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Add You - Follow Up - Key To Networking Success
Business blogs have become increasingly popular and can quite profitable for those who set up a marketing blog. Statistically though only a few bloggers actually go about making their blog profitiable. Nevertheless fortunately those who do succeed in writing business blogs are able to spin enough income to make this a worthwhile aspect of their work at home income. Some bloggers do that well they can obtain tens of thousands of dollars for their efforts. In order to make the higher income though the blogger has to be willing to dedicate themselves to the tasks involved in making blogging work effectively.One good way a blogger can earn additional income is through allowing ads to be placed on their site. Some writers feel rather
Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:
1) Do you use it, and
2) Does it get the results you are looking for?
Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much trouble. Start small and simple.
Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results. Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort, costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best sources.
One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed new business came through referrals from existing clients, not networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to her client base, ra
A recent movie starring Richard Dreyfus and Bill Murray tells the story of a man desperately trying to be included as a member of his psychiatrist's family. Whenever the doctor attempted to exclude him, his family would respond by asking, "What about Bob?"In the midst of all the work relating to diversity in the workplace, one group often gets excluded. When affirmative action categories are closely examined, we find that nearly everyone is covered in some way except this group. In discussions of equity, this group is excluded. As we struggle with ways to break through the glass ceiling, they are the ones on the other side. In our quest to value differences, we often fail to account for and honor their differences. I spe
--Using the same personally intensive strategy and activities for everyone they meet, finding they have no time for service delivery
--Flooding new contacts with electronic information, but don't check in to see if there is a real fit
--Letting months go between contacts and then being dismayed with few responses to offers
Networking Maven Kristy Rogers, is not only well known for her prowess in networking, having received three major networking awards just this year alone, but also conducts great seminars on following up. (http://www.KristyRogersConnects.com)
Following up, says Kristy, is crucial. Especially for people who are in their first three years of running their businesses or those who need to grow their businesses. Yet most people, even those who know they 'should,' don't follow up after meeting new potential clients.
Kristy identified the three most common follow-up mistakes one-person business owners make:
1) Not scheduling time for follow up on your calendar. If you don't make a follow-up appointment, or if you don't keep the appointment with yourself for follow-up activities, it won't get done.
2) Not developing the habit of following up. Set up some simple follow-up systems and tools: have note cards and stamps handy. Write a few sample notes you can use for either email or snail mail. Make following up part of your daily routine. Use 'scrap time' to dash off a quick note/email to one of your contacts. Build your library of 'one sheets' describing your various products and services. Format printed and electronic copies of articles, especially your own, ready for distribution.
3) Not capturing your contacts in an electronic format. Most people struggle with this task because they get hung up on finding the 'perfect program' to use. Should it be Goldmine, Outlook, Entourage, Excel, and so on and so on. Kristy is adamant about this common sabotage: 'Stop waiting until you find the perfect system and just do it.' Most of us have Excel, it's a part of the Microsoft Office package. Just use it!
Take a course, use the tutorial that is included, ask a friend, pay an expert to set up a simple system. Just start. (Of course this doesn't mean utomatically putting every new contact onto your ezine list. Most of us have more than enough email to deal with already, and just get annoyed when having to unsubscribe from unwanted ezines.)
Why don't people follow up? The biggest block cited by participants in Kristy's workshop is 'not knowing what to say.' She suggests having a script when you phone, or write your follow-up notes. Practice and polish your script, and soon you'll be much more comfortable with follow-up calls.
Professional Speaker Marc LeBlanc considers keeping in touch so important he calls it 'The Greatest Marketing Strategy in the World.' Growing Your Business, available from http://www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com, is best known for Mark's clear instructions for crafting your defining statement, your 'elevator speech,' how you quickly explain your unique selling proposition (USP). While developing a great defining statement is necessary, for me the gem in his book was his keeping in touch strategy, his Target 25.
Mark suggests you identify the 25 people in your life who are in a position to impact your business. Then make the most of your Target 25 by following his two 'rules':
1) Never let any of them get more than 30 days of hearing from/about you
2) Each of them must know your defining statement
Why 25? -- More could quickly become overwhelming.
Why 30 days? -- We're all busy and need reminders.
At this point most folks go right to an electronic newsletter, ezine, as their primary stay in touch strategy. And, you should have one. But don't stop with only an ezine. Ezines have become necessary but not sufficient. Use all your stay-in-touch tools and techniques: face-to-face meetings, fax, personal notes, and even phone calls.
Evaluating your Follow-up System
Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:
1) Do you use it, and
2) Does it get the results you are looking for?
Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much trouble. Start small and simple.
Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results. Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort, costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best sources.
One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed new business came through referrals from existing clients, not networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to her client base, rat
When starting up a business, there are some important legal matters that you’ll have to deal with, no matter how much you’d love to just dive in and get started. However, if you neglect these legal steps, you’re going to find that maintaining the business down the road becomes much more difficult, and in some cases, impossible. It’s in your best interest to take these legal aspects seriously and get them sorted out as soon as possible when starting a business.1) Develop a Strategic Business PlanThis plan will be the blueprint and backdrop for your business – the thing upon which all other aspects of starting your business are based. Also, having a business plan will make it much easier for you to receive financing for your
Kristy identified the three most common follow-up mistakes one-person business owners make:
1) Not scheduling time for follow up on your calendar. If you don't make a follow-up appointment, or if you don't keep the appointment with yourself for follow-up activities, it won't get done.
2) Not developing the habit of following up. Set up some simple follow-up systems and tools: have note cards and stamps handy. Write a few sample notes you can use for either email or snail mail. Make following up part of your daily routine. Use 'scrap time' to dash off a quick note/email to one of your contacts. Build your library of 'one sheets' describing your various products and services. Format printed and electronic copies of articles, especially your own, ready for distribution.
3) Not capturing your contacts in an electronic format. Most people struggle with this task because they get hung up on finding the 'perfect program' to use. Should it be Goldmine, Outlook, Entourage, Excel, and so on and so on. Kristy is adamant about this common sabotage: 'Stop waiting until you find the perfect system and just do it.' Most of us have Excel, it's a part of the Microsoft Office package. Just use it!
Take a course, use the tutorial that is included, ask a friend, pay an expert to set up a simple system. Just start. (Of course this doesn't mean utomatically putting every new contact onto your ezine list. Most of us have more than enough email to deal with already, and just get annoyed when having to unsubscribe from unwanted ezines.)
Why don't people follow up? The biggest block cited by participants in Kristy's workshop is 'not knowing what to say.' She suggests having a script when you phone, or write your follow-up notes. Practice and polish your script, and soon you'll be much more comfortable with follow-up calls.
Professional Speaker Marc LeBlanc considers keeping in touch so important he calls it 'The Greatest Marketing Strategy in the World.' Growing Your Business, available from http://www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com, is best known for Mark's clear instructions for crafting your defining statement, your 'elevator speech,' how you quickly explain your unique selling proposition (USP). While developing a great defining statement is necessary, for me the gem in his book was his keeping in touch strategy, his Target 25.
Mark suggests you identify the 25 people in your life who are in a position to impact your business. Then make the most of your Target 25 by following his two 'rules':
1) Never let any of them get more than 30 days of hearing from/about you
2) Each of them must know your defining statement
Why 25? -- More could quickly become overwhelming.
Why 30 days? -- We're all busy and need reminders.
At this point most folks go right to an electronic newsletter, ezine, as their primary stay in touch strategy. And, you should have one. But don't stop with only an ezine. Ezines have become necessary but not sufficient. Use all your stay-in-touch tools and techniques: face-to-face meetings, fax, personal notes, and even phone calls.
Evaluating your Follow-up System
Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:
1) Do you use it, and
2) Does it get the results you are looking for?
Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much trouble. Start small and simple.
Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results. Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort, costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best sources.
One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed new business came through referrals from existing clients, not networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to her client base, ra
Most residents of North Carolina who apply for individual health insurance apply for the innovative Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina (BCBSNC) Blue Advantage medical insurance plan. The Blue Advantage insurance plan is a PPO health insurance plan in North Carolina that individuals and families subscribe to for quality medical insurance and benefits if they don't have health insurance provided for them through their job. Applicants that have no health issues get extremely low rates and a good value for their health care dollars. Blue Advantage applicants with health problems may have their insurance premium increased to an unacceptable level after Blue Cross Blue Shield NC issues final rates.Everyone qualifies for
Take a course, use the tutorial that is included, ask a friend, pay an expert to set up a simple system. Just start. (Of course this doesn't mean utomatically putting every new contact onto your ezine list. Most of us have more than enough email to deal with already, and just get annoyed when having to unsubscribe from unwanted ezines.)
Why don't people follow up? The biggest block cited by participants in Kristy's workshop is 'not knowing what to say.' She suggests having a script when you phone, or write your follow-up notes. Practice and polish your script, and soon you'll be much more comfortable with follow-up calls.
Professional Speaker Marc LeBlanc considers keeping in touch so important he calls it 'The Greatest Marketing Strategy in the World.' Growing Your Business, available from http://www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com, is best known for Mark's clear instructions for crafting your defining statement, your 'elevator speech,' how you quickly explain your unique selling proposition (USP). While developing a great defining statement is necessary, for me the gem in his book was his keeping in touch strategy, his Target 25.
Mark suggests you identify the 25 people in your life who are in a position to impact your business. Then make the most of your Target 25 by following his two 'rules':
1) Never let any of them get more than 30 days of hearing from/about you
2) Each of them must know your defining statement
Why 25? -- More could quickly become overwhelming.
Why 30 days? -- We're all busy and need reminders.
At this point most folks go right to an electronic newsletter, ezine, as their primary stay in touch strategy. And, you should have one. But don't stop with only an ezine. Ezines have become necessary but not sufficient. Use all your stay-in-touch tools and techniques: face-to-face meetings, fax, personal notes, and even phone calls.
Evaluating your Follow-up System
Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:
1) Do you use it, and
2) Does it get the results you are looking for?
Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much trouble. Start small and simple.
Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results. Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort, costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best sources.
One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed new business came through referrals from existing clients, not networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to her client base, ra
One of the best ways to create visibility for yourself and your business is simply to start talking in front of a captive audience. That means seeking out every possible opportunity to speak in front of people who are interested in your subject.Why? Because:1. You establish yourself as an expert. No matter what your topic or how much experience you have in your field, once you stand in front of an audience you are perceived as an expert. The more often you speak, the more quickly you will notice that the perception becomes reality.2. Speaking introduces you to a whole new audience. You may be great at what you do, but if nobody knows about it, what good will it do you? Each and every time you speak, you place y
Mark suggests you identify the 25 people in your life who are in a position to impact your business. Then make the most of your Target 25 by following his two 'rules':
1) Never let any of them get more than 30 days of hearing from/about you
2) Each of them must know your defining statement
Why 25? -- More could quickly become overwhelming.
Why 30 days? -- We're all busy and need reminders.
At this point most folks go right to an electronic newsletter, ezine, as their primary stay in touch strategy. And, you should have one. But don't stop with only an ezine. Ezines have become necessary but not sufficient. Use all your stay-in-touch tools and techniques: face-to-face meetings, fax, personal notes, and even phone calls.
Evaluating your Follow-up System
Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:
1) Do you use it, and
2) Does it get the results you are looking for?
Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much trouble. Start small and simple.
Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results. Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort, costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best sources.
One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed new business came through referrals from existing clients, not networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to her client base, ra
Change is the law of life.― John F. KennedyAn emergency room (ER) nurse kept hearing complaints from patients who had been waiting for hours to see a doctor. After reading The 2,000 Percent Solution, she began to keep track of how long it took various kinds of patients to get the attention they needed. She was shocked to find that those who were too sick or injured to explain their problems but who appeared to be okay sometimes waited for more than 10 hours ― even if they needed immediate treatment. This nurse shared her concerns with the other ER nurses and physicians. They discussed possible solutions and decided to train the guards at the door to spot people who couldn't explain about themselves and bring a t
Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:
1) Do you use it, and
2) Does it get the results you are looking for?
Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much trouble. Start small and simple.
Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results. Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort, costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best sources.
One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed new business came through referrals from existing clients, not networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to her client base, rather than relying on networking events to fuel new business.
Both Kristy and Mark define action plans for Patricia Fripp's marketing maxim: 'It is not your customers' responsibility to remember you, but your responsibility to ensure they never forget you.' As Kristy reminded me, 'It is up to the salesperson to drive the sales process. You must drive your own follow-up program.'
Don't wait to get started on your action plan. Your business will thank you, and your bank account will thank you.
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