of Mind & Prosperity teleclasses, I present ideas and experiences that can help program participants. The introductions are followed by interactive coaching with participants. Read more about the Peace of Mind & Prosperity Program and the new Free Trial.
I hope you’ll take a few moments to listen to this audio. The information has impacted virtually everyone with whom I have shared it. I’ll be telling you soon about a teleclass I’ll be doing next month on this topic.
If you find the audio interesting, I hope you’ll comment on the blog post below and share it with your friends.
Let’s Play with $10 Million
Here’s a game for you to play:
Imagine that you have won a $10 million lottery, something you’ve probably thought about more than once.
Once you get over the excitement of winning, you’ll have to make some practical decisions. You’ll also have to deal with a whole lot of emotional issues. If you haven’t thought about both of these, then you aren’t serious about achieving a high level of wealth.
By examining the issues that I’m going to propose here, you’ll be able to discover some of your blocks to creating wealth.
The Practical Decisions
On a practical level, ask these questions: Continue reading
Talking About Money
Do you have someone you can talk to about your finances in a rational way? Or do you just think, worry, and fret about how much you have or don’t have?
Perhaps you’re unhappy about your financial behaviors — like overspending, avoiding saving, or being generally vague — but you don’t talk about these topics. .
Not talking about money can cost you big bucks.
Why People Don’t Talk About Money
Most people avoid talking about the specifics of their finances. They might complain about their situation or the general economy without ever discussing their own numbers – how much they have, how much they need, etc. Continue reading
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