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 | Apr 10, 2011 | Customer targeting
Are you planting in rocky soil?
I was listening to a folk song on the radio and the song was about “planting in stony ground”. As I listened I realized the message of the song could have, maybe even should have been directed toward small business owners.
One of the cumulative reasons most businesses do not reach their potential is that they never stopped to clearly identify their customer…., or worse, they are trying to sell or provide service to someone who doesn’t want or need it. The end result is time, energy, and money are lost to an effort yielding weak or non-existent results.
Besides selling to the wrong customer there are also businesses who try to reach “everybody”, and in doing so never create a distinguishing factor. By becoming a “Jack of all trades”, they often fulfill the second half of the saying and are known as a “master of none”. It’s amazing how fast customers figure this out and how it serves to undermine their trust.
Think about it for a minute relating to a service you may use, let’s say, “pest control”. What if after spraying your yard, he then offered to give you a quote on repairing your car and decorating your home? Theoretically it is possible that he or she may have the skills required to do the job, but even so, what about this instills confidence with you?
Even if they could do all these things well, it would be very difficult to administer followup and service, thus leaving you with doubts.
A rule to remember here is: “doubts create distrust, which in turn closes doors to opportunity”.
It would be far more effective if the service professional said, “I specialize in pest control, that’s all we do and we do it best”!
Now before I go further I must distinguish two things that relate to the “Jack of all trades” statement. (Lest I get bombarded with refutations of my analogy) In reality there are two primary, differing, individual profiles for “Jack of all trades” individuals. There’s the typical “generalist” who indeed knows a lot about a lot of things, but never masters in any. (These individuals serve well by the way, as “problem solvers” and as those who can “put the pieces of the puzzle together”. They are often consultants, trainers, and trouble shooters.) Then there’s the rare person who is in fact a “Jack of all trades and master of them all”. This would be the “renaissance man” or what is known as a “polymathic” person. These would include Leonardo De Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others like them.
Now back to my thought, (yes I am a little ADD and I like it thank you!).
The idea is to find the most “fertile” ground in which to do business. It is the match of idea and need or “perceived” need that creates a “win”. If you clearly find what your client wants, then deliver exactly that, you will have a great product client match.
So… your homework!
Contact and interview at least 5 clients, ask all the questions not only about what they liked, but what they didn’t like, what they thought before they bought, what they now think that they own, and so on. Then take that information and go back to your product or service and see where the easiest changes can be adopted, the “low hanging fruit” in the equation.
Make the change, then for a particularly nice touch, go back to the same customers and show them the changes and ask what they think. Understand, we are not asking you to “do” what they think, but to listen to what they say and then with your deeper knowledge of the subject correct the imperfections and make your business great.
I assure you if this becomes a standard way of thinking, always making your business match needs in a better way, the odds of your success sky rocket when compared to the antithesis of this system.
