The Art of Networking

Posted: January 27, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Business Plan, Business Vision, Networking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

networking-meeting-of-bus-007Successful business owners will tell you networking is a key component to being prosperous and having influence. The art of crafting powerful and mutually beneficial relationships can do wonders for your career and your business. Like any other form of art, time and practice can help you master your skills. I’d like to share with you some things to keep in mind while you’re working to grow your network:

Invest In Your Relationships

Building social capital (a network of personal and professional relationships – nothing to do with money!) is one of the key assets in your portfolio. Your network will help you connect with influencers and build your personal professional brand. Network strategically and you will find your professional world rich with opportunity.

Network Proactively

Being proactive and staying connected is imperative. Having a network you can tap into is highly valuable, and provides an advantage by supporting you with a collection of smart and powerful people. Being active on LinkedIn and attending business events, such as the TAB 2015 Kick-Off event held by TAB Ontario earlier this month, are easy ways to meet new people.

Be Strategic

Do more than exchange business cards! Rather than focusing on meeting everyone in the room, be intentioned and find one (or a few people) to create solid relationships with. These people will help support your business goals, while you help support them with theirs.

Identify whom you already know and whom you need to know, to help you build a powerful network and reach your business goals.

Create Diversity in Your Network

May I suggest stepping out of your comfort zone? Moving away from your comfort zone will help you separate those who can help you build your business from the people you just like to be around.

Leverage Relationships and Pay It Forward

Focus on the business relationships that really matter – mutually beneficial partnerships.

The right people have power and influence. Identify and develop a relationship with the right people, then build trust in your relationship. Paying it forward comes into play when you are willing to ask others for assistance, and provide some help when others need it.

To Be Successful, Surround Yourself With Success

As Jim Rohn once said, “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Think about it – you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. That means others assist in determining how you think, act, and ultimately, how successful you could be.

Look around and ask yourself, “Who do I spend the most time with?” Picture your friends, family, coworkers, mentors…etc. Have they reached the goals they’ve intended to?

Find others with focus and determination, and feed off their enthusiasm and passion.

What has your biggest networking challenge been? Share your experiences with me in the comment section, and stay tuned for the next blog where I will share networking tactics to help your network grow.  

Five Tips to Making This Year More Profitable

Posted: January 13, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Business Plan, Business Vision, Customer Service, Goal-Setting, Leadership | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Speaker 2Have customers stopped caring or is there little for them to care about?  How can your business continue to thrive in this increasingly confused marketplace?

As business owners, we all ask ourselves these questions, so to kick off the new 2015 business year, we invited a business speaker, Curt Skene, to present to over 100 business owners across Ontario and try to provide some concrete answers to these key questions.

The actual presentation was called Insights for Attracting and Sustaining Profitable Business, and I’d like to share with you my learnings and top five tips on how to make 2015 your best year ever:

  1. Know Everything About Your Customer: Sometimes we don’t ask our customers questions, and sometimes we don’t ask them the right questions. We all know customers are 100% of our business, so make sure you understand them better by asking them thoughtful questions about their business and then turning that into an opportunity to align yourself with their business.
  2. Provide a Solution Not a Service: Think about what problem your business solves for your customer. If you are an RMT, are you trying to reduce stress or relax muscles…or both? What exactly is the solution you offer and start thinking in those terms when describing your business. It needs to be a value-based solution.
  3. Create a WOW in Your Business: Do you know what creates a WOW for your customer? If you don’t, find out by asking them. Your customers chose you when there are so many other companies bidding for their attention. Why? Find out and then leverage it in your marketing strategy.
  4. Have a Hero: It may seem trite, but these days more than ever, we all need to have a hero, a mentor, someone alive or not, to whom we can align our own thoughts and values. A good example was Mayor Rudy Giuliani who when faced with the atrocities of September 11th, recalled his hero Sir Winston Churchill for guidance and strength to help him manage this crisis.
  5. Leverage Your Network Better: We all know hundreds of people and thanks to social media networks, we all know far more than we think we know. Take the time to tap in to your networks, family, friends and social media, to see who you know and how you can “connect”.

While growing your business is important, it will never grow if we don’t take the time to focus on who you are and who your customers are. Sometimes this means conducting market research, but the more you know, the more you can grow!

How well do you think you know your customers? When was that last time you surveyed your customers (and not with a printed or electronic survey)? Do you think of your business as helping your customers? If not, then why not? Let me know in the comment section below.