Posts Tagged ‘networking’

Wow! Well what a day at the Kent 2020 Vision Business Show. It was absolutely buzzing although a little hot!

I’d like to thank all those who made the effort to make it to my dma stand; it was a maze so I appreciate the effort. It was great to catch up with clients, acquaintances and to meet lots of new people.

For exhibitors and delegates alike, it’s now down to the follow up to make the most of our investment on the day. As mentioned in my last blog, we need to keep visible and build our credibility to grow our business. Once we have made that face to face connection, it’s time to keep in touch. For many it will be through our face to face networking but by effectively using social media, the relationships will strengthen more quickly.

Katie King PR & social media expert, will be one of the experts on my free May telesummit when I will be asking her the questions to which we all want to know the answers to get the most out of social media.

To register for the telesummit, subscribe to my Step Up Bulletin at www.denisemolloy.co.uk/stepup.html, so I can contact you with the details of the summit.

Meantime Katie has put together a great slide presentation to help us to make the most of social media. Is social media relevant to my business, by Katie King, Zoodikers

BUILD YOUR NETWORK AT

DETLING – THURSDAY 7 APRIL

I am exhibiting for the first time at Kent 2020 business show and even before the event, I am already seeing a return on my investment just from the connections I am making. These connections have been through meeting new contacts at the pre events and subsequently linking up and with them on social media sites.  The camaraderie is great and we are supporting each other in promoting our presence at the show.

The pre events have also helped both delegates and exhibitors to focus on the outcomes we want to achieve from attending the show.

VISIBILITY+CREDIBILITY = PROFITS (Ivan Misner)

Attending and exhibiting at a business show gives us all the opportunity to work this equation. Delegates and exhibitors will be raising their visibility by building on existing relationships and introducing themselves to new contacts.

Brad Chapman’s key message at the pre event was to look to the future and create opportunities. It may take some of us out of our comfort zone, but it is Kent 2020 Vision and we do need to be proactive and put ourselves out there to grow our business As it is a county based show, odds are on we will meet our new contacts again, so check out what networking events they attend so you can build on the relationship.

Whether your new contacts are local or not – connect up through social media to keep in touch.  As Mick Say presented, use the ‘Fab 5’ as part of your ongoing marketing strategy ie Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Foursquare. Zoe Cairns also gave some great social media tips, my favourite being animoto to create a short promotional video.

As exhibitors, we are raising our credibility. Tony Buddin advocated in his preshow workshop, that we should act as consultants, not salespeople. Listen to visitors to our stands and offer tips and advice where we can.

So the final part of the equation is to look towards the future and profit. Once we have raised our visibility and built our credibility, profit will be more forthcoming. As we build trust and listen to our clients and prospects, we will be better positioned to meet their needs.

Please do come and see me at Kent 2020. You will find me on stand 004c. You will have the opportunity to win a strengths profile and discuss the findings in a 1-2-1 coaching session to help you to maximise your potential and build your business success.

Entrance is FREE so do come along and network. Here’s the link

See you there!

Denise

I think of myself as seasoned networker and this week I tried something new – Speed Networking. Yes, it is based on the same concept as speed dating, you look to build a relationship with those you have something in common.

I met with around 30 other business owners who wanted to share what business they were in and figure out whether there was potential to help each other, either directly or indirectly.

When I booked, I have to say I wasn’t sure about it; after all networking is all about building relationship and trust, how do you do that in 2 minutes each?  Well you can’t, but it is a start as it gives you enough to ascertain if there is some synergy upon which you can build.

With any networking event there are key points to keep in mind to make it a successful investment of your time and money:

Tip 1  Always know what you are seeking to gain from the event. Is it to find joint venture partners; to provide a service or sell direct; to inform them of an event they will find useful; to help you get in touch with people they know; to build your visibility? Whatever your outcome be as sure as you can that your target market will actually be there.

Tip 2  Consider what marketing material would be appropriate to help you get your message across in the time you have available. Visuals will help the other person to remember you and it will make it easier to tell them about your service, but make sure it is right and cost effective for the event.

Tip 3  Follow up with those you want to build a relationship and do it within 24 hours so they remember you and know you are sincere. Acting quickly also means you will do it rather than putting it on a do list or collecting a pile of card and leaflets!

Tip 4  Make it part of your overall marketing strategy. Whatever networking you use be sure to make it part of your planned marketing tactics to get the results you want to move your business forward to where you want it to be rather than taking a scatter gun approach.

Tip 5 Measure it’s success. This will be easy if you followed tip 1 and were specific in the outcome you were seeking. So be clear of your intent and be a specific as possible so you can measure its success and whether it is worth repeating.

For fellow lovers of Maggie Smith who are glued to Downton Abbey on Sundays nights, this phrase will still be ringing in our ears. For the Duchess, seven days of the week are much the same, filled with pleasure and leisurely pursuits.

Many business owners, may also ask the same question but not for the same reason. Weekends can too often be lost to work, giving no real break to follow their leisurely pursuits. When networking with owner managers I hear them say that ‘the weekend’ is the only time they have to do the paperwork or catch up.

Take a moment to think about why you went into business in the first place? Do you recall looking forward to having more control over your time so you can spend more time with the family at the weekend, or going away for a few days with friends?

Work through these steps to get your weekend back and take that well earned break:

Step 1   Scrap your weekend To Do List! Now start a fresh list and name it you ‘Will Do’ list. Take a look at the items that always seem to appear on your weekend list and transfer them to your ‘Will Do’ list.

Step 2 Are they essential tasks? Once you have written your Will Do list, have a good look at each of them and think hard if they really need to be done. What would happen if you ignored a particular task? What are the benefits of doing it? Cross out anything that is not essential and for which you cannot see a benefit and STOP doing them.

Step 3   Identify what you have to do but would rather not! For those items that have to be done, odds are on that you don’t enjoy doing them and that’s why you put them off to the weekend.  If so look around you and see who else could do them. There will be someone who actually enjoys doing it and therefore would do it faster and dare I say, even better!  It might be your accounts – invoicing, chasing outstanding invoices, or marketing. If you can delegate -do so! You may say ‘but I can’t afford to’, but before you do, make some enquiries, you could be pleasantly surprised as specialists will take fewer hours to do the job and it would take the stress off of you.

Step 4  For the essential items you have to undertake, keep them on your Will Do list and touch them every day. By making progress every day if only for 10 minutes it will get done. Make the task an appointment in your diary rather than a task – you wouldn’t miss an appointment with a customer, treat this appointment the same. To avoid procrastination make it the first appointment of the day to get it out of the way.

Step 5 Make a plan for the weekend to follow your leisurely pursuits then you won’t have time to work! Write a list of all the things you want to do but have put off as you haven’t had time.  You are now making time so put them in your calendar and enjoy!

Denise Molloy specialises in working with owner managers to step up their business and create a business that can run without them.  If you want to build a business that can run perfectly well in your absence, sign up for Denise’s free teleseminar at www.stepupyourbusiness.co.uk