Just read an really interesting post by Recruiterpoet called “Networking Needs Compassion” and loved the way he summed up the Rules of Networking…

Some approaches can be successful but one must always remember a few key principles of networking.

1.) It takes time. Networking is like a fine red wine. It takes time to age but when you finally open it, the rewards are bountiful.

2.) Networking needs compassion, trust, and respect. We will get into this further on in this article, but the bottom line is don’t be a selfish networker. You know who you are. You only reach out to people when you need something. You play the sales role well by shaking hands, taking cards and buying a drink or two but never follow up unless you need something. Bad, bad, bad networker.

3.) Diversify your network. Now I sound like Jim Cramer. Use a variety of means of networking including face to face, social media and internal corporate channels. Do not limit yourself, but also do not over extend yourself.

4.) Continue to evolve and grow. As your professional, personal, volunteer, publications, events, and other aspects of your life add to your life summary, update that information and ensure that all the individuals in your network are aware of how well you are developing and diversifying.

5.) Be cautious of hitchhikers. There is nothing wrong with aligning yourself with open networkers but be careful of their message and what they are trying to gain. Aligning yourself with the wrong individuals could have an adverse affect on your reputation.

6.) Be generous but be aware. Be generous with how your share your time and connections but do not over use your power. Your closest networking counterparts put a tremendous amount of trust in you and if you use them too much that is an abuse of the trust and it could damage a relationship.

Please follow this link to read the whole post…
Networking Needs Compassion « Recruiterpoet’s Blog.

Do you fancy yourself a good networking?  Please click comment and add your tips below!

I highly recommend that all entrepreneurs read Inc. Magazine’s post today which offers ten tips to make sure you do the job right. Find out how you rate? Read How to Manage a One-Person Sales Force now.

I love Reading Seth Godin’s blog and look forward to reading it each day. Yesterday’s post was called…

What’s expected vs. what’s amazing

I visited a favorite restaurant last week, a place that, alas, I hadn’t been to in months. The waiter remembered that I don’t like cilantro. Unasked, she brought it up. Incredible. This was uncalled for, unnecessary and totally delightful.

Scott Adams writes about the cyborg tool that is coming momentarily, a device that will remember names, find connections, bring all sorts of external data to us the moment we meet someone. “Oh, Bob, sure, that’s the guy who’s friends with Tracy… and Tim just tweeted about him a few minutes ago.”

The first time someone does this to you in conversation (no matter how subtly), you’re going to be blown away and flabbergasted. The tenth time, it’ll be ordinary, and the 20th, boring.

Hotels used to get a lot of mileage out of remembering what you liked, but it was merely a database trick, not emotional labor on the part of the staff.

Today, if you go to an important meeting and the other people haven’t bothered to Google you and your company, it’s practically an offense. We’re about to spend an hour together and you couldn’t be bothered to look me up? It’s expected, no longer amazing.

 On the other hand, consider Dolores, a clerk with kidney problems at a 7 Eleven, who broke all sorts of coffee sales records because she remembered the name of every customer who came in every morning. Unexpected and amazing.

You can raise the bar or you can wait for others to raise it, but it’s getting raised regardless.

If you like this post, you’ll love the others Seth writes daily on Seth Godin’s blog

Consider becoming a Certified Consoachant and help your clients double, triple or even quadruple sales results!   The Essential Message Certification Program was designed by Michel Neray (pictured inset) to help coaches, consultants and copywriters discover brilliance and help them build a viable business around it. 

Sound interesting?  Hurry!  As at time of writing there were only two spots left for the next session which starts January 7th. 

Click here to find out more!

WOW – I cannot believe this has gone through so easily and with so little uproar from society who is already dealing with a crippling recession.  They say it makes it easier for businesses, but I just can’t see it.  Besides the fact that many things we buy will cost more money, we’ll need to pay people to change adjust our bookkeeping system, documents, POS systems.  Easy?  I think not, at least from this business person’s perspective.

Andrew Ballenthin, Founder of The Community Marketing Blog, Speaker and President of Integrated Marketing Consultancy Sol Solutions wrote…

1.  The term social media is preventing many businesses from seeing what the true value of this communication evolution is about. Leave the words behind, think of it as “interactive communication”.

2.  From a marketing perspective this is one of the greatest moments in communication history as mega brands through to entrepreneurs now have a vehicle for building engaging relationships based on two-way communication.

3.  Social media has the potential to humanize a business, and when executed correctly, new customers, additional sales and improved customer retention become possible as a result of following the rules that are govern any quality relationship.

4.  Now and over the next 5 years we will see a transition where mass communication converges with a greater weighting on the quality of the database’s relationship with a business.

5.  There is a timing-risk-reward factor for businesses that start this journey now, especially during an economic downturn, as it will enable them to separate themselves from competition, build loyalty, and continually learn how to fulfill client’s ongoing needs.

Continue reading this article. Visit the Community Marketing Blog.

1. Expand your share of the existing market
2. Find new markets
3. Develop new products

aWEBthatWORKS can help you breath life into and/or manage your effective website / social media marketing campaigns. Contact aWEBthatWORKS to setup your free websites/social media marketing campaign consultation today. Let us help you increase your sales!

In the last six months, Dell Outlet earned $1 million in sales from customers who came to the site from Twitter, after taking 18 months to earn its first $1 million.

Bits Blog – NYTimes.com

Jack Neff’s recent post entitled Study: ROI May Be Measurable in Facebook, MySpace After All shares more proof that social media improves ROI, in particular a case study of a package-goods brand that earned $1.28 million in sales from $1 million social-media campaign — 28% ROI! He states that…

Recent research from ComScore, MySpace and Dunnhumby presented at the Advertising Research Foundation’s Re:Think 2009 conference in late March suggests that even relatively small outlays on social networks by package-goods brands can result in offline sales impact and deliver positive return on investment.

The most popular online social networking giants like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube are growing at break neck speeds because other companies are enjoying this same success, so again I find myself wondering — why have so many businesses still have not embraced this new sales tool?

Although I do not have any hard stats, I can tell you that the 1/2 hour a day I spend using social media (we won’t talk about the hour per day I spend researching/reading about it), have done wonders for this small business; I’ve made lots of new friends, I feel closer my existing friends, I’ve landed a few new clients, referrals have increased, and it’s allowed me to follow our customers and hopefully provide them with more customized service.

In my mind, social media is a numbers game, just like cold calling…

x number of suspects (facebook has over 2 million active users alone) =
x number of prospects =
x number of appointments =
x number of sales

…but WAY more viral. If someone likes what they say, they will tell their friends (most people have at least 100), who will then in turn tell their friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.

If you’re looking to grow your business, jump right in… the water is warm!

Already swimming? Please share your ideas and insights into social media below.

Although I can’t take advantage of Tony’s client-only offer, I hope you can…

Anthony Robbins

4 WAYS TO DOUBLE REVENUES

If you own a business or you’re a top producing sales expert, I want to make sure you have an opportunity to attend this once-only teleconference I’m conducting for my subscribers as my treat.

Everyone knows what’s going on in the economy right now - during this period in history some people are frozen and living in fear while others are getting stronger and innovative to take advantage of new opportunities.

I’ve recruited best-selling author, Chet Holmes to help you learn “four ways to double your revenues in 12 months” - I’m going to be interviewing Chet personally - asking him to share his unique insights on how my most valued clients can thrive and not just survive in these economic times.

Chet has proprietary methods of increasing sales that can make you bullet-proof against the current downturn. He teaches a concept where you can actually increase your ability to get in front of buyers by as much as 16,000% (that’s his record so far) without spending a penny more than you’re already spending.

You will learn how to get more clients faster and easier and get them into your sales cycle before they even consider buying - building market share like never before. Once your clients are in your sales cycle, we’ll show you how to make them so loyal to your business that your competitors can’t take them from you, even if they offer lower prices.

Another concept I asked Chet to share with you is what he calls “The Best Buyer Strategy.” This single concept has doubled the revenues of more companies than anything else he’s done. Chet teaches you how to get the dream buyers for your particular product or service. He has personally cold-called his way into getting SIXTY Fortune 500 clients, and can show you how to do the same for your business.

I hope you make the decision to join Chet Holmes and myself on this one of a kind 75-minute teleconference on Wednesday February 25 at 3:00pm-4:30 PST (4pm-5:30pm Mountain, 5pm-6:30pm Central, 6pm-7:30pm Eastern). Take the time to focus on developing your business and creating a strategy to ensure success despite the external economic conditions.

Tony

Here is how to get onto the Teleconference.
1) Dial this telephone number: 512-225-3200
You can use Skype to dial in to this number.
2) Enter this code at the prompt: 563566#

After the first 2,000 fill up the lines, you can still listen to the interview on-line via Live Streaming Audio at…
http://www.voicetext.com/Streams/StreamPlayerName.aspx?FN=across.rm

If you’re able to listen in, please let me know what you learned. I love Anthony Robbins and think Chet Holmes is a very smart albeit a little aggressive marketer, and I really wish I could listen in!