See Key Success Tips & Share Your Own. You Might Land In The Spotlight, Too!
Welcome to our new feature -- Tip Of The Month -- focused on the best ways to succeed as a networker on Alignable.
Many quotes and fantastic success stories have emerged via our Power Networking Group Get-Together that occurs every Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST. That's because several of the Top 50 most-supportive networkers on Alignable attend that session weekly. (To join yourself, click here).
Our networking gurus are very open to giving tips those who could benefit from their experience -- from newbies to others who have yet to fully engage on Alignable.
One of those Top 50 superstars is Victor Felix, who shared the following quote during our session last week:
Victor tells us that he makes it a habit to seek the best people to connect with each day on Alignable, a practice that fuels his ongoing business-building efforts.
Other networking tips from our most-engaged members include:
- Abandon the "hard-sell" approach. It's a major turnoff here on Alignable
- Ask how you can help other members. Be service-oriented
- Find out more about your peers' businesses. If they're interested in your biz, they'll ask about it
- Give your advice freely, eventually members will recognize your expertise.
So, what are your top networking tips?
Please let us know below and we might just choose your quote to highlight in other newsletter posts or even as a future "Tip Of The Month."
Comments (11-20)
Borrowing from Victor Felix with my own acronym for networking: be REAL: Relatable (be yourself!), Energetic (people like being around high energy), Affirming (always looking for ways to be supportive of other business owners) and Learning (the best part of networking...learning about new industries and learning about other people's businesses).
The only way you lose is when you give up.
Always remember the 3 w"s who you are, what you do, and where you are located.
This is a very good system. Will provide some information as to who I am and see how I can help our members.
I have been doing sales for almost 40 years. I’ve sold for many service companies and have always done it by doing door to door sales. I want to go by every business and know who they are using, if they are happy with their current provider, or if they have pains that we can help them with. By going door to door people get to know you on a personal level. I can’t tell you how many times people have called me three to six month after my initial cold call and said, “ Hi, you stopped by a few months ago and left your brochure and card, and we would like to meet with you!” There’s no better feeling knowing your efforts worked. It’s a numbers game. I try to do 25-30 cold calls a day. It works !
One thing I have learned over the last couple of years, as a new business owner (just starting our 5th year in business), never let one client make up the majority of your business volume. If that client makes a change and moves their business or if you have to make a change that effects that client due to your growth, it can be devastating. I would rather have 20% of the work for a large number of clients than 80% of the work for just a few clients.
I also believe you should diversify your client mix. As an example, as a legal process server, we want to work with not only law firms, but real estate companies/leasing agents/apartment complexes, other process servers, pro se clients, small businesses, anyone that needs service in small claims court, etc. That way, if the economy goes sideways in the housing market for example, you have other revenue streams to fall back on.
Please feel free to reach out to Trident Solutions if we can assist you with anything. We stand ready to serve.
Do what you say you are going to do!!!
ABC Victor gives graciously and Aligns all us 'Alignables' to secret song's meaning, "it's as easy as A B C, 1 2 3.
Thanks Victor and Chuck. You help make life easier for me and 'us'.
Good stuff as always.
Want to tap the Luxury Market? Then you have to know where they hang out! And btw, you don’t have to be rich or famous to attend these events as long as you have the entry fee!
Here are a few places to start:
Non-profit organizations the affluent support financially AND emotionally (I call this “cause-related networking”)
Churches, Temples and Places of Worship
Exclusive Resorts and Country Clubs
Skyboxes at Sports Stadiums
High-end Restaurants
Social Clubs
ClubCorp Clubs – aka Tower Clubs in some cities
Yacht Clubs
The Arts such as Opera, Ballet, Museums, Art Galleries
Read the calendar of events listing in your local papers and online to find out what’s happening in your community. If you have local celebrities, start watching the local magazines and newspapers to find out what organizations they support.
Ask your own circle who they that you could be introduced to.
Create a “hit” list, get an invitation, mark your calendars, and network!