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HUDDLE TIME
The Small Things That Lead to Success
By Alfred Lautenslager
We've all heard that networking should be an integral part of our total marketing plan, but what is networking? And is it the same for off-line marketing as it is for on-line marketing?
Many Internet marketers venture off into classified ads, opt-in mailing lists and postings of all sorts. Many times the traditional networking ways of off-line marketing are forgotten. So, what is networking in the traditional marketing sense?
Simply stated, networking is contact to establish relationships that can lead to business. Sometimes the path to business is direct; other times it is indirect such as through referrals. The person you know knows someone else who needs your products or services. This is the most important rule of networking. Many people go to a networking event hoping to do business. It doesn't work that way. Your goal of attending a networking event is to meet two or three people, find a reason to follow up and start a relationship. The business will most likely come from an indirect referral they know needs your products or services.
Networking means making these contacts and building on them by talking with people about what you do and who you are. It also is, in turn, listening to them to see how you might assist them in what they do.
These contacts, the people you need to know or the people that can help you, might be right under your nose. To help build that list, answer the following questions:
- Who has taken an interest in you lately or in the past?
- Whom have you been good friends with?
- Whom do you always talk business with when you get together?
- Who has helped you or offered encouragement or advice in your business?
This list could go on and on, but the general notion is that you are already networking, networking is all around us and the people to build our network with are with us every day. My favorite example of this is learning how valuable the parents of my daughter's teammates were in my network. Standing on the sidelines of a soccer game, the conversation often goes, "What do you do?" or "Where do you work?" and the rest is history, as they say.
Al Lautenslager is a speaker, author, business owner, consultant and marketing coach and also the author of "The Networking Workbook: How to Instantly Add People to Your Network." It is available at http://www.networkingworkbook.com as an immediate download. Al also is the featured PR expert for entrepreneur.com. He can be contacted at al@market-for-profits.com or through his website, http://www.market-for-profits.com.
HUDDLE TIME
Find Your Path: How Positive Living Clears the Way
By Patricia Raskin
My father, who wrote the foreword to my book, "Pathfinding: Seven Principles for Positive Living," told me this story. It really speaks to finding the opportunity in the crisis that can create success:
One day the owner of a building tells his caretaker that he must go out of town for a day, but that he expects a most important letter. He informs the caretaker that he must make sure he gets the registered letter himself because it is a very important letter.
The owner leaves the next morning. That afternoon the letter is delivered, but it requires a signature. The caretaker tells the postman that he doesn't know how to write. The postman explains that he must obtain an actual signature, no marks or X's. Since the caretaker can't write, the postman refuses to leave the letter.
When the owner returns and learns what happened, he becomes furious and fires the caretaker on the spot. The caretaker finds himself without a job and without an income. To support his meager existence, he starts peddling whatever goods and services he can to survive. His business begins to grow and improves to the point that he is able to open a little store. By the time his sons are old enough to help him, he has become well established.
The sons inherit the business when the caretaker retires and decides to build a larger store. They ask their father to help them borrow the money to finance their ambitious undertaking. The father asks the banker for the loan and the banker says, "No problem. You can have whatever you need. Just sign on the dotted line." The caretaker looks at the banker and replies, "I can't sign. I never learned how to write." In astonishment, the banker asks, "How is it possible that a man who can't write could amass the wealth that you have?" "Ah," says the caretaker, "If I could write, I'd still be a caretaker."
Patricia Raskin, president and founder of Raskin Resources, is a media producer/host, speaker and author who serves as a catalyst for creating positive change. For twenty years, she has been hosting and producing media programs that focus on the positive side of life. Her television talk shows and documentaries have aired on Fox and PBS affiliates.
Patricia is also the host of the weekly call-in Internet program, "Positive Living," heard worldwide on Tuesdays at 7PM Eastern and 4 PM Pacific on www.voiceamerica.com. On January 13th, she hosted Ivan Misner, president and founder of BNI, on her show. You can hear this archived program by clicking here.
For a copy of Patricia's new book, "Pathfinding: Seven Principles For Positive Living," containing many of her father's stories, log onto www.raskinresources.com.
HUDDLE TIME
Creative Business Building
By Pam Creef, staffing consultant, Headway Corporate Staffing
When I first joined BNI, I knew it was going to take time to build the relationships in my group so I decided to use BNI tools to enhance my current business relationships while waiting for the referrals to come in for my job as a staffing consultant. I also took the advice of our Area Director, who taught us to "look outside the box."
The first thing I did was seek out a couple people in my group with whom I clicked. Interestingly enough, these members were not in my "mafia," or sub-group. My first two relationships were with a chiropractor and a Weekender clothing representative. I thought, "How am I ever going to give them referrals?" I knew I needed to meet with them to try to get some ideas. During our one-on-one meetings, I discovered they both put on workshops for individuals. The chiropractor offered stress-management and peak-performance seminars, and the Weekenders rep would put on a fashion show on how to make several outfits out of very few pieces of clothing.
The stress-management seminars were an obvious fit with my clients, and with a little creative thinking, we arranged a "Dress for Success" seminar where my clients were shown how to stretch their dollars for a professional wardrobe. It was very easy to call my clients to offer these workshops and to get them to talk to my fellow BNI members. It was a win-win situation for us all. I was providing a value-added, "free" service for my clients, while the BNI members were benefiting from all the people they met. The chiropractor has had more than 20 people at a time schedule appointments, and the Weekender Rep has sold a good amount of clothing. All the while, I get more business from my clients because they think I am great for getting them these free services.
BNI teaches us to create a mafia within your group to make it easier to pass referrals. That does work because it can get overwhelming to concentrate on your whole group at one time. However, people need to be sure they are looking for other ideas that can mesh with your business. Although these members were not part of my normal mafia, we were all beneficial to each other by strategizing on how our services could help each other. I did, however, start to get even more referrals once we got more business-to-business professions in the group.
Another way of thinking outside the box that has worked for me is inviting prospective clients to a meeting. After trying to get a meeting with a telecommunications company proved fruitless, I decided to go through the "back door." After leaving a message with the director of sales explaining that I had a great networking opportunity for his sales associates, I got a call back in 20 minutes. He was interested because he requires his sales staff to be involved in some sort of networking group. He and one other person attended our meeting. During the meeting he asked if I had worked with his company. When I told him that I had not been able to get a meeting, he took my card and said, "Consider it done." And he was true to his word.
Since then, I have established many other partnerships with fellow BNI members that have continued to provide numerous value-added benefits to my clients. Our group has learned how to strategize on how to get each other business using a lot of creative ideas, which has made giving and receiving referrals much easier and more rewarding. As a result, my business has continued to increase, and I have been doing a lot less cold calling.
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