Tag Archives: networking

All Dressed Up and Ready to Sell?

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When your business plan is formulated and you are ready to take on the world, be certain that you are making a great impression. Are your networking tactics going over like a lead balloon? “I networked all the time and still never got any clients.” If these are the resultsMarketing tactics for networking you are getting, then it is time to change your tactics.

Stop selling. We’ve all attended events where someone has a stack of business cards in their hand and just starts handing them out. They often fail to even ask anything about you. AND they start telling about the advantages of what they offer. Or the only thing we can think of to say to someone is, “And what do you do?” Networking isn’t about selling. You really want to build relationships and let people know what you do so they can refer to you.

Anne Randolph told me that when she stopped selling, she actually received more clients when she shifted to networking to build relationships. The purpose of networking is to give and get information. You are not selling, you are telling. You are not asking for favors, you are giving valuable information.

I’m on the Board of Creative Connections and enjoy meeting new creatives each month at our meeting on the first Friday at 9:00 a.m. in the Denver area. Check us out at http://www.meetup.com/Creative-Connections

Strategy: Build relationships first. Identify your ideal alliance partners and get to know them. They are business owners who market to your same niche. Ask questions to learn more about them. Learn how to soar and not come away feeling like a deflated balloon.

Tactic: Attend networking events with a goal in mind. Identify how many people you want to meet. Be clear about your niche so you can clearly tell someone whom you want to meet.

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Why does LinkedIn only want you to invite people you know to connect?

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Imagine going to a networking event and only talking to people you know. LinkedIn is the biggest networking opportunity with millions of members. Yet, LinkedIn limits your ability to message, connect, and build your network. You have the ability to meet your ideal clients or a targeted list of people.

Yes, that’s powerful and that’s what LinkedIn can do for you. You create a bigger sphere of influence with tons of connections. You have the ability to share your expertise with a larger audience. You are found more often on searches in LinkedIn and you are able to help more people.

LinkedIn Groups new features and a fresh, bright look

They claim that LinkedIn Group members can now add images to their posts and mention other users. The company says it cut back on clutter, spam and promotional content within Groups. The navigation panel is also simpler, and LinkedIn significantly increased the amount of open space on the pages. Are you finding it easier to navigate? I am having to jump through hoops to moderate my Creative Connections- 5280 group.

What would you like LinkedIn to do for you? Do you want:

  • More prospects and leads for your company?
  • Credibility in your field?
  • Connect with like-minded people?
  • Affiliations with other leaders in your field?
  • Research your competition?

    Why does LinkedIn only want you to invite people you know to connect? Please comment and let us know what results you are getting with your LinkedIn profile.

Marketing: Know your referral partners

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Referral Partners

When networking, you aren’t just looking for clients. You also are strategically looking for referral and power partners. Networking to find one new client might put a deposit in the bank, but searching for one new referral or power partner might mean 100 check deposits in the bank. Where would you rather focus your efforts?

Power partners will also present repeat opportunities to serve each other. It definitely is beneficial to develop power partners to grow your business.

When someone offers you the opportunity to help, be specific about the professions and industries that are great partners for you. Think about professions and industries that share your same or adjacent target markets. For example, great power partners for a chiropractor might be massage therapists or  acupuncturists. Your networking will pay off by knowing and communicating with the right business connections to enhance your success in building your client list. Just recently I counted the number of clients I have because of Creative Connections. Great referrals are handed out there every month because of collaboration.

Strategy: Ask for introductions to everyone compatible with your business structure. Visit Marinerco.com

Marketing Networking: Be consistent in attendance at your perfect groups to find your future clients

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Carol Naff Marketing Consultant

This is the golden nugget of networking. If you take the advice offered in the other 17 networking tips and don’t heed this one, you will do more than you need to do.

Always remember to consistently attend networking events to reap the benefits of the group. Choose two or three groups where you want to get involved.  Nothing happens if you don’t show up. As a matter of fact, nothing happens if you don’t follow-up.

Choose your niche and find them. What networking events do they attend? Then become involved and active in that special networking event or organization. Choose only a few groups where your peeps are attending. If you don’t have time to follow-up with the people you meet, then you are attending too many events.

And make sure to affect others profoundly. Listen for what’s special or unique about a person and take a moment to point it out. You’ll affect them positively with very little effort on your part. But do remember to be authentic.

New people are at every meeting. Develop those relationships with people who are there regularly and start relationships with the new people. The up side is that getting out there and meeting new people gets easier with each one you attend. It actually becomes quite enjoyable to connect with others and you will start to look forward to each one. It will enrich not only your professional life, but your personal life as well. As my client, Anne Randolph, said, “Networking is now fun and so much more effective when I apply the techniques Carol taught me. I’m getting more clients and I’m not ‘selling’.”  See Anne here

You can learn how to make the most of every networking event if you use these tips. These powerful tips raise your level of success and assure productive use of your time in building business partners through networking.

Strategy: Don’t be afraid to volunteer in helping to organize an event. Get involved and give as much as you can. The experience will give you a lot of insight into how you can help other businesses. It will be a win-win situation. At the same time, build relationships.

So take a deep breath, open your heart, and go out there and start connecting. You’ll be glad you did!  Know your niche and whom you want to meet. Learn more networking strategies at Carolnaff.me. When it comes to networking, choose only a few places to network. Never miss a chance to market your business to each and every person you contact. Then be sure to include your ideas in a quick enewsletter to people you meet to stay in touch. Constant Contact is very reliable and a good resource. In addition, as a Constant Contact Certified Expert, I’ll help you set up your template to get started quickly. Use this link to get started at Constant Contact. Just send an email or call me at 303.337.4394 to take advantage of this offer.

More business building tips at solobizmarketing.com.

 

Marketing Networking: Your marketing won’t work without referral partners

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Your marketing won’t work without referral partners. Choose them wisely. Know your niche and identify your best clients.

Marketing Coach Carol Naff

Referral Partners

Why spend years figuring out where to network, what to say, and how to get tons of referrals without wasting tons of time, when you can take the short cut to success using these strategies? Don’t be disappointed again.

Implement awesome tips from Mariner Company

When networking, you aren’t just looking for clients. You also strategically are looking for referral and power partners. Networking to find one new client might put just one deposit in the bank, but searching for one new referral or power partner might mean 100 check deposits in the bank. Where would you rather focus your efforts?

Power partners will also present repeat opportunities to serve each other. It definitely is beneficial to develop power partners to grow your business.

When someone offers you the opportunity to help, be specific about the professions and industries that are great partners for you. Think about professions and industries that share your same or adjacent target markets. For example, great power partners for a chiropractor might be acupuncturists or massage therapists. Just recently I met with a realtor, mortgage broker, interior designer, organizer, and home preservation specialists. What a fabulous group to refer to each other as they support each other.

Your networking will pay off abundantly knowing and communicating with the right business connections to enhance your success in building your client list.

Strategy: Ask for introductions to everyone compatible with your business goals. Know your niche and whom you want to meet. Learn more networking strategies at Carolnaff.me. When it comes to business, never miss a chance to market your business to each and every person you contact. Then be sure to include your ideas in a quick enewsletter to people you meet to stay in touch. Constant Contact is very reliable and a good resource. In addition, as a Constant Contact Certified Expert, I’ll help you set up your template to get started quickly. Use this link to get started at Constant Contact. Just send an email or call me at 303.337.4394 to take advantage of this offer.

Marketing Networking: Content marketing works like a charm

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Marketing Coach Carol Naff

Build relationships and stay in touch with everyone

Consistently publish an enewsletter to stay in touch with your network. Writing an enewsletter is an easy way to regularly keep in contact, stay in touch, and build relationships with clients and people you meet at networking events. This is an inexpensive and effective way to become slightly famous. The people on your list will remember you and you will remember their names since you track your opens. You will see their names when you monitor your successes.

This networking strategy is only successful when you inform, entertain, and compel clients to act without actually telling them to take steps. Make sure you are giving valuable information to help your audience. What is your expertise? What do your ideal clients want to know? My newest client met me in 2008 and we consistently stayed in touch through my enewsletter. By sending an enewsletter, she was able to find me after all these years. I am able to give enough business building tips to be recognized as an expert.

Make your enewsletter valuable. Then include a call to action, mention a bargain, offer a discount, or include an invitation to an event.

Constant Contact is an excellent resource offering many benefits. As a certified Constant Contact Business Partner, I’m able to help you set up your account and shorten your learning curve to get your enewsletter out quickly. Register at Constant Contact. As always, your first 60 days are free and it will give you time to actually see positive results in your client response.

Strategy: Help everyone you meet remember you by following up with an enewsletter and creating a relationship. When it comes to business, never miss a chance to market your business to each and every person you contact. Then be sure to include your ideas in a quick enewsletter to people you meet to stay in touch. Constant Contact is very reliable and a good resource. In addition, as a Constant Contact Certified Expert, I’ll help you set up your template to get started quickly. Use this link to get started at Constant Contact. Just send an email or call me at 303.337.4394 to take advantage of this offer.

Networking marketing: The most consistent opportunity for marketing your business

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Marketing networking email signature

Connect with a great email signature

Promote something, extend an invitation, or make an offer. You are missing a great opportunity when you are not using your email signature as a marketing tool. It is important to include a call to action. A well-designed email signature will make a huge impression with current and future clients and stand out among other messages in an inbox.

Use it to continue the relationship in your networking. Your email signature should be dynamic and informative when you follow-up with people you meet at networking events. Tell them who you are and what you do. Make it easy for them to contact you. Include a number of ways for readers to contact you. It is very important to always include your phone number so they don’t need to hunt around for it. It is also a great way to drive traffic to your websites and blogs.

Then include any events, special offers, or new services and products with links on how to take advantage of them. Use professional email signatures to increase social media followers and add advanced personalizing features that render even on smart phones and web mailboxes nicely.

Help them remember you by following up and creating a relationship.  When it comes to business, never miss a chance to market your business to each and every person you contact. More business building tips at solobizmarketing.com.

Marketing networking: Use no-cost Internet marketing strategies to build your brand

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Marketing Coach Carol Naff

It all starts with you. Write to Build Your Brand and Share your Knowledge

Start by writing an article. Choose a topic to communicate your brand with content that is valuable. What are your areas of expertise? How do you want to be known? Let your authentic image show.

It isn’t enough to build your brand if you only write for your blog or your enewsletter. You can optimize your writing and use no-cost marketing strategies to repurpose those articles. Use them to spread the word to enhance your presence in the marketplace. Repurpose everything you write to spread the word far and wide. These are some ideas of where to maximize your writing:

  • post them on your blog
  • post it on websites like ezinearticles.com.
  • send the article to your network in your enewsletter with links to the article and your website
  • post them on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter and again, include links to your website and blog
  • mention your article when networking and offer to send it to them
  • use your article as a handout when speaking or offer to send it to them

Write it once and use it to build your brand. Spread the word to attract an audience and drive traffic to your business.  People need to see your material constantly to keep a memory of you fresh in their minds. You will create high visibility with these written reminders so your audience won’t forget the value of your content and how beneficial it is to them. Articles I wrote for 9News about Career Searches are posted on MarinerCo.com to benefit job seekers.

Marketing Networking: Follow up with everyone

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Marketing: Follow up with people

Marketing Coach Carol Naff

Spread the word around the globe

Even though you will meet many people who are not good prospects for your business, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow-up with them.

Each person probably knows 250 other people who might be in need of your services. Remember, every person knows at least 50 other people, who know another 50 people, who know another 50 people…etc.

Get your name out there and let other people spread your message. And you do the same for them. Help each other drive traffic to events and websites.

Kathie Seedroff posted this comment on FB when she read this blog: “I was especially reminded of how important your advice (below) is when I received two consults this month. One was with a woman I worked with back in 2006 and another with a new client who said she’s been reading my “Feng Shui Fridays” for four years since she met me at a networking event.

“Follow Carol’s advice even if it takes four years for people to eventually use the benefits you provide: “The good news is that eventually the benefits you provide will someday be a priority. Something in your potential client’s life will change. Or they will refer someone to you who would benefit from your services. If you haven’t kept in contact with them and followed up, they’ll find someone else to help them reach their goals. When you have called, cared, followed up, and if you’ve let this system work its magic, you’ll be the one waiting in the wings to work with them.”

Thanks, Carol.
Kathie Seedroff, http://www.simplifiedinteriors.com
Author “Hey! It’s Feng Shui Friday” and blogger of “Feng Shui Fridays”

Register for my enewsletter, Business Building Tips at MarinerCo.com

Invite them to something — anything

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Carol Naff Marketing Coach

Golden Nugget for Networking

Identify people you would like to get to know better. Then, always invite them to something. Invite them to a class you are offering, another networking opportunity, or a chance to meet for coffee. (As a marketing consultant specializing in working with creatives, I’ll often invite creatives to Creative Connections Meetup.com/creative-connections).

This gives you another chance to stay in touch. Remember, it takes 7 to 12 touches for them to hire you. Keep moving the relationship forward.

The good news is that eventually the benefits you provide will someday be a priority. Something in your potential client’s life will change. Or they will refer someone to you who would benefit from your services. If you haven’t kept in contact with them and followed up, they’ll find someone else to help them reach their goals. When you have called, cared, followed up, and if you’ve let this system work its magic, you’ll be the one waiting in the wings to work with them.

These golden nuggets of networking tips will raise your level of success and assure productive use of your time in building business partners through networking.