With 2020 in the rear view mirror you may be thinking that 2021 will see a return to in-person networking meetings because there is the hope that the coronavirus pandemic will be behind us and life will return to “normal.” We all hope that! But, if it doesn’t materialize quite as quickly as you’d hoped it would, we have some tips and we hope you don’t make these networking mistakes.
Many business owners have honed their online marketing skills and networking skills through the myriad of Zoom meetings they’ve attended, but we are still seeing some networking mishaps that make us cringe!
I and my team enjoy in-person networking, but obviously didn’t have the luxury of attending in the past ten months. We know that nothing takes the place of in-person networking, talking face-to-face and shaking hands. There are still ways to build business online, but with a few nuances.
As with in-person events, Zoom networking meetings can lend themselves to your believing these networking myths and making mistakes.
Don’t Make These Networking Mistakes
Attend meetings that make sense for your business. Don’t attend a meeting that has no importance to you or your business unless it is for learning purposes. Do your homework and attend meetings that put you in front of ideal clients. Don’t fill your calendar so full with Zoom networking that you don’t provide services to your current clients.
Not everyone you speak with or online chat with during a Zoom networking event is a potential client. Don’t treat them as such. Build relationships. Be authentic and genuine in your interactions. Sure, they may be a potential client, but don’t let desperation show in every interaction with thinking you’re signing them up.
Not every networking meeting means you need to toss out your elevator pitch. If you’re in a meeting and the host says, “tell us your name, your business name and one unique thing about you” do just that. Don’t recite your elevator pitch — you will turn people off and take up valuable time that other attendees deserve to use as much as you do. Follow the rules — you will be remembered for that. You can share an elevator pitch later if you connect with someone who wants to get to know you better and whom you want to get to know.
Search for online networking events that not only seem like they will advance your business but that seem interesting and to which you can make a true contribution. Here’s to in-person meetings in 2021!
What are you waiting for? Entrepreneurs need to write a book as a way to share their experiences, insights and expertise. This is especially true if you want to get more speaking gigs or pick up more clients – and we assume that is the reason for being in business, right?
6 Reasons To Write Your Biz Book In 2021
Here are our top reasons to write a book coupled with how to make it happen.
You need to know why you want to write a book. Do you want to write it to give away? Do you want to write it to lead people into a course? Do you want to be seen as an expert? Do you want to use it as a lead magnet into your coaching programs? Do you have a story to tell and you just want to share it with the world without any idea of monetary gain? Knowing your WHY will help you formulate the content.
If you know you need help, get it. Do your research and hire or work with a book coach about whom you’ve heard good things. Ask friends who have written books how they did if and if they hired someone. If you just need accountability or help with getting started or putting together chapter titles, etc. know that going into a relationship with a book coach.
Make the time for it. We’ll bet you thought about writing a book before, but time just got away from you. The year ends and you still don’t have a book, right? You need to put “write my book” on your calendar and treat it as a true to do, not something you push off to the bottom of the pile. Make it a priority or it won’t happen for another year.
Plan the content. Sit down and ask yourself: who will read your book? Why will they read it? What will they learn from it? How do you want to construct it? As a how-to, a narrative with a workbook? Once you know who will read it and how you want them to consume the content, write a table of contents; that will guide the rest of the content.
Start marketing the book now. Don’t wait until it’s written and published. Build buzz for your book now and start making pre-sale packages. For instance, buy the book on pre-sale and you get XYZ bonuses. The major entrepreneurs who are authors do just that as a way to garner presales and to potentially get new business.
Know where you want to publish your book or talk with a professional to understand the nuances of publishing. Do you want to work with a publisher or do you want to self publish? That is one of the biggest questions you will need to answer.
Pull out your calendar today and plan your book. Write it down as a to do and attach deadlines and word counts to it. Make it happen in 2021.
Reach out to Rex Richard and make a plan for your marketing strategy for your book. He also has resources on his team to help you get your book started and completed!
Have you given up and are you going to coast toward 2021? We get it. 2020 has kicked our butts! Coronavirus and the pandemic shut down of the country has put many businesses in a precarious position on not knowing whether they will survive for the long term. If you want to know how to end the year profitable, stick with us.
You don’t have to go all out for this last couple of weeks, but with a few tweaks and some changes you may end the year on a higher note than you were originally anticipating and can’e we all use some wins right about now?
Take a look at these and see what fits for you and your business and do what you can to end on an up note.
How To End The Year Profitable
Are you renting an office? Do you need to continue renting it? Have you found that you’re able to work effectively from home? If so, you may not be able to cancel your lease right now, but consider it for the new year and start out with a savings.
Do you have space in your home that you can rent out as a conference room? You may need to do quite a bit to make it a safe workspace because of COVID-19 and having a separate entrance for the renter makes sense, but there may be local entrepreneurs who simply need a space in which to do a Zoom call or a client call and they can’t get the quiet they need at home.
Are there expenses you can cut? Are you paying for magazine or newspaper subscriptions that you don’t read? Are you involved in online groups or mastermind or other affiliate or membership groups that you don’t interact in or with? Are you paying for items you’ve forgotten about? Do an audit of your bank account and see if there are subscriptions you can cancel to save money.
Are there upsells you can offer to current clients? “Hey if you sign up for three months of my service in 2021 I’ll throw in a month for free if you pay upfront?” or “I am selling this new book/course along with my membership service… are you interested?”
Are you going to raise your prices before the new year? If so, reach out to current clients and let them know. Offer them the service at the current price if they sign up for X number of months. Let them know what the new price will be and let them make up their own minds.
Now is the time to ask for referrals. Fill the first few weeks of your 2021 calendar with potential new client calls. Don’t start the new year with a blank calendar. Offer a referral bonus or gift for those who do provide you a referral that pans out.
Are you buying ads in local papers or media or online? Are they working? If not and if it’s not measurable, why are you doing it? If you don’t have a good answer, don’t continue with that marketing practice.
If you’re not sure what worked last year. If you don’t know how to pivot into 2021 to stay viable or turn a profit set up a time to talk with Rex Richard about your business goals and marketing strategy. Start the year strong!
There is so much that goes into branding your business. You need to think about colors, fonts, logo design, the words you use and you also need to know how to make your brand personality shine through video. Let’s face it – Zoom is now our life and looks like it will continue to be so for many months to come.
If you represent your brand when you’re on Zoom calls with current clients, potential clients or on a networking event with people you don’t know but want to get to know better you need to think about how you’re representing your business.
How To Make Your Brand Personality Shine
We have put together this list of ways in which to put your best brand forward when on a video chat.
What is in your background? Are you in a bathroom and viewers can see the tub? Do you share your office workspace with a child’s bedroom? Are you in your own bedroom? Please, we urge you – look around and make your background as branded or as “invisible” as possible. If you have a banner with your logo, hang it. If you need to add a virtual background for Zooms, make sure it is representative of your business. Be professional at all times. We know that people are working from home and clients are willing to put up with a dog barking or a child chatting but do they need to see your pile of dirty clothes in the corner of your bedroom? No.
Practice on the camera. If you’re uncomfortable or don’t know where to look or speak, set up your phone or turn on your video camera and practice. Record yourself and play it back. Listen to how you sound, what the background noises might be and if you’re looking at the camera and what your lighting is.
What works best for you? Do you want to be on camera with someone and talk interview style or are you able to talk to the camera and interact when you’re a solo act.
Set up your YouTube channel and brand it with your colors, keywords and logo to establish your expertise and online brand.
Do a few Facebook Lives as “test” videos. You can check your lighting with an audience with whom you can interact. Ask a few friends to watch your Live and give you feedback.
If you’re kicking off a YouTube channel or a weekly live event, share that news with your followers on social media, through your website and on your email list.
Pick a niche for your videos. Chances are, if you’re an entrepreneur you know your niche. Work that through your video platform and stay in your lane… until you’re established enough to move out of it and have your followers… follow you!
