Meetingwave Blog - Meetings, Conference & Events

How to Network: Determine Your Best Target Market for Better Networking Results

Guest Author — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:50:42 +0000

Serendipity – the idea that “you never know who you might meet”-is a fun, encouraging and motivating philosophy to have in networking. And you’ve got to have an absolute focus on exactly the kind of people and business owners you need to meet. Otherwise, you might have a lot of fun networking, but eventually the lack of results will quench your interest.

Here’s how to determine your best target market. First and most importantly, no one can do business with “anyone who breathes” or “anyone who has skin.” If that’s part of your business networking club elevator speech or introduction, you need to get much, much narrower in your description.

The fear for many people is that if they get very specific on who they can help that people who aren’t in that market or don’t fit that description will never use their services. Don’t worry about that. You can describe exactly what you do and how you help people to a “T” and people will still suggest and refer people completely outside that description.

Instead of chasing twenty different markets and catching none, you can dominate and become an expert in one. Then the others will come to you. (For more on the idea of being the best in the world, see my book review of Seth Godin’s book “The Dip.”)

To determine your best market, list your five or ten best current customers as column headings on a piece of paper or in a spreadsheet. Write down as much as you can about them with each item in a row under their name. Their age, education, income, family type, where they live, and where they work. If you sell a particular product, which items do they like best? What problems do you solve for them? If your customers are businesses to business, find out their years in business, type of clients they have, what problems they solve and what problems they have.

Sort the list to look for qualities they all have in common (or that most of them have). Any characteristics that a majority of your best customers have? Write those all down and you’ll see a description of your best customer. Most of your networking activities now need to be focused on meeting, serving and building mutually beneficial relationships with more people like them. See my article “How to Use Networking to Find More of Your Ideal Customers and Clients” for networking tips.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at www.thenetworkingmotivator.com for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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Networking Tips: Learn How to Talk at Networking Events by Borrowing Professional Speakers’ Strategy

Guest Author — Mon, 07 May 2012 06:15:27 +0000

If you find yourself somewhat at a loss when it comes to small talk or conversing at networking events, borrow a lesson from professional speakers. They prepare their speeches, research their audiences and practice in advance so that every presentation is interesting, compelling and helps them fulfill their mission and grow their businesses.

How does a professional speaker develop a speech? They have three basic parts that they work on in a prepared presentation: structure, content and delivery. Think about these questions before your next business to business networking event and you’ll never be at a loss for what to say (and how to say it).
Here are three sets of networking tips based on this presentation format. Next time you are wondering how to network, start with this basic set up and have answers ready to these questions.

Structure: How do you want to present your information? Do you have a compelling self-introduction? Do you have a prepared question for asking to follow-up? Do you start with your job description? Or do you want to talk about family and more personal items? Do you have a prepared introduction or description (so that you don’t fumble when asked)? Do you have an interesting or engaging answer to the (sometimes repetitive) questions you get asked?
Content: What do you tell them about you? How much detail about your job, family and interests do you want to reveal? Are you familiar with the news or issues of the day? Do you have some standard questions that you always ask? What do you say or talk about if the conversation flags?
Delivery: How do you present yourself? Do you know whether you’re coming across as interested or bored? Energetic or lethargic? Smiling or serious? Do you rush through your personal introduction because you’ve heard it a thousand times (it’s the first time for them)? What is your body language saying? Does your clothing and manner reflect your profession and position?

Take these networking tips to plan ahead for your networking experiences. Plan what you are going to say and like an experienced speaker, practice but don’t memorize so that it still sounds natural and spontaneous (this is part of good delivery).

Next time you wonder what you’re going to do and say at the next business event or club meeting, think about your structure, content, and delivery. Professional speakers prepare in advance, why not you?

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How to Stop Killing Them With Powerpoint by Creating Powerful Presentations That “Resonate”

Guest Author — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:25:29 +0000

I first learned about Nancy Duarte and her ninja-like Powerpoint slide skills though a webinar presented by Speaker Net News. Ms. Duarte’s clear, usable information in just the short webinar was invaluable. I was immediately able to put many of her suggestions to use.

What I most liked was her recommendation to have two slide shows. One that you show to the audience which incorporates the clean, big picture conceptual slides and another which contains all your details and is basically the high tech version of “3×5″ notes. I’ve used the second, more detailed slide show to put on SlideShare for the participants to view later.

“resonate: Present Visual Stories Transform Audiences” answers questions not covered by her first book “slide:ology.” You can have the most well-designed slides in the world, but if your story doesn’t resonate with the audience, you’ve failed.

In the introduction to “resonate” the author acknowledges this and calls “resonate” the “prequel” to the first. The book is wonderfully designed, with easily digestible chunks of information on the left side matched with a picture on the right side (as if it were a slide illustrating the point). It’s not only good information, but it’s interesting to read. Just like Ms. Duarte teaches you to create your slides and presentations.

The key point to “resonate” is that a presentation is something that falls between the two opposites of a report (detailed documentation) and stories (which are emotional and experiential). The successful presentation incorporates the best of both, using structure and providing information, but communicating it in an engaging way that will help the audience learn, believe and take action.

There is a clear story pattern or structure, which can be used to present even the most prosaic of information, called the “hero’s journey.” In this case the audience is the hero, not you. You are given detailed directions, ideas and “how to” on building your own presentation to take your audience (the heroes) through their own journey.

To help you along the way, there are case studies of some of the most powerful and moving speeches in history including Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream,” Richard Feynman’s famous gravity lecture, and Ronald Reagan address to America after the Challenger disaster. You’ll see and be taken on the hero’s journey in all of the examples.

Like me, you’ll probably want to start working on your presentations before you finish the book. Go ahead and get started, but come back to chapter 8 where you’re given help on improving. Then go out and use your new knowledge to change the world.

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What Is Speed Networking? And Why Would You Want to Do It?

Guest Author — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:40:20 +0000

You’ve heard of speed dating. That awkward process where people have a few minutes to talk with strangers to see if they want to go out with them. It’s been in so many funny commercials, sit-coms and movies that I almost don’t see how anyone could take it seriously.

But there is a variation on the format of speed dating that is very serious. Very profitable and extremely beneficial for any one who is in business for themselves, or who is a financial planner, in insurance, real estate, network marketing, catering, consulting, computer repair, advertising sales, carpet cleaning, event planning, graphic design, salon services, marketing… any industry or business where you need to meet a lot of people to build a wide-ranging network.

It’s also beneficial for any business where you need to meet people, get connected with them and start building relationships in order to build your own business. Speed networking is a business-networking event that is designed for businesses to build their networks, find clients and grow their businesses.

It is fun, it is fast and it is profitable. I know because I have seen it work for small business people, over and over again. They have a great time and they can meet up to 24 people in less than two hours. That’s 288 new relationships and potential business transactions!

When would you ever be able to meet that many people at a mixer or luncheon? Meeting a lot of people in a short amount of time is a tremendous benefit of speed networking. Two more great reasons you want to do it is that it makes it easy to start a conversation and easy to end a conversation.

Unexpectedly, it is the shy and introverted who seem to like the event the best. They don’t have to worry about how to approach a complete stranger. It’s done for them in the structure of the event. And not to worry if you’re in a conversation with someone you really want to get away from. In just a couple minutes, you’ll move on to the next conversation.

Speed networking is a popular, fun and productive business-to-business networking event. You might be able to find one that is sponsored by your local chamber of commerce or business club. It would even be worth your while to set up your own speed networking event and bring together various friends and business connections whom you know, but don’t know each other.

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What is the “Right Way” to Network?

Guest Author — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:29:39 +0000

We always want to know the “right” way to do something. Not only is our society looking for instant results, we want the method in black and white. The attitudes of “just tell me what to do” and “give me the steps to follow” are why there are hundreds of diet books sold each year with the same exact menu plan for every reader to follow. It’s the same with exercise books.

So where do you find the “right ways” and the “step by step” instructions on networking? There are none. No one can say they have the exact “right way” to network. And no one can tell you to follow his or her actions for the same results. Networking is as unique and personalized as the people who are practicing it.

Now there are ways to network that:

Make it more fun for everyone vs. making it unpleasant to be around
Provide greater rewards vs. being frustrated
Are more like making friends than selling
Make you more attractive to others vs. falling into stereotypical behavior
Create long-lasting relationships instead of hit-and-run sale
Make it easier to get invited back vs. ignored or left off the invite list

If you feel like you are experiencing the first part of each point instead of the second, you are probably networking in a way that feels “right.” While there are no one-size fits all networking plans, if you are experiencing any of the second part, you’ll want to revisit the universal truths of networking.

Plan for long-term development, not short term gain.
Give first and don’t expect quid pro quo.
Use small talk as an important way to discover what you have in common with people.
Constantly look for ways to connect people together to solve their problems.

Remember Zig Ziglar always says, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” If what you want is a pleasant and productive networking experience, help other people have that experience. The “right way” to network is one that gets you what you want, by helping other people get what they want first.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at www.thenetworkingmotivator.com for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

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If Networking is Simple, Why is it So Hard for Us to Do It?

Guest Author — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:12:49 +0000

Networking is actually a simple thing to do. You meet people, get to know them a little bit, help them out, and start to develop a relationship. Most moderately sized cities with a Chamber of Commerce and some professional organization chapters will have enough networking events to give you regular opportunities to get out of the office and into the same space with like-minded professionals. Many of these events are free and even provide us with snacks and prizes.

If it’s so easy to do, why don’t we do more of it? Because it’s easy to not do. We plan on attending, but at the end of the day we’re tired, or it’s too cold (or too hot), and we just don’t feel like putting ourselves out there. It’s even easy to justify not going when someone asks “Did you go the mixer?” and you can legitimately say, “No, I had a lot of work to do” or “My appointment ran late and I didn’t want to drive all the way across town for just a few minutes.”

Since there’s no immediate, negative feedback for not networking, it becomes easier and easier for us to blow it off the next time. And the next time, and the next time, until we realize one day that we’ve been locked in our office so long that we don’t know anyone and the customers are drying up. By then, your networking will become a desperate grab for business and nothing is more off-putting to people you meet.

This is why so many people believe that networking doesn’t work for them. They put off “digging their well” until they are thirsty. They have a very minimal network of people they already interact with, but they haven’t spent time expanding that network or building relationships across a variety of resources. Then, when they do start networking, the people they meet feel used, whether it’s as a sales prospect or a source of jobs. It’s hard to build a genuine, mutually beneficial relationships when you are all about your immediate need. This experience is what convinces so many people that networking is only about grabbing what you need when you need it. They have never put in the time to develop a long-term perspective.

The “last-minute” or desperation networker has the mindset of networking only when they need it because there is very little noticeable feedback from NOT networking – until you need it. There are so many things like exercising, eating fiber, and not smoking that are hard to do because there is no immediate positive feedback to reinforce our behavior. And there’s usually no immediate feedback for negative behavior. One donut isn’t going to kill you. One cigarette isn’t either, and will actually make you feel better in the short run. Sure, there are a very few people who try crack for the first time and they drop dead, but that’s a dangerous drug. Imagine if 1 in 10,000 cigarette smokers dropped dead at the first puff. No more smoking!

The wonderful thing about networking is that there can be immediate, positive feedback. Every once in a while, you are going to run into someone who needs your product, is ready to buy, and can’t wait to get started. They happened to be looking at the right moment and you were the lucky person with the stuff they needed.

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Why Entrepreneurs Need Their Own Blog

Guest Author — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:40:17 +0000

In the digital age, people do not find products and serves exclusively through the yellow pages offline. In contrast, just when you thought you had enough online presence already covered by your social media pages (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, etc.), having your own corporate blog turns out to be the most important of all.

As much as companies are using social networks to interact with their market and promote themselves with these pages, relying on them is far too risky for the whole of your business. You see, these sites have algorithms you don’t have control with. You never know when they will go awry or worse, shut down.

In avoiding this fallback, you have to put up your own blog site to build rapport naturally, add value and gain trust over time. Following are the top three reasons why every entrepreneur needs to have his or her own blog:

1. Gain Credible Online Presence

To entrepreneurs, trust is one of the main ingredients into unlocking the hearts of their market, especially for start-up business people. Creating Facebook pages, for instance, is easy and does not add any financial cost. However, these pages may be thought of as scammers with its over-advertisements and sometimes exaggerated or biased sources of information.

To step up to a higher credibility level, you should purchase your own domain name hosted to a reliable server as your home base instead of just “renting out space” from these social networking sites. This plus writing accurate content related to your niche will add the valuable depth to the online presence of your business.

As well, if you have your website, you can have more insights about the visitors to grow your business more. You can do this by regularly monitoring its traffic, leads, inbound links etc. and management power to improve online marketing.

2. Communicate With Your Market

In a multi-media platform such as a blog, you can publish content with your posts (e.g. text, images, videos, etc.), link them out to other social media channels, comment and follow through by emails, fax, snail mail for a more corporate feel, telephone and/or personal conversation with your viewers/market. By having your own blog, you are not limited to just the interactive capabilities of the established social media; you can build and install according to what your business needs.

Co-relate with other entrepreneurs by sharing them your techniques. This is not revealing your secrets in the business but knowing and doing what you do best and being proud of it. By building a circle and delivering your specialized knowledge, you learn more and project the essence of being a professional and hence become a lead as an entrepreneur. Leverage on your relationship with others, work smart and dominate.

3. Be an Authority

This does not mean that you only need to reach out to those belonging in the same niche (or your competitors). When you have good mutual relationships with entrepreneurs who are playing well in different fields, you have the advantage of making meaningful connections that you might also need somewhere along the way.

When these people understand your business, your network grows bigger. When more and more viewers get influenced and feel inspired, you will become an authority. The benefit? You don’t have to chase or recruit viewers for them to gain confidence in you.

Conclusion

Maintaining a weblog is essential because most people look for services and products nearly solely on the internet. Consequently your business should have an online presence so as to enhance the possibilities that these people find you and get connected with you. When you utilize your blog well, then you become an expert in the eye of potential customers.

Author bio:

Jessica Francisco is a cheerful 25-year-old with an odd sense of fun. The least of her broad range of hobbies include swimming, hiking and listening to the music of Michael Jackson. Jessica is also one of the editors of Luke Roxas a renowned Business Tycoon from the Philippines. Like Luke Roxas onFacebook.

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How Networking Helps You Get More Business

Guest Author — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:21:14 +0000

Networking is the simple process of developing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with people by sharing ideas, information and resources. Very often that “mutual benefit” comes in the form of referrals and doing more business with the people you know. Since networking isn’t selling, how does it help you get more business? Here are four ways that networking will benefit you and your company.

Builds Your Reputation
Your reputation is worth money in the form of referrals, resources and sales that you make because of your reputation. While eBay has a buyer/seller rating, there isn’t a universal “personal quality rating service.” (I’m sure it will be an iPhone app when it does come). Until then, the only way that other people are going to know they can trust you is through their experience with you or conversations with your network.

Creates Trust
Sometimes people don’t do business with a company because they aren’t sure they can trust them. But how do you prove you are trustworthy if they won’t do business with you? Through networking, where you make smaller promises (“I’ll connect you with this person” or “I’ll send you that link”) and then keeping them.

Gathering Information
One person can’t possibly know everything that’s needed for success (“know it all” is not a compliment). You need other people’s knowledge. They know things that aren’t easy to find or that aren’t public yet. Stay away from insider trading of course, but search for insight into trends in the marketplace or seek out details about your competitors. Other people will have valuable information such as unadvertised job openings, key corporate contact names, and

Getting Referrals
This is the payout for building your reputation, creating trust and seeking out information. Referrals give a high return on investment because you didn’t have to pay for advertising or direct mail. They have a much higher close rate. And a referred client is much more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt if mistakes are made.

Networking is far more than handing out your cards and asking someone to call you. It’s about building a foundation of trust and shared interests. While that may sound like a long pathway toward building your business, it is a well-proven way to build your reputation, create trust, gather information and get those valuable referrals. It may feel like a lot of work in the beginning, but in the long run networking helps you get far more business than you realize is possible.

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Finding a perfect venue for a meeting

Guest Author — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:49:50 +0000

Whether you’re organising a meeting of a social club or looking for a venue for much larger scale business conferences – finding a suitable venue can be difficult. Of course, if it’s only a small gathering, your choices are a lot more varied – you can meet at a local restaurant or coffee shop, or book a meeting room either in your own company building or at a community centre.

However, the bigger the gathering the more difficult it can be to find a suitable venue. And if you are planning an event that requires catering, it’s even better if you can find a venue that provides other facilities such as catering and display equipment.

One place that doesn’t automatically spring to mind for people looking to hire a venue is a cinema theatre.

Yet it can offer a perfect place for a conference; especially if you can make use of the big screen to show a promotional video or use it for a presentation. For example, it could be really inspiring to show groups of would-be volunteers about the work that a charitable organisation does on a big screen rather than send out promotional literature for individuals to watch at home. By gathering people to a central venue, it allows them to meet other like-minded people, and provides your organisation with the cost-effectiveness of reaching a big audience all at once.

Cinema theatres also make great locations for corporate entertainment events. Not only do they offer the space you’ll need for a Christmas party, the launch of a new product or an annual general meeting, but you can arrange motivational workshops that include private film screenings of latest releases as a way to pep-up team away days.

And if you’re arranging a conference or meeting for a group of people who don’t know each other there’s security in booking an easy-to-find public venue like a cinema. Many people are now hooking up with their online social networks for the first time, and it can be a little unnerving knowing how a face-to-face meeting will actually go. Choosing a venue that is managed by a third party can offer a sense of security to both the meeting organiser and the attendees.

About the Author: David H. is a keen and experienced business guest blogger that enjoys writing about anything related to business and finance.

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Tired of the Same Old Networking Events? Take ACTION

Guest Author — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:06:38 +0000

Is your calendar full of the same mixers, socials, and after-hours events month after month? Shake up your networking routine and take ACTION. Do you limit yourself by thinking there are only a few types of networking activities? We’re used to after-work mixers or socials, trade shows, and business association luncheons, but networking is much more than “meet and greet” events. Here are six different networking ACTIONs we can take to shake up our routine, energize our contacts and make better use of our time.

A = Allocate. Set aside time each week to put toward your networking activities, whether it’s calling people to thank them for something they’ve done or finding referrals for the people who refer to you. Block out the time in advance as an appointment and you’ll be much more consistent.

C = Coffee. Buy a Starbucks, Peet’s, or Krispy Kreme gift card and invest just $20 a month. Invite someone you’ve just met for coffee. Or invite two people you know (who don’t know each other) for coffee and introduce them to each other. If you have a meeting set up with a prospect at their office, offer to bring coffee. The small price of coffee will be returned many times over in business referrals from the relationships you’ll build.

T = Talk. Tell stories about your network including great customer service experiences, new products, and favorite restaurants. People love positive “gossip!” It’s a fun and easy way to promote your friends and contacts.

I = Invite. If you’re already planning on attending an event, solidify your own commitment by inviting a friend to join you. This is a tremendous boost to them if they are new to networking or a little bit shy. You can also use the buddy system to introduce each other in more glowing terms than you would personally feel comfortable using on yourself.

O = Offer. You are an expert in something that other people wish they knew. Help them by shortening their learning curve and offering to show them tips, tricks, and helpful strategies. Watch out! No one wants unsolicited tutoring. So this requires that you listen carefully to people talking about problems and obstacles.

N = News. This is a lesson from my grandmother (and probably yours, too). She read the local newspaper every day. When she saw anything about, or of interest to people she knew, she would clip it out and mail it to them with a personal note: “Congratulations”, or “Did you know…” or “I thought you would enjoy this.” Read the local newspaper and look for articles, notices, and even advertisement for people you want to grow a relationship with. If you don’t read the paper or want to go high-tech, subscribe to news feeds such as Alltop to search for very specific subject matter they might be interested in. Use Google Alerts to look for their name anywhere it appears on the web and congratulate or update them. Just be sure and include that personal note that explains why the information is relevant. This shows you were thinking of them personally.

Conclusion

Don’t wait to take ACTION on these fresh networking ideas.

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