Why do you Network?

The dynamics of Networking is changing. The businesses that used to Nework to find new business are looking for more than this.
Nowadays, I am finding that they want to learn something specific to help their business grow. It might be tax related, or advice on marketing or a plethora of other things that as a group leader we have to source the information and pre-empt the thought process, continually striving to keep ahead.
For me this is where providing added value to the Membership comes in and is something that is continually worked on.

As a networker, what do you want to get out of a meeting for your money? What drives you to attend meetings? What makes a meeting complete for you?

C is for Conferences & Cold Calling

Conferences are a good way of promoting your business to your potential consumers and a way of you showing off your knowledge to them. It does not have to be a big, swanky affair as a short 2 hour session with networking before/after will be just as effective and could convey more information than an event that has been ‘padded out’ to fill a time slot.
Being a guest speaker at a Conference is a great profile builder that you can link to for future reference & to show to your potential consumer/client.

Cold Calling is like marmite, you either love it or you hate it, but sometimes it has to be done to increase your sales/awareness potential.
To do this effectively always make sure you are in the right frame of mind and do short, regular sessions. One good trick is to end on a high. So a sale or an invitation to send info is always a good place to stop (not the first one though!)
Know what you want to achieve before you pick up the phone, there is nothing worse than being bombarded with information and being expected to make a commitment. You can always return with alternative information at a later date.
You might just want to use the phone call to find out who is the right person to post information to or whom to e-mail and then build up to selling by phone at a later date when you have built your confidence. If you get the chance to sell though, do it, don’t waste the opportunity or your competitor might be the next caller and they will reap the benefits of being pro-active and on the ball.
If you commit to sending information/samples, do it or the only memory your potential client will have of your company is one that does not deliver, so make notes and refer back to them.

Out with the old and in with the new.

With a New Year fast approaching it is time to stand back and view business with a critical eye; it is something that I have done over the last few weeks and it has occassioned me to come up with some plans for next year. No vast changes in the way of operating but a few additions that will enhance the service that Members receive.
Networking Masterclasses will be run on an occassional basis in order that new members can themselves learn but also so that existing members can be sure that the new members know what is expected at a network meeting.
To help deliver the Business Link contract that we have received we will be holding a series of men only and ladies only meetings to see how business is different for the opposite sexes. What makes business tick for you? What pains are you going through? What help would you like and who do you think could provide it?
We shall also be holding a series of business focussed seminars to help with our Marketing and to promote word of mouth awareness and also to introduce you to the expertise of some of our members.

So, have you taken any steps to take a critical look at your business and what if anything will you be doing differently for 2010 ?

Networking Master Classes by The Rural Meeting Place

The Rural Meeting Place has added another product to its portfolio for its Members to access, the Networking Masterclass.
Over the last few months more people have started to network but have been unsure of how to go about the process to bring the best returns for their business, so we decided to help with an hours Masterclass before a network meeting. The first event proved to be a success and drew people together who had not networked before and who were apprehensive about the whole idea of networking.
We went through the process of the people who throw business cards around like confetti expecting them to stick somewhere and wondering why they get no business from an event and stop attending, to those that work the room naturally and carry with them a host of potential contacts for those they engage with by means of their own extended network.
The pleasing part of the Masterclass was when one of the attendees said 'Its all about relationships'
We also had the benefit of having a successful networker come along to tell people how he has made networking work for him and his Utilities Business.
The Masterclass is held before a regular network meeting and then gives people a chance to try out their new found skills at a live meeting whilst things are still fresh in their minds.
These events will now be held regularly so that new Members to the Rural Meeting Place can quickly start to discover how to market their business effectively through networking.

Developments on Twitter

Since I last blogged about Twitter things have developed quite quickly. Who would have thought that I would join forces with my Web Site designers to go on and do Seminars on using Twitter for business? I will talk about the benefits of this at a later date.
I find that having had success through this mode of Social Media I can confidently encourage others to use it as well. By success, I mean that businesses have signed up to www.theruralmeetingplace.com as members, others have come along to meetings and also I have been able to promote the products that I have available to a larger audience. Success in the means of a much increased profile and all for a short time each day.
Joining conversations on Twitter and learning about the people that you follow and who are following you is just a form of online networking. Some of what you say is interesting to some of your followers just as in the same way you are not always interested in what all the people you are following say all the time.
I find it very useful to tailor my Tweeting to the time of day I am online. Lets face it , at 11 o'clock on a saturday night are you going to take any notice of details of a networking meeting on wednesday lunch time? No, neither would I be, but, you might have a conversation about a TV program that was on or a book that I am reading.
Twitter is a good form of networking and is an arena where it pays to let your true personality shine through after all we all do business with people we like and whom we have interests in common.
Follow me on Twitter if you wish @carolermp say hello and mention that you saw the Blog.

Effective Tweeting

Last week I gave an over view of Twitter for Profile which I will take further in this Blog. After spending time viewing what was happening in the Twitterverse I decided to put some plans into action. I decided that I wanted to use it as a social and business tool for www.theruralmeetingplace.com
Initially I set about finding people in my catchment area to 'Follow' in the hope that some of them would follow me back to enable me to have an audience to speak to as well as to have an arena for conversation with the people and businesses that I was following.
To achieve this audience I set about viewing the followers of people whose Tweets I enjoyed and selecting those that I thought I would enjoy following. One quick click and the base of 'Followings' started to grow.
I found that there were some very interesting conversations happening and that people were posting some very relevant Links to articles, websites etc so as well as having some Social Discourse I was actually learning at the same time. When people started 'Following' me and responding to my Tweets that just increased the conversational possibilities which in turn increased the possibilities for me to highlight the role of The Rural Meeting Place. Some people are interested in joining, some in the Events that are listed in the Calendar and some in the Marketing opportunities that the site can offer and some were interested in chatting generally and becoming friends on a social level.
All in All this is a long term Marketing strategy for The Rural Meeting Place and the other accounts that I am setting up for other projects.
Next week I will discuss what I have achieved so far and how I did it.

Tweeting for profile

Recently I have discovered Twitter. This has been a revelation in the field of marketing and is used by many to promote their business as well as to socialise on line. Its another form of networking both online and offline. There are friendships made and regular Tweetups arranged in local areas where you can meet the people you are making friendships with.
Why should you want to Twitter? It is a free (apart from your time) form of marketing that makes you say in 140 characters what you want others to 'hear' and is a very good way of honing your spiel for your 60 second introduction at Network meetings.
Before Tweeting sit back and take a few moments to think what you want from this form of marketing. 'Follow' people and groups that interest you and are relevant to your business and to your interests.
Promote your offering and offer advice and knowledge to your fellow Twitterers.
Over the next few weeks I shall be letting you know about my travels on Twitter and imparting advice to you, following on from my trials.
To follow me on Twitter go to www.twitter.com/carolermp
Happy Twittering.

Collaborative working.

Often we find that we are not able to supply all of the skills for a client specification and perhaps turn down the opportunity of a piece of work. Look at Networking from another angle. When you have built relationships with people in your circle you also have the ability to call in all the extra skills you need to supply a complete package as well as opening the door for work to be passed your way from these contacts. Set up a Service Level Agreement with these businesses and achieve a win/win situation for all involved.
This makes another good reason to continue Networking and increasing your circle of contacts. Opportunities are all around us if we look outside of the box, however, sometimes it is too easy to walk away rather than think through the alternative approaches.

Monday Morning Musings.

What is Networking?
The Dictionary definition is :Using contacts made in business for purposes beyond the reason for the initial contact. For example, a sales representative may ask a customer for names of others who may be interested in his product.

In essence it is the art of talking to people with a view to making contacts or procuring business from a trusted source. It does not matter how we do this, a drink after work in the local, over the Internet on a host of reputable Networking sites or in person at a pre-arranged networking event, it all brings the same result of increased business and allegiances with other business contacts who can ‘sell’ your business amongst their contacts. Every business networks in one format or another to produce the same results of increasing business without realising that they are doing it, so, with a little structure added to the mixture, imagine the results that can be achieved.

Corporate Companies are now adding Network Membership fees into their Marketing budget, so it makes sense for the small business to do likewise. In particular, networking is effective for the sole trader, as it gives him/her the opportunity to meet people and to discuss points that they perhaps do not have the answer for, believe me this happens in the bigger Companies as well.

However, for the people who want to come away from a network meeting with a full order book on the first outing, it does not work that way. Perhaps for a printer or a florist this will work but for most businesses it is a matter of getting to know people, what they do and what they are like before the automatic referral process starts to take place.
Some people attend meetings for the simple process of being recognised, rather than to get work, so it varies business by business.

I have to ask the question, What do you get from networking?