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And The Systems Will Set You Free ©
Your freedom from repetitive frustrations, damaging profit leaks, and crushing damage to your business reputation is rooted in the least glamorous and most overlooked place. It's buried deep within every single business that still has its doors open...
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I was recently talking with one of my entrepreneur friends. He has started three businesses in the last several years—a budding entrepreneur. He was relating some of the joys he has experienced in those enterprises: a sense of freedom from the...
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Coaching is a hot trend at a growing number of companies, from IBM and Dow Chemical to entrepreneurial start ups. According to a recent survey by The Hay Group, an international human resources consultancy, between 25 percent and 40 percent of...
Soft E-mail selling skills coaching
I have been operating on the web for quite a while and i have seen spam time and time again,, but recently i have been learning Soft E mail selling skills from a guy i met in an internet cafe. I have been trading my seo skills on one of his...
Tips to Energize Your Presentations
“There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours. To the cognition of the brain must be added the experience of the soul.”
– Arnold Bennett (1867-1931)
Ask...
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Who Loves Networking????
Many professionals who don’t enjoy networking equate it with selling. I have heard many say, I’m a professional. I didn’t go to school to learn to sell and they didn’t teach it. It is a common belief that in order to get new clients professionals need to make cold calls and do other activities they find distasteful and uncomfortable. It would be helpful and probably a relief to understand that networking is a different story.
The purpose of a good network is much more than a basis for getting new clients. A network of connections, which has been built over time, is a source for many things, such as career management in general, a resource for information and even valuable friendships. It is not an overnight way to get new clients. It is a support system for the long run.
The main feature of a good network is that it is mutually beneficial.
Did you ever put two people in touch for something helpful to both of them? Did you ever recommend a restaurant to someone? Those are examples of networking.
Despite the way it is commonly done, networking is not about elevator speeches, nor an exchange of business cards in the hope the recipient will become or refer a client. Networking is a sincere interest in learning and understanding the needs of someone else with the purpose of you being able to help them now or in the future with a referral, some information or other helpful gesture. Obviously you hope for reciprocity.
Effective networking assumes you have good communication skills that enable you to listen well and to articulate
clearly both what you do and how you can be of service. The ability to describe the client you best serve is basic. However, a conversation which includes talk about hobbies can be much more engaging than one limited to business.
When you get the hang of networking, you will note that it takes place everywhere, not solely in professional and business settings. How surprised I was to find that the owner of the gift store where I was making a purchase was a formerly practicing lawyer who gave me two referrals on the spot when our conversation led us both to reveal our career paths.
The maintenance and nurturing of networking contacts is as vital as making it in the first place. Renewing them through follow-up emails, holiday greetings, sending articles of interest, periodic check-ins, coffee meetings, invitations to play golf, referrals, etc. are all important parts of the picture.
Trade in your negative ideas that networking is a hard sell of you and your services in exchange for the idea that it is the practice of showing genuine interest and generosity to those you meet. Hopefully you will find the process enjoyable and enriching.
About the Author
Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level Business and Professional Coaching. She coaches Professionals and Business Partners. You can get a free sample of her ebook, Stop Doing What You Hate…Start Doing What You Love at http://www.StartDoingWhatYouLove.com. Contact Dr. Lehavi at Dorene@CoachingforYourNextLevel.com or on the web at http://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com
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