Networking Basics

You made the decision to add networking into your marketing mix. Congratulations! You have taken the first step towards increasing your amount of referrals. Now what? When I first started building my network I just showed up. I showed up at as many different events as I could find. I shook hands, I gave out cards, and I followed up. The referrals did not come pouring in like I had hoped. So I started questioning why. Why wasn’t I swimming in a sea of endless referrals? I was there, I met people, but no one was sending me business. It was time to reevaluate my approach. In doing so I learned several tips, tactics, and ideas not only to be memorable but also to have those memories be favorable. There were a few ground rules that I laid out for myself to follow and it has increased my networking success tenfold.

1) Be yourself. It is important that you be genuine and honest. People do business with those they know, like, and trust. If you are not being yourself, people will not trust you. Most sales people will be able to tell if you are being fake and it will end any chance of doing business with them.
2) Get them talking about themselves. People LOVE to talk about themselves. I attended a networking event once and met a nice gentleman with whom I practiced this technique. Out of our 30 minute conversation, I maybe talked for 5 of them. I later heard from a mutual friend, how the gentleman thought I was an excellent conversationalist. Conversationalist? I didn’t even talk! But by being a good listener, not only did I learn much about him, but he began to like me and we still do business to this day.
3) Be prepared. There is a quote in one of my associates’ offices that reads “Preparation makes the dull man bright and the bright man brilliant.” Being prepared means having plenty of business cards, having your elevator speech flawless, and knowing ahead of time what your goals are for the networking event. Also, it is important to dress appropriately for the venue you are attending.
4) Connect people. One of the main things I try to do at any networking event is to bring people together. If you are at an event and you happen to know two people who may be able to benefit each other, introduce them. They will both appreciate it and will in time return the favor. It also makes it appear to both of them that you are well connected, another reason they want to be in your network.
5) Follow up. This is one of the cardinal rules of networking. Going to an event and getting 50 business cards is useless unless you do something with the cards. Call them up and see if you can get together 1 on 1 to learn more about each other and your businesses to see if there is the possibility of working together or referring business.

These are just a few of the unwritten laws of successful networking. Networking takes time to develop. Be patient. Show up. And grow your business.

Tips for Building Your Referral Business

On the eve of our second networking happy hour I decided to Google "business referral" to see if there is a secret to cultivating a network of endless referrals. There isn't. Nothing will take the place of meeting people, telling them what you do, and genuinely caring about what they do. Building relationships takes time. There is no shortcut, secret, or magic formula. Napoleon Hill wrote "It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed." This is one of the best quotes regarding networking I have ever read. And this was written many many years before the buzz word "networking" existed. Since there is no secret to building your referral business... I was able to find, however, some tips from SCORE on building your referral business. They are very applicable and easy to implement. I hope you put them to best use.

Our Business Networking Happy Hour is Friday, October 3rd at 5pm at Saba in Boca Raton. For more info or to RSVP call Mike at 954-918-1189 or email Mike@sfbusinessbuilders.com.

To Your Success,


Mike Kneuer


5 Tips for Building Your Referral Business

1. Referrals always begin with providing your current customers with prompt, reliable, quality service. They’ll be happy to spread the word on your behalf—often without you having to ask.

2. Ask your current customers if they know of any colleagues who are looking for the kind of service you provide. Follow up with a call or letter to those businesses. Make sure you get your customer’s permission to cite them as a referral source.

3. If a customer compliments you on your work, ask them to put it in writing for use as a testimonial in your marketing materials. Again, make sure you have their permission to use their name for that purpose.

4. Always acknowledge a customer’s referral with a thank-you note or phone call. If you send a card, consider including a coupon to popular restaurant or discount on a future purchase.

5. Many retail and service businesses lend themselves well to formal referral incentive programs with cash, gifts, or discounts. Make sure these “rewards” fit in your budget, and that you have clear rules and guidelines (e.g., only one referral reward per customer during a defined period).

Brought to you by SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business."

Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues

Ben Franklin's 13 virtues are great guiding principles on the path to success.
The eight personal virtues relate to your attitudes toward activities and their challenges. Good personal character traits will better your chances of success in achieving your goals.

Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Order: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

Moderation: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

Industry: Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.

Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

Social

These five social virtues that Franklin stated concern your attitudes toward people with whom you have dealings. Good social character traits result in other people wanting to do business with you or to have relationships with you.

Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

I hope these virtues help you on your path to success.

Our next Happy Hour is October 3rd at Saba in Boca Raton. www.SFBusinessbuilders.com

7 Habits of Business Success

7 Habits of Business Success

By Darrell Zahorsky, About.com

The elusive dream of business success captures the imagination of aspiring and existing business owners everywhere. A vision of flowing profits, industry respect, thrilled customers, and a balanced life. This vision is only possible by developing habits that drive business success. Take the time to learn the 7 habits of business success.

The 7 Habits of Business Success

Habit 1. Cultivate Inner Networks: Entrepreneurs practicing the art of business success know the power of networks. They take the time to identify and build relationships with key peers, mentors, and advisors. This inner network provides support, direction, and an increased number of people to assist. Having an inner network of five people who have a network of five more, grows the network exponentially.

Habit 2. Customer Centric: Business success requires an unwavering commitment to the customer. This commitment encompasses a mindset of understanding the customers' world. Understanding the customers wants and needs provides the business with a greater opportunity to earn a loyal customer base. Focus away from business and profits, and toward what you can do to improve the life of your customers.

Habit 3. Humble Honesty: Business success requires the ability to know your strengths and weaknesses. Being open and honest about yourself and your business creates growth as an individual and as a company. Don't spend time developing weaknesses. Find help for weak areas, enabling you to focus on strengths. In the book, "Now, Discover Your Strengths", Gallup Organization reveals that building our strengths instead of fixing our weakness is the path to mastery and success. Take the time to know yourself and business.

Habit 4. Adaptability: Business success requires the ability to adapt to changing situations. Nothing ever goes as planned. The world of business is full of surprises and unforeseen events. Using the habit of adaptability allows business owners to respond to circumstances with the ability to change course and act without complete information. Being flexible allows us to respond to changes without being paralyzed with fear and uncertainty.

Habit 5. Opportunity Focused: Problems are a regular part of business life. Staff issues, customer misunderstandings, cash crunches- the list is endless. To achieve business success, look at both sides of the coin. Every problem has an opportunity. Being opportunity focused makes the game of business fun and energizing.

Habit 6. Finding A Better Way: Productivity is the cornerstone of business success. Formulate the habit of finding a better way to make your business more productive. This will create more time to focus on the critical issues that drive sales and profit. Productivity can be enhanced by technology, automation, outsourcing, and improving business processes.

Habit 7. Balanced Lifestyle Management: A business can consume an owner's time and energy. It's easy to allow the business to take control of your life. Business success requires the habit of balancing all aspects of your life. Separating time for daily business tasks, profit driven tasks, and free time is a habit that will make your business and life more enjoyable. Take the time to plan each week.

Learning and instilling new habits in your daily business life can have a dramatic effect on your level of success. Review each of the 7 habits. Choose one habit to focus on for a month or until you achieve mastery. Gradually incorporate each of the 7 habits of business success into your life and attain your business dreams.

Hurricane Faye

I'm not sure if Faye is going to be a factor or not but we are going to postpone this weeks meetings to the same time next week.

Boca East- August 28th 2008 @ 12 Noon

JB's on the Beach- Deerfield Beach

Boca West- August 27th 2008 @ 1pm

Sushi Masa Japanese Steakhouse

We look forward to seeing you there!

Latest News

This past Wednesday we had our first meeting of the Boca Raton West Lunch Chapter of the South Florida Business Builders. It was a great time and I'd like to thank those who came out to grow their business! We have a great group of professionals who are like minded and success oriented and all understand the importance and power of networking.

Thursday was our second meeting for the Boca Raton East Lunch Chapter. After a minor scheduling conflict with Pranzo management, we moved our meeting next door to Max's Grille. We had the opportunity to learn more about Ken and Diane's businesses and gained some valuable insight into their business and motivations. Thank you both for sharing with us!

Our next meetings are:
Boca West- Wednesday 8/20 at Sushi Masa Japanese Steakhouse
Boca East- Thursday 8/21 at JB's on the Beach

Go to our Networking Events page for info on joining us for lunch.

I am currently putting together a Happy Hour for August 29th. Stay tuned for details!

Have a great and successful week!

-Mike

Upcoming Events!

Join us for our next meeting of the South Florida Business Builders. The next meetings are August 6th at 1pm at Nino's Italian Restaurant in West Boca and August 7th at 12pm at Pranzo in Mizner Park. Our bi-weekly lunch meetings will provide you with a focused marketing resource to reach out to potential clients and networks. The leveraged personal/professional networks of 20 members is far more effective than making cold calls! It's far more enjoyable than making cold calls too! This system also allows you to reach far more prospects than even just the professionals and contacts they give you because each of those contacts probably has 10 friends that could use your services. It's the 6th degree of business separation! Put it to work for you! We look forward to meeting with you!