Business Networking Tips in March 2007

Make a Real Connection: Find Passion

posted on March 28, 2007

I had an interesting experience earlier this week. I scheduled a meeting with someone I wanted to network with. We'd met a couple of times before, but never had the chance to really get to know each other individually. (Remember, Networking doesn't happen at networking events... You have to meet one on one). This meeting for some reason just felt difficult. The problem was that we weren't really connecting. We hadn't found very much common ground. I just continued to listen hoping I could find something to open them up. Then it happened. They mentioned running and I saw something in their eye. So I asked a question or two. That's all it took. We talked for a good 15 minutes about Marathons and training and how they started. The whole meeting changed completely. We both left feeling great. The secret was finding passion. Find something that someone is passionate about. It might be running, their family, a hobby, with entrepreneurs it's often their companies. Whatever it is find it, and start asking questions. You'll open the door to a great connection. Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com

Author: Scott Ingram

little things make a BIG DIFFERENCE

posted on March 20, 2007

We're all so busy these days that most of us don't notice the difference between similar companies. In my last post I commented on an experience with my dry cleaner. With them I found a small difference. Think about the dozens of companies that you do business with on a regular basis. What's the difference between them and their competition? What about you and your competition? What makes you different? Do your customers and prospects know the difference? Most of the time you'll find that the things that make a big difference between one company and another are the little things. By little things I mean rediculously little things. Things like people who follow-up when they say they're going to. Simply being thanked for my business or receiving a quick note in the mail. Heck, just remembering my name apparently does it for me. What little things can you do to separate yourself from your competition in a BIG way? Of course this applies to your networking relationships as well. Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com

Author: Scott Ingram

People Make All the Difference

posted on March 15, 2007

I've had a few personal experiences lately that have reminded me just how important people are in the companies I choose to do business with. Take my dry cleaner for instance. I've really never had any type of loyalty to one dry cleaner or another. Seems to me they all cost about the same, they all usually get my clothes cleaned, what's the difference? I'm not much of a regular when it comes to taking my clothes in to get cleaned. I can usually make it a couple of weeks between visits. Even with my inconsistent and somewhat rare visits the woman behind the counter (Theresa) actually remembers my name. She sees me walking up from the car and is usually pulling my clothes off of the conveyor hanger thing by the time I hit the door. Now I wouldn't think of changing cleaners. Let's look at this from the business perspective. My dry cleaner hired someone who has taken a little extra initiative and learned many of her customer's names. This doesn't cost anything extra, but creates a level of service that is beyond that of any other dry cleaner I've ever done business with. The first ingredient in a great business is great people. Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com

Author: Scott Ingram

Confirm Your Appointments

posted on March 12, 2007

Confirming your appointments is a good practice to get into anyway. For the next 3 weeks it's going to be almost a necessity. If you haven't noticed already everyone's schedules are a little fouled up with the early change to daylight savings time. This change was enacted by Congress just 2 years ago and many software programs that automatically account for daylight savings time are off by an hour. I noticed it myself last week when I was trying to schedule an afternoon appointment. Somehow my Rotary meeting that always happens at noon thought it was starting at 1pm. There are just too many ways that times could have gotten crossed for the next couple of weeks. Perhaps your software moved something to the wrong spot. Maybe the person you're planning on meeting got tripped up by their software. The easy fix is simply to call ahead and confirm the time of the meeting. Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com

Author: Scott Ingram