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May, 2010
Dear customer,
May is always a strange month with two Bank Holiday long weekends meaning that you have to get more done in less time, a month when it's not hot yet but everyone is planning their summer holidays and getting the flip-flops out.
As a business owner you are also conscious that it's almost June - it means half of 2010 is behind us. Are we still on track to achieve our business goals? Is our business growing as we planned back in winter?
An important part of business development for many entrepreneurs is networking - online and offline. This month we are looking at how to become a truly effective networker: offline (read the tips below), online (attend our Twitter Strategies workshop) and afterwards (follow up made easy with our special offer).
SPECIAL OFFER: Biz Cards Buster
- Are you a keen networker meeting 10s or 100s of new prospects every month?
- Do you often end up missing out on potential business, as you haven't got a system to manage those new relationships?
- Do you spend your valuable time entering business cards into your contact systems (Outlook, iPhone, Blackberry or CRM)?
Why not consider passing over the responsibility to your virtual assistant TJConsulting. Your business cards will be safely scanned into the "cloud", processed and emailed back to you as an Excel spreadsheet ready to be imported into Outlook or a CRM system.
- Your business cards scanned, sorted and processed
- You can view (and download) your Excel contact file
- You can easily import the Excel contact file into Outlook, Blackberry, iPhone or any CRM system
- Tax deductible
In May: we are offering you our Biz Cards Buster. Get up to 100 business cards processed and entered into Excel for just £50+VAT. BOOK NOW to secure this amazing limited offer!
News from the Blog
How to be an effective networker.
Whether you love it or hate it, believe to be a "power networker" or a "wall flower" - networking is an important element of building a successful business in the UK.
You can network online (LinkedIn, ecademy, Twitter, etc.) or face-to-face offline (BNI, 4Networking, Chamber of commerce, Athena, etc.) - but it's important to do it effectively.
Effective networking means meeting the right people, having the right conversations and gaining new business directly (from the person you have met) or indirectly (by forming a strategic partnership or via a referral to someone they know).
So what do you need to do in order to start gaining new business leads from all the time you spend networking every week?
1. Set out your goals.
Who do you need to meet? This is closely connected with finding your niche market. If you offer your services to "small business owners" - there will be a roomful of them! So who do you really need to speak to? Get hold of the guest list in advance if possible and make a list of people you are going to talk during the event.
2. Preparation is everything!
Leave on time, have plenty of business cards with you, know who you need to speak to, prepare and practice your elevator speech. Be ready with good networking questions, have a pen handy and plan so that you don't have to rush anywhere at the end in case there is an opprtunity for a detailed 1-2-1 with someone you have just met.
3. Be yourself and be approachable.
Enter the room with a smile, stand tall, build rapport, listen well and don't rush to speak yourself. Ask good questions (e.g. "open questions") and LISTEN to the answers! Exchange cards at the end if asked or if you feel the person you've met could be a good contact for you. Don't sell but focus on relationships and engagement instead.
4. Follow up.
Set time aside the next day to follow up with anyone you've agreed to get in touch with: send an email with your details or your brochure, make introductions, provide more details or a useful link following something you've discussed during the meeting, arrange your "coffee chats". And, obviously, enter everyone's details into a system where you can track actions, interactions, follow up and all other details related to your sales pipeline.
Finally, remember that netWORKING is not a nice evening off away from your business - but an integral part of your marketing strategy. Be professional when networking and it will soon become a key to your business success!
We also recommend reading "How to make your communication stick" by Andy Bounds and following Rob Brown on Twitter (@therobbrown).
Sincerely yours,
Tamara and James
TJConsulting - Your Virtual Assistant
http://www.tjconsulting.co.uk/ |
