Today’s feature article has been guest authored by fellow Sales Coach and contact of Vanessa’s, Adrian Miller. In it she tackles the issue of dropping the ball while networking. Our clients and seminar delegates will know that here at Zee2A we use the analogy of a relay race and talk of ‘dropping the baton.’ The principles are exactly the same.

For more top tips on getting the most from your networking why not take a look at our best selling Performance Tuned Networking ‘Seminar-in-a-Box’. It contains over three hours of powerful instruction you can work through at your own pace, and really start ramping up your results in this area!

Don’t Drop the Networking Ball!

(Guest authored by Adrian Miller)

Dropping the ball in the game of networking is akin to not catching a fly ball in baseball. Others are counting on you to successfully execute the play and keep the game going. Let the ball drop too many times, and you’ll be booted off of the team.

Networking is entirely about follow through. Just like in baseball, a networking introduction is like a spectacular ball that is heading right for you. You need to keep your eye on it and reach out if you’re going to make the most of the opportunity.

Too often, individuals get busy and forget to make contact with leads that were given to them or don’t follow up with the individuals who facilitated the introductions. Both slip ups are grievous errors in the realm of networking and can really tick off those who have put time and energy into helping you. If you’re guilty of lack of networking follow up and follow through, don’t be surprised if you’re given the “three strikes and you’re out” treatment from your colleagues and acquaintances. No one is going to continue to help someone who isn’t appreciative.

Don’t let yourself be demoted to the minor leagues of networking. Follow these tips and stay in the game:

Say Thank You

As soon as you obtain a lead from someone who has facilitated an introduction, thank them! Don’t wait for a week to go by, and don’t blow it off as something of little importance. A networking lead is a gift, so be gracious even if you don’t think it’s going to amount to a new business opportunity. Write a hand-written note or offer to take them to lunch. Don’t just send a lame, half-hearted thank you email. Remember, no one is going to go out of their way for you if you’re not enthusiastic in your response!

Keep Organized

Use a system for keeping track of your leads and who has provided them to you. Don’t let the information get buried in your email or on your desk.

Follow Up Promptly with the Lead

Develop a rule for yourself for the maximum amount of time you will take to contact a new lead. Ideally, it shouldn’t take you longer than 24 hours to make that first contact.

Follow Up Promptly with the Facilitator

Your work is not done once you’ve had that initial conversation. Now, you need to contact the person who facilitated the lead and give them an update. This step is frequently forgotten but vitally important to maintaining good networking relationships.

Reciprocate

Networking is not just about you receiving new contacts. It’s also about you reciprocating the favors bestowed upon you. Be generous about helping others, making introductions, and offering assistance whenever you have the chance.

©Adrian Miller. Adrian Miller is a sales trainer, consultant, speaker and author. She launched her firm Adrian Miller Sales Training 21 years ago and works in a vast diversity of industries providing real world solutions for real world situations, on-site and through webinars and teleclasses. She recently started Adrian’s Network, a virtual business networking community that is gaining new members every day. Adrian can be reached here.

Many networkers focus on quantity rather than quality in their connections in the hopes that maybe someday someone in their network will know someone who knows someone who needs what they offer.

Please take a moment to view this brief video of Seth Godin discussing fake networking vs having a real connection with your contacts.  It’s short, sweet, and to the point.

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Joyce Turton sent us an email asking “It would be interesting to have your views on how to identify ‘good networks.’ A common complaint I hear, especially locally, is that ‘Everyone’s selling and Nobody’s buying’ – which predated the credit crunch. Any thoughts on this? Could it be faulty networking techniques en masse in Surrey/Hants?”

Many of our readers and clients often ask us about where and how to network effectively. It’s important to always bear the following three keys in mind, as a start:

• 1. Fish in the right pond. You need to be doing your networking where your prospects are. It’s of little value to spend many hours (and many £££) on networking events that provide you with lots of low value connections. You need to be thinking quality not quantity.
• 2. You need to be an active, visible member of any group (or groups) that you belong to, so don’t spread yourself too thinly.
• 3. If you keep doing the same things, you will keep getting the same results, so you need to frequently evaluate your networking and the results you are getting from it. Sometimes hard decisions need to be made.

The above pointers are expanded upon significantly in the feature article ‘Are You Fishing in the Wrong Pond?’ first published in the Marketing Edge back in April last year ,  so please have a read through it in full by clicking here.

Regarding your point that ‘Everyone’s selling and Nobody’s buying’…

Don’t lose too much sleep over the fact that most networkers are there to sell – after all, you are there to sell! Why shouldn’t the people you meet have a similar objective? But ask yourself this question about most of the people you meet at your next networking event:

‘If they were buying – would their need match my product/ service offering?’ (Evaluate their personality, the size of their business, their industry, and any other relevant demographics. Be ruthless – your time is too precious to waste on long shots. And remember that if your product/service can solve everybody’s problems, you haven’t defined your market well enough.)

If you answer no to the aforementioned question, you have identified the problem. Don’t bother to go back.

However, if you answer yes then you are networking in the right place. Now your challenge is to get the attention of your prospect – they are, after all, there to sell, not buy. You have to find a way to shift their attention to something they need, and need badly enough to stop selling for a while and go into buying mode.

Joyce, you will also benefit tremendously from the content in our Performance Tuned Networking Seminar-in-a-Box.

Thank you for your question,

36 49 Guests representing the following industries:

•      Law

•      Accounting & Bookkeeping

•      Web Development & Graphic Design

•      Human Resources

•      Training & Coaching

•      Business Brokers & Advocates; among others

have already confirmed their attendance at our VIP Reception at Business South on 4^th March 2009

Grab one of the remaining 14 2 free tickets at www.zee2a.com/vip2009 while you still can!

The wait is over!

Over the last few weeks we’ve been dropping hints that we are once again hosting a VIP Reception for invited guests at Business South 2009 on Wednesday 4^th March. This is now your exclusive invitation to join us there!

Where:  Business South 2009 Show, St Mary’s Stadium, Britannia Road,

                     Southampton SO14 5FP.

When: Wednesday 4^th March

Time: 3:30pm (but doors open at 10:00)

Cost: No Charge

What do VIP guests get?

· free entry to the show

· free VIP Parking

· free drinks and canapés

· Ample opportunity to network with other guests; and

· A high impact, condensed training session that will appeal to small business executives, delivered by our very own Marketing Director Vanessa.

Full information about the event is on this private access webpage.

If you would like to attend the reception please RSVP by completing the registration boxes at the above webpage ASAP but before the deadline of Friday 13 February. We can only accommodate 50 guests at this event, and tickets will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

Hope to see you there!

Is it possible to stop doing so much networking and yet make more sales with higher profits?

Sound crazy?

Read the feature article in the week’s Marketing Edge eZine due out first thing on Wednesday morning.

Not a subscriber yet?

Sign up at: www.zee2a.com and grab a host of free marketing resources at the same time.

Your email details will NEVER be shared, sold or compromised. View our full privacy policy.

How to get Great Response to Your Marketing Efforts?
Have a Great Call-to-Action!

The current election race in the USA has given rise to a lot of comparisons between the public-speaking styles of the various candidates in either party – not that deep analysis of potential presidential candidates is anything new! Perhaps one of the most powerful sound bites of any election race was a self-effacing comparison made by Adlai Stevenson between himself and John F Kennedy during the election campaign in 1960. Stevenson invoked the memories of two great orators of the Greek and Roman eras when he said: “When Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke’, but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they said, ‘Let us march’.”

Of course, JFK was an outstanding orator, but then so was Stevenson (by reputation, at least – I have never heard a recording of him). So what made the difference between the two in terms of their ability to inspire action? One commentator, in discussing Stevenson, put it this way: “His speeches were isolated works of art rather than stations on a line along which he wished to travel.” So, in my own words I’d say that when Stevenson spoke he enjoyed the moment, but when JFK spoke he never forgot that he was trying to get people to vote for him!

What on earth does all of this have to do with marketing? It’s quite simple really: We must never forget while marketing that we are trying to get people to do business with us! If we do, we might leave a room full of people thinking: ‘How well he spoke’ and then turning to other things. Has that ever happened to you? It certainly has to me! I’m going to take this opportunity to share a story with you that was related by a friend and colleague, and I choose his experience rather than my own for two reasons: Firstly, he is a consummate professional whom I would never have imagined capable of such a blunder (where my own are depressingly regular) and secondly, because the circumstances make it all the more painful and therefore memorable. So, to the story!

My colleague is a Life-Coach who specialises in working with actors and the like, and is good enough to have been invited to address a group of three hundred recent and past graduates at Giulliard (the premier school of acting in the world, in case you haven’t heard of it). By his own accounting, my colleague gave a ‘kick-ass’ presentation extolling the virtues of working with a coach and the resultant benefits for the career and life of the coachee. When he had finished, he wrapped up by saying something like: ‘There are a pile of my business cards on the table by the door. If you’re interested, take one and call me.’ Guess how many calls he got? Yup – zero! Now I’ve seen this person speak – and he has a rare gift – so it wasn’t because he didn’t speak well. It was because for a crucial moment he lost sight of the fact that he was trying to get people to do business with him.

So what should he have done? What should you and I be doing each and every time we talk to a prospect, either one-on-one or as a group? Simply this: Take them by the hand and lead them to the next station on the line which leads to a sale.

Let’s illustrate: You’ve met a potential client at a networking event and in a few minutes of conversation you’ve determined that there is a potential fit for your services. You may try giving the prospect your card and suggesting they call you, but what is your likelihood of receiving that call? As an alternative, why not ask for their card and call them? That’s better because you’re in control of the next action, but there is still room for improvement.

Why not try this next time you’re in that situation? ‘Sally, I sense that there is some opportunity for synergy in what we’ve discussed, don’t you agree?’ If they do, then you say: ‘May I have your business card? I’m going to send you an article that I wrote on that very subject. It will be in your Inbox by midday tomorrow.’ You now have a clear path for this prospect to the next step in your marketing process. (You DO have a marketing process, Right?!)

Of course, if this is a prospect you’re already familiar with and who you believe already has a level of trust in your credibility, you may feel that sending an article is insufficient progress. So you could carry on with: ‘Do you have your diary handy? I’d like to buy you a coffee and explore this area of opportunity further. How does 10 o’clock Thursday work for you?’ Wow! An appointment for a sales call! That was too easy!

You may be saying: ‘I couldn’t do that! It would be an imposition!’ Would it really? Why do you think that prospect came to that event? Why did they share their situation with you and then give you their card, if it wasn’t because they were looking for help addressing their issue? Another colleague put it this way (he’s Australian and doesn’t mince words!): ‘Most people are walking around with their umbilical cord in their hand, looking for a place to plug it in.’ A graphic image – but ultimately an accurate one. So you would be doing both yourself and your prospect a disservice if you didn’t make sure they got plugged-in to your value-adding services as soon as possible!

But it won’t happen unless you take them by the hand and say: ‘Let us march!‘

©David Deakin and Zee2A Limited 2008.

This article was first published in The Marketing Edge on 1 December 2007

Would you like to reprint this article? You may do so as long as you include the copyright notice and the following paragraph: David Deakin, CEO of Zee2A, is a marketing mentor who works with Professional services Executives yearning to take their business to the next level. Through one-on-one and group mentoring programmes he helps them to create sustainable marketing strategies that attract more clients at profitable rates. To learn more, sign up for his e-zine, or make an enquiry please visit www.zee2a.com.

Read more articles like this one!  Sign up for a free subscription to The Marketing Edge

Festive Season Parties: Ideal Opportunities to Network?
Seven Ways to Work That Room!

1. Arrive in good time. Slipping in just as the party is beginning is bad manners and gives other guests the wrong impression of you right from the offset. Most of all it also adds to your stress and anxiety (and you want to minimise that, right?). Plan to arrive 15 to 20 minutes earlier. This will give you time to catch your breath and gather your thoughts. You may even have a better opportunity of meeting the host and breaking the ice with them. Don’t be scared to tell them that you are keen to meet many others. You’ll be surprised at how relaxed you feel after telling someone that!
2. Be prepared for small talk. Have some interesting topics to talk about and share. If you regularly read the newspapers and other relevant industry journals you will keep in tune with current or local interest affairs and give you something interesting to contribute to the conversation.
3. Develop your “Verbal Signature™”. When somebody asks “So, what do you do?” this isn’t where you bore them to death with the entire contents of your C.V. Rather it is a brief synopsis or sound-bite of the kind of work you do and who you do it with. A good verbal signature will pique interest and move others to ask you for more information. (Why not download the free 20 minute audio training programme – and workbook – on developing your verbal signature. It’s available to all subscribers of The Marketing Edge!)
4. Share the attention. As much as you like talking about you and what you do, you will be far more effective if you take turns both talking and listening. Allow others to tell you about themselves and what they do. Ask open questions and actively listen. It also gives you the opportunity to clarify whether this is someone with whom you want to explore business opportunities further.
5. Move around and meet people. Your main purpose should be to meet and interact with lots of new people. If you arrive with a colleague don’t hide in their shadow. If they are talking with people you aren’t familiar with, get introduced, otherwise move around the room and talk to others. Likewise don’t get stuck for the entire event talking with the same person. Tactfully mention that you would like to continue circulating and meeting people. You could even ask them to join you as you circulate. If they present an opportunity that you would like to explore further, set up an appointment immediately and then move on.
6. Follow up. This is the number one area where so many folks fail – they just don’t have an efficient follow-up system in place. It only takes a moment to make a call or send an email to say how much you enjoyed meeting. If you promised to call, then call. Not within a month. Not within a week. Do it the next day. If you made any promises then for goodness sake make good on them.
7. Build bridges, don’t burn them. Perhaps you spoke to a number of people with whom you don’t see an immediate business benefit. The event was still fun wasn’t it? Nurture those new contact and build a relationship (that is the greatest point of networking, isn’t it?). Keep in touch. Down the line you may have just the product or service they need. Or you land up needing them. They may even refer you to others in their wider network that are looking for exactly what you offer.

These tips are an edited extract from my e-book ‘Knock Their Socks Off Networking’ available to purchase in my online store.

©Vanessa Deakin and Zee2A Limited 2008. Would you like to reprint this article? You may do so as long as you include the copyright notice and the following paragraph: Vanessa Deakin works with Professional Service Executives frustrated and disappointed with their current growth rates, marketing efforts, and business profitability. Through one-on-one and group mentoring programmes she helps them to skyrocket their results and break their own best records. To learn more, sign up for her e-zine, or make an enquiry please visit our website at www.zee2a.com.

Did you attend our VIP Reception at Business South earlier this year?

Did you read about it and see our photos and wish you could have been there?

Would you like to come next year?

We are currently in negotiations with the event organisers to host another VIP Reception at Business South 2009.  Our clients, Marketing Edge E-Zine subscribers, and our Marketing Edge Blog readers will be the first to be invited.

Watch this space!

2009 Event Details Now Available: Read More and RSVP to Attend FREE at: www.zee2a.com/vip2009

As you are aware, Executive A&E is taking place at Highfield Park TOMORROW, the 18th of November.

The panel of experts has been hard at work ploughing through Hot Seat applications and selecting participants that represent a cross-section of all attendees – so that everyone gets the greatest benefit from being there.

Look at some of the issues that will be addressed:
• New Business Start-ups
• Business Expansion Plans
• Franchising
• Online Marketing
• Creating Multiple Revenue Streams
• Work-Life Balance
• Image and Branding
• And much much more!

If you haven’t booked a seat yet – this really is your last opportunity. We only have *** THREE places left ***!!

Remember that added to the great morning of mentoring and coaching, you also have plenty of time for networking with local business people and a scrummy buffet lunch - all heavily sponsored so you only have to pay for your lunch!

Don’t miss out – Book your seat right away HERE