Networking

You may find that the preliminary research is all that you need to conduct because you already know enough. The organization may be listed in the top one hundred or it is a “famous” name. Even large companies have their problems. I worked with a large company that was a spin off of another well known name. It was spun off to streamline the parent company. The spin-off has three years to prove that they were profitable and then they would be on their own to discover new markets. While dealing with this new organization, I found that they had adopted old processes that did not allow them to be efficient. Their products were sound but their accounting and human resource departments were in something of a chaos.

Every time I needed to get something done, the red tape made it almost impossible. They did not pay their bills on time and sometimes even lost invoices. The company was in deep trouble and the share price plummeted rather rapidly. Fortunately, they were being supported by the parent company and there was a guarantee for payment. They just were not very efficient. I do not mind doing business with such a company but I do like to know ahead of time of what I will be up against when it comes to payment time.

If you want to offer solutions, learn about the company and its competition. The best way is to read their press releases for clues on what projects they are working on and with whom. Go to www.PRWeb.com Only when you know what is happening in their marketplace will you be better able to understand their current position and needs.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprints for Success - Networking: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprints for Success Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2006. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

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You can create excellent business relationships through following up quickly. If you go to a meeting with a potential customer, you will spend some time just chatting about what each of you would like to see happen in the future. You will also be giving some free advice or steering the conversation towards a possible contract. During these conversations you will more than likely promise to send a link to a special website, you may promise to give some information about a valuable resource for this person. When you make these promises, you need to make sure that you write them down. Do not rely on your memory or you will fail to follow-up with the information. As soon as you leave the meeting and go back to your office, you need to send the information. This means you had the meeting today, you immediately look up the information requested or suggested and send it NOW.

The potential client will be very impressed with how promptly you act. This will leave a good impression on them and they will likely relate this to how you do business. Promptness will also help to build the business relationship as you will gain the reputation of getting things done and getting them done quickly. Nothing works better than quick responses. I also respond to meeting requests the second I get back to the office plus I also respond very quickly to email and phone messages. I do not let anyone wait for a response. It may seem like a series of interruptions but I actually schedule time to read emails and return calls several times a day (once every ninety minutes).

For most of us, email is a distracter as you can see them coming in. It is tempting to read emails as they arrive. This will actually be more of a distracter than waiting until you have your scheduled time to answer. The only exception is when you are sending out a request for information and are waiting for the response. I still glance at the emails as they arrive just to make sure there is nothing urgent. If there are no responses that require immediate attention, I wait until my scheduled time.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. is a speaker, author (over 170 books, articles, and publications), and consultant. She has provided marketing, sales, business development and training expertise for companies such as Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Varian Medical Systems, Accenture, Avaya, Cisco Systems to name a few. Dr. Daoust has also done extensive work with small businesses in developing their marketing, training, and operational plans. You may contact Dr. Daoust at http://BizMechanix.com You may also view her latest publications at http://BlueprintBooks.com Dr. Daoust also writes for the National Networker http://theNationalNetworker.com

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We have said it before; if you volunteer to do something make sure you do it. The same is true of being dependable for showing up when you have agreed to be at a specific location. Can you imagine having a group of volunteers agreeing to cook a meal for the elderly and the crew does not show up? I have been to events where people have had to scramble to fill a crucial spot at an event by doing more than one job. Do not be that person that is deemed unreliable for being on time and in place as agreed. The best way to make sure you are reliable is to confirm the day before the event about what your duties will be and where and when you will be meeting. Many people forget to do the confirmation and find that their job, time and location have been changed. You may be thinking that the organization should be communicating the changes but often this falls through the cracks and some unsuspecting volunteer gets lost in the process.

If you are always there on time you will gain a reputation of being dependable. Those around you will know that they can rely on you to get things done. It will free them up to accomplish other tasks. If you have ever helped set-up an event such as a seminar, you will know how much work happens behind the scenes. When you take the seminar, it always looks seamless. In reality it’s those who volunteer to do the work that knows what is missing. The number of errors or mishaps can be minimized if everyone who volunteers actually shows up and does their job.

Do not be the person that does not show up without letting someone know there is a problem. Be reliable and let others be confident in the fact that you will be there when you say you will be there.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. is a speaker, author (over 170 books, articles, and publications), and consultant. She has provided marketing, sales, business development and training expertise for companies such as Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Varian Medical Systems, Accenture, Avaya, Cisco Systems to name a few. Dr. Daoust has also done extensive work with small businesses in developing their marketing, training, and operational plans. You may contact Dr. Daoust at http://BizMechanix.com. You may also view her latest publications at http://BlueprintBooks.com Dr. Daoust also writes for the National Networker http://theNationalNetworker.com

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