Archive for the ‘Networking’ Category

Throughout history, fortunes have been made by people whose first big break came from a friend of a friend or a close contact.  Long before computers and the internet, there was another way to make business connections – networking.  By networking with others, you have the ability to open opportunities and   make connections that could lead to your ultimate success. 

Business is an art based upon human connection and emotion and to effectively develop meaningful relationships, you need to get out from behind your computer and engage in meaningful conversations, support and introductions.

Here are some tips for effective networking:

• Openly engage with others:  Be proud of what you do and don’t hesitate to talk to others about yourself and your business but do not focus on yourself.  Master your elevator pitch and get involved in conversations and allow the other person to talk about what they do as well.  Once you find a commonality, leverage it for additional conversation.

•   Be visible:  Join meetings, groups, functions, and forums.  Any venue that brings together groups of likeminded people that allows you to network with others.  Trade associations, chamber of commerce and local business support groups are a great way to get involved.  Be sure to participate and to be active in your groups.  Get out there, get involved and meet people.

• Become an expert in your field:  Positioning yourself as an expert in your field will allow your reputation to flourish.  Networking will be easier because others will seek you out simply for your expertise on a particular subject matter.

• Give and you shall receive:  These are the BLAST marketing words of wisdom.  Offer free advice, suggestions and help to others looking for it.  Write articles, whitepapers and blog posts to support your credibility as an expert and give your information away freely.

• Keep a contact file:  Networking is about developing systems.  You should have a system for keeping information on the contacts you meet including contact information, discussion, personal information and what they do.

• Develop a follow up system:  Follow up is critical in networking.  Be sure to create a system that automates your follow up.   The key is to develop relationships so follow up is an essential piece of networking and allows you to set up subsequent meetings and discussions to help further your objective.

• Connect others together:  A master networking taps into his or her networks and makes connections for others to come together and do business together.  Take a look at your network and identify needs and challenges and make introductions to others in your network for the sole purpose of helping someone else with no expectation of an outcome.

Networking is essential to good business and has proven over and over again to be the catalyst for many successful deals.  Become a networking rockstar and continue to act in the service of others and to be genuine in your connections with others.  People will see right through you if you are phony and self serving but if you truly enjoy what you do and are authentic, you will become a successful networker.

©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

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You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D’Andrea is the creator of BLAST Marketing System  and publishes “The Marketing Edge” a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. Interesting  in learning more, sign up for FREE Marketing Classes “Marketing Mondays” and learn how to position your business for success.  www.kelliedandrea.com.

Every business owner, even the really successful ones have been guilty of making mistakes in their business. The difference between the truly successful ones and those that aren’t are that they learn from their mistakes and are not afraid to take the risks to deploy strategies to take their business to the next level. Here are nine strategies for you to start using in your business today.

1. Don’t Work Without A Plan
You wouldn’t take a vacation without planning your days, activities and your budgets so why would you run your business without a plan. A solid marketing plan is the foundation to every successful business and if you want to achieve greatness, you must be thinking about how you are going to accomplish this each and every day.

2. Stay True to Your Mission and Be The Leader
Every business has a brand identity. A reason they went into business and an impression that they want to leave with their customers. Do not sway from your mission. To be the leader in your market, you must be the first to try new things. Do not do what your competition is doing by mimicking their marketing and advertising. Stand apart from the masses and be unique.

3. Consistency is the Key
Once you have a powerful message, shout it from the rooftops and shout it out often. Your message has to be repeated over and over again and in every communication the business sends out into the marketplace both internal and external – Your marketing material, your website, your employees and every client touch point should be screaming the same message every time.

4. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up
To really accelerate your business, you must build a business based upon referrals. To obtain referrals you must master the art of the follow up. You business will grow from your existing client base either engaging additional services or referring you to others. Keep in touch with them often.

5. Don’t Be A Super Hero
Do not try to go at it alone. You are not a superhero and will eventually burn out quickly. Surround yourself with talented people and lead them to victory. You focus on what you do best and outsource other tasks to topic experts who can help advance your business.

6. Wow ‘Em
The best activity you can focus on is to wow your customers. Create an experience that they will remember. The best customer experience is generated by the details. Those little things that make all the difference in the world and usually doesn’t cost the business owner much to do.

7. Leverage Your Systems
From this point forward, you should be thinking about how you can leverage your business. Everything that you do should be able to support multiple efforts and activities. For example, if you are marketing, how can you use that same marketing in other venues. If you write an article, can you turn that content into other pieces like an ebook, a blog post or a white paper that you can give to your customers.

8. Network Every Day
Business is built by the people you meet. Make a goal for yourself to network each and every day. A good system is to commit to reaching out to five new people a day to introduce yourself and to see how you can assist them with no expectation of a returned favor.

9. Build Alliances with Influencers
Chances are there are other businesses that complement your offering. Align yourself with those other business owners and collaborate on how you can help each other’s business. This will give you an opportunity to reach a new market, offer new products and build your network within your industry.

In today’s economy and competitive environment successful businesses are reaping the benefits of one of the oldest strategies – partnering.  On line marketers have been using this strategy for years to catapult their sales to unbelievable heights and now, Joint Ventures are making a comeback in the bricks and mortar world of business.

A joint venture is when two or more businesses, individuals or projects come together to co-market an opportunity, project or product to each other’s client list and new prospects. It allows you to leverage the relationships and goodwill already established by your partner to the benefit of both parties. So in layman terms, a joint venture is when you join forces with another business to make some money!

With joint ventures, you want to identify people who are selling into your target market with a non competitive product or service but who are working deals with the same individuals who make the decisions on your products or services. Develop a proposal that is mutually beneficial for both parties and a marketing strategy and hit the road with your co-branded offer.

Did you ever hear the old saying “you are only as good as the people you know”. This holds true for forming successful joint venture partnerships. People want to surround themselves with successful, positive and magnetic people and businesses with a strong brand so it is critical to align with a business with comparable values and goals.

Although this is one of the quickest ways to enhance your market presence and boost your profits, there are many other benefits to forming a partnership with another business in your space.

Benefit # 1: New Client Acquisition
Joint ventures are a great way to acquire new leads and new clients at no additional cost. By having new subscribers, you are able to continuing building a relationship with these people and even if they don’t buy from you right away, chances are they will eventually. Not a bad way to build a prospecting list without incurring any fees. Some new online marketers may benefit greatly from giving away all profits from their first joint venture just to build their list for future opportunities.

Benefit # 2: Enhanced Credibility
You gain instant rockstar status and enhanced credibility. One of the keys to an effective partnership is selecting the right partner. If you joint venture partner is reputable, trustworthy and has already established a great following, their followers will trust you based upon that recommendation. This is why your “list” is sacred. Do not partner with just anyone, make sure you select someone who is worthy of your list and make sure that you are worthy of theirs.

Benefit #3: Increase Breadth of Services
Joint ventures are a great way to offer your clients and prospects additional products. By jointly co-branding a product, you and your partner are able to bring new solutions to your current client list increasing your breadth of services you offer. The more solutions you can bring to your customers, the more valuable you are to your customers.

Benefit #4: Improved Conversion Rate
You will enhance your conversion rate. One of the goals when you get your list is to convert those prospects into buying customers. With a joint venture partner, you will increase your conversion rate. Your joint venture partner will be endorsing you and your product and by that testimony alone, will convert more of their leads into sales in their own list. Since they already have an established relationship, their subscribers trust their endorsements and you can leverage that trust by offering a high quality product that will benefit the joint venture partner’s subscriber list.

“Twitter, Facebook and Linked In, Oh My”, “Twitter, Facebook and Linked In, Oh My”. These days, I imagine if Dorothy was lost in the internet jungle that is what she would be saying as she skipped down the yellow brick road trying to figure out social networking sites.

Similar to a cocktail party or event, social networking is the act of meeting and engaging with people with one slight difference, it is in a virtual environment. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Friend Finder, You Tube and much, much more, exist to create an environment for individuals who share a common interest to meet and discuss those interests. It also provides an environment to share information, photos and news as it is happening. From a business perspective, it provides a new media to engage customers, monitor customer feedback and provide a centralized online meeting area to engage and market too all at once. Social media and networking sites are not a fad and will eventually be a integral part of business, customer service, marketing and sales and if you are not involved in it now, you need to get started right away! Here are some tips to getting started with social networking.

1. Get Started:  The best way to get started is to simply sign up and follow along.

   • If you are joining Twitter – select a few people to follow and watch what is being said, who is following who and when you are comfortable, join in the conversation.  To help you get started, follow me www.twitter.com/keldandrea.

   • For Facebook, sign up and look for “friends”.  Chances are there are tons of people you know and Facebook will help you find them and begin making connections on your behalf.  The great thing is, you get the option to accept a friend invitation or you can just ignore it and nobody will know.  To help get you started on Facebook, send me a friend request www.facebook.com/kellie.dandrea.

   • For Linked In, sign up and “connect” with business associates, family and friends by sending an invitation to connect.  Since this is a professional networking site, you will keep your tone and your messages professional.  Search for business associates and send them an invitation to connect.  Connect with me www.linkedin.com/in/kdandrea.

2. Write a great profile and include a picture:

   Social networking is about connecting and networking.  Make sure you include you picture and write a powerful profile.  Each social networking site has its own requirement for how much you can write, so write as much as you can and make it interesting.   Include items that people can relate to and so that people can engage with you in conversation, but be cautious.  Same rules apply when meeting strangers, don’t disclose too much personal information and always use your common sense.

3. Get involved.

   If you sit in the corner at a party and do not speak to anyone, you’re not networking.   Most of these sites center around one theme “What are you doing now” and depending upon the site, you have limited number of characters to include in a text message to answer that question.  Comment on other people’s thoughts, messages and ideas.  Ask a question and see what answers you get back.  Look at the photos, the web links and the blog posts that people are pointing too and provide your feedback. Join groups and participate in Q & A forums.

4. Make the Time Commitment.

   Networking and relationships are built over time, so you will need to make a commitment to invest in growing your network.  This is not something you can do seldom and requires a level of commitment to truly maximize the results, but beware, social media is addictive and can take all your time if you let it.  Schedule a few hours a day in intervals to participate.

5. Post Often and Frequently.

   How often should I post? This is a question that I get asked often and my answer is, all depends.  On Twitter, it is expected that you send short messages about what you are doing a few times a day, but that is not the same expectation for Facebook and LinkedIn.  I usually post a few times a week on Facebook and on Linked In.  I post to Question & Answer forums frequently and I always supply comments and feedback to people I am connected with on all sites.

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©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site? You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D’Andrea is the creator of the BLAST system and publishes “The Marketing Edge” a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. Find out the 23 Common Mistakes Most Entrepreneurs make with a FREE report offered at www.KellieDandrea.com.

Did you ever see that girl across the room that you were just mesmerized by? You know the one…..she has a beaming smile and gals and guys alike are very interested in her every word. She is not overly good looking, average to some standards, but she is attractive because of an air of confidence around her…… she is the one that you wish you were like. What you don’t realize is that you can be just like her! Have confidence, conviction and positive energy surrounding you at all times. In fact, studies show that the majority of success and good fortune is actually in your control. Those same studies show that a shift in your mindset can produce the positive results you are looking for each and every time and if you practice these tips with daily discipline for 21 days, you will form a habit of thinking positively and be one the road to designing the life of your dreams.