by Rex Richard | Jul 24, 2012 | Business, Personal Development
Networking is as crucial to your business success as it providing quality goods and services. While it may take a few networking events or follow up meetings with potential clients, the fruits of your labor will eventually pay off.
Business owners are faced with myriad tasks on a daily basis, but you need to make certain that while you’re making your weekly to-do list that you add networking into the schedule. You may say you don’t have time to leave the office, but truthfully, you can’t afford not network. Being a business owner means you will need to perfect your elevator pitch and learn to be comfortable shaking hands and talking about your business.
Here are steps to take to chase away nervous butterflies and make the most of your time at meet-and-greets:
- Know who you want to meet at a particular event
- Try not to leave a networking event unless you have three solid leads with whom you can follow up
- If you know someone at the meeting, ask him or her for an introduction to someone you don’t know. Your networking efforts will be for naught if you only interact with people you already know. Networking is about growing your contacts
Follow up is crucial. Don’t let more than three days pass before you contact the people you met at the networking meeting.
by Rex Richard | Jul 17, 2012 | Business, Personal Development, Social Marketing
In light of the recent recession, more and more individuals are turning to entrepreneurship as a way to not only survive, but to thrive.
Here are some of my favorite marketing tips for small business owners:
- Build a blog and start blogging
- Network through social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and sites related to your specific industry
- Make use of direct mail campaigns
- Send out e-newsletters to clients and prospects
- Issue press releases when you’re company meets a milestone
- Get involved in the community. Become a sponsor of an event or fundraise for a cause that’s near and dear to your heart
- Target your audience with care and network at events where you’ll be most likely to meet potential clients
- Offer a free gift or free report through your website as an enticement for individuals to sign up to your newsletter
- Be open to feedback from your clients
- “Reward” clients that refer you to other clients. Word of mouth is the best advertising available
We’re sure you have other ways in which to network and grow your business. We’d love to hear what they are.
by Rex Richard | Jul 10, 2012 | Business, Customer targeting
You’ve heard it before… to grow your business you need to network. Networking, though is more than attending a meeting, shaking a few hands and handing out a business card; effective networking involves building relationships with the individuals you meet at networking events.
Here are five ways to enhance the time you spend at networking events:
- Preparation counts. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you won’t know who you need to connect with. Network at events where your potential clients gather.
- Show an interest. Yes, you’re at a networking event to build your circle of clients and connections, but you’re there to build relationships. Take an interest in the people with whom you’re interacting.
- Engage in meaningful conversations. Keep up on current events so when you’re networking you can talk about more than the weather. Be the witty conversationalist that people want to spend more time with.
- You’re there to make connections, not sell a product or service. A networking event is not the time to work on closing the deal. It’s the time to make enough of a connection with someone that you will have a follow up meeting to discuss how you can be of mutual assistance.
- Follow up is crucial. Strike while the iron is hot. Once you’ve met a prospect, make certain you follow up. Set up a time to meet for coffee to further your discussion. Make certain you have a set of follow up tools – ie, newsletters, email contact, greeting cards, etc.
Networking is an art and a skill that can, and must be, learned if you want to remain successful in your career.
by Rex Richard | Jun 12, 2012 | Business
There are some small business strategies that are just common sense but there are times in the life of an entrepreneur when it’s nice to have a quick refresher in what those business-growing steps are. Here are my quick business renewal strategies:
- Don’t worry (too much) about the economy. You don’t have any control over it so continue to forge ahead doing your best and providing your clients service and products that are above and beyond.
- Set goals. How will you know if you’ve arrived if you don’t know where you have to be? Is your goal a specific number of clients? A certain number of sales made? A particular monthly income? Whatever the goal, writing it down and setting milestones to reach it will help you achieve it.
- Spend your time on high value activities. Your core competency is what you should be concentrating on.
- Put ideas into practice. It’s easy to talk about “things” but even easier to procrastinate so that the items you’re thinking about that could grow your business simply don’t materialize. Make it happen!
- Persistence pays off. Don’t let a single failure stop your forward momentum. Step back, shift focus then forge ahead.
- Find a mentor or an accountability partner. If you’re working in a vacuum it’s easy to let tasks slide. Find a mentor that will provide you with a push or a colleague with whom you can communicate ideas, plans, and goals achieved.
Ready. Set. Grow! What do you do to grow your business and achieve your goals?
by Rex Richard | Jun 7, 2012 | Business, Social Marketing, Social Media
As an entrepreneur there is no doubt that you have heard about Facebook and if you’re technically savvy, chances are you are already involved in your Facebook page and are working to build your company’s presence.
Here, though, are seven tips to make the best use of your time on Facebook:
- Eighty percent of your posts should be informational and fun for your readers. Spend only 20% of your Facebook time in the process of selling
- Include an image of your company, a profile picture of yourself and the company principles. Use video to capture the interest of your followers
- Don’t know what to write about? Check out Twitter for trending topics
- Let your personality shine through. Regardless of the business you’re in, potential clients want to work with “real” people not just a company facade
- Work on Facebook follower interaction. Ask a question that doesn’t take too much time or effort on the part of your followers. Ask questions such as: What’s your favorite hamburger topping? Where was your favorite vacation? What was your first vehicle?
- Promote your fans. Share their information on your page. Spread the social media love
- Don’t forget calls to action. As a way to get them invested in your business or service, ask a question that raises a question in their minds and then offer a free report or a free consultation to address that pain point
What are your favorite Facebook tips?
by Rex Richard | May 31, 2012 | Business, Personal Development
Did you know that in your pursuit of perfection you could be standing in your own way of success? In some cases it’s true. In other cases, the pursuit of perfection is another method of procrastinating. Whatever your reasons for being “perfect” you need to relax your standards and allow yourself to push on forward.
While it’s true that you don’t want to give your clients less than your best, but you can also be frozen in place when it comes to growing your business. Do you think of items that you need to do… such as, sending out a monthly newsletter? Revamping your website? Putting together a brochure? Redesigning your logo? Putting together a new program to bring in more clients? The list goes on but you get the idea.
Many entrepreneurs think everything must be PERFECT in order to do anything and if it isn’t then they do nothing. Here are some ways to move past your perfectionism, get unstuck and move forward:
- Write down your ultimate goal
- Write down small steps you need to take to get toward your ultimate goal
- Work the steps
We’d never try to minimize the feeling you have of being overwhelmed, but if you break it down into bite-sized chunks, you can achieve your long term goals.
