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Amazingly it’s already 2008! What the heck happened to 2007? I had just gotten used to writing last year on cheques and now I have to learn the next one!
Vanessa and I wish everyone the best for this year, but as you know just wishing for something does not make it happen. Whatever your resolutions for the new year (ours involve not only significant growth in our business but also expanded participation in community work) now is the time to understand what you need in order to make them happen and then to make sure that you have what you need. As Dr. Phil says, "If you keep doing the same thing you’ll keep getting the same results". What do you need to have or to do differently to ensure that you get what you wish for?
The Marketing Edge will continue the trend it started last year of providing you with practical and powerful tips and tricks for getting the most out of your marketing and customer service efforts. Make a resolution to use them regularly and consistently and you will see the difference in your closing ratios and profit margins! Why not also forward each issue to a colleague (or more than one) who you think might benefit from our guidance? Better still, encourage them to subscribe and they will be assured of never missing an issue!
Networking That Produces Results -
How to Work That Room!
Are you one of those people who shudder at the thought of attending networking events?
As if your daily schedule and life itself wasn’t stressful enough, you are also now expected to shine as you network and gather all those business cards and leads from complete strangers.
What if you feel really introverted and awkward in those environments? What if you’ve attended networking events before and just weren’t very effective? There is light at the end of the tunnel – and it doesn’t come from the headlamp of the approaching train!
I used to feel that way too. I’d convinced myself that I was too shy and introverted to go to networking events (or in fact any event that required mingling with strangers) and the thought alone made me extremely anxious and flustered. I started to overcome those feelings by repeatedly reminding myself that the people I would meet had no preconceived ideas about me. They had no idea that I thought I was shy. So I started faking confidence. I would attend events and mentally prepare to go "on stage" as soon as I arrived. I would walk in acting like a person who is outgoing and confident. Within only a few seconds of doing that something in my brain kicked in, and I was no longer pretending. Confidence and poise was actually coming naturally. I had overcome the first obstacle: my negative mental block.
Now, that is all well and good, but "first" implies that there are more! I also had to learn a number of other techniques to help me. I am delighted to share them with you today in this article, and help you to overcome your fears of stepping into a room full of strangers.
Seven Tricks of the Trade
- Arrive in good time. Slipping in just as the event is beginning is bad manners and gives other attendees the wrong impression of you right from the offset. Most of all it also adds to your stress and anxiety (and you want to minimise that, right?). Plan to arrive 15 to 20 minutes earlier. This will give you time to catch your breath and gather your thoughts. You may even have a better opportunity of meeting the host and breaking the ice with them. Don’t be scared to tell them that you are new to the group and keen to meet many others. You’ll be surprised at how relaxed you feel after telling someone that!
- Be prepared for small talk. Have some interesting topics to talk about and share. If you regularly read the newspapers and other relevant industry journals you will keep in tune with current or local interest affairs and give you something interesting to contribute to the conversation.
- Develop your "Verbal Signature™". When somebody asks "So, what do you do?" this isn’t where you rattle off the entire contents of your C.V. or tell them your job title. Rather it is a brief synopsis or sound-bite of the kind of work you do and who you do it with. A good verbal signature will pique interest and move others to ask you for more information. (Incidentally, Zee2a are experts at helping our clients develop great verbal signatures – don’t be shy to ask for our help!)
- Share the attention. As much as you are there to let others know about you and what you do, you will be a far more effective networker if you take turns both talking and listening. Allow others to tell you about themselves and what they do. Ask open questions and actively listen. It also gives you the opportunity to clarify whether this is someone with whom you want to explore business opportunities further.
- Move around and meet people. Your main purpose at a networking event should be to meet and interact with new people. If you arrive with a colleague don’t hide in their shadow. If they are talking with people you aren’t familiar with, get introduced, otherwise move around the room and talk to others. Likewise don’t get stuck for the entire event talking with only one new person. Tactfully mention that you would like to continue meeting new people at this event. You could even ask them to join you as you circulate. If they present an opportunity that you would like to explore further, set up an appointment immediately and then move on.
- Follow up. This is such a crucial element to networking. What is the point of going to the event in the first place, and collecting wads of business cards, if you don’t have an efficient follow-up system in place? If you promised to call, then call. Not within a month. Not within a week. Do it the next day. If you made any promises then for goodness sake make good on them.
- Build bridges, don’t burn them. Perhaps you spoke to a number of people with whom you don’t see an immediate benefit. The event was still a great use of your time. Nurture that contact and build a relationship (that is the greatest point of networking, isn’t it?). Keep in touch. Down the line you may have just the product or service they need. Or you land up needing them. They may even refer you to others in their network that are looking for exactly what you offer.
I am certain that these great tips will help you immediately at the next networking event that you attend, and I would love to hear your feedback and success stories. If you have further tips you would like to suggest I would also love to hear from you. Please use the Contact Us option on the website or send me an email!
The Marketing Edge™ and Marketing Team Bootcamp™ programmes offered by Zee2a cover all these and many more proven methodologies for marketing and promoting yourself and your business. Please click here for more information.
(If you're unfamilair with the concept behind Front2Back 2Front please go here to read the explanation in our launch issue.)
For this Front2Back2Front I want to share a most interesting experience that highlights how carefully new customer service initiatives need to be thought out. Recently we signed up with an online service provider. They came highly recommended and all was going well for the first few weeks. Then I received an automated email which suggested that I let them know what I thought of their service so far. Very nice, you might think - and I did too!
I did have a minor niggle (Mac users among you will know how it niggles to have a website tell you that you’re not using ‘approved software’!) so I responded. And here’s where the wheels started to fall off! The person who received my email obviously didn’t have a clue that his organisation had invited my comments, and he also didn’t have the time or the inclination to understand my niggle. His ‘fob-off’ reply sent my blood pressure through the roof and their place in my estimation through the floor! Where there had been no problem, now there was a problem - because they had asked for my input and then not respected it.
The Front2Back2Front lesson? Before launching a customer service initiative take the time to understand the full impact on your organisation and make sure that all staff who will be affected are aware, committed and trained to treat your customers like the precious gems that they are (or should be). If you can’t (or won’t) do this it is better not to launch the initiative at all, because you risk damaging customer relationships which would otherwise continue unaffected.
 We would love to hear from you, our subscribers, about your Front2Back2Front examples and stories. This issue we're posing the question:
What experience have you had of customer service inititiatives that had unexpected consequences? Tell us your story.
Click here to send us your thoughts, using 'SoapBox' as the subject. Alternately you can email us at info@zee2a.com. If we like yours it will appear in an upcoming issue of The Marketing Edge.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our Soapbox section last month. 22 readers sent in examples of customer service experiences they have had. Some were fantastic stories, and others made our skin crawl they were so bad! The responses will shortly be consolidated into a report that will then be made available in our subscribers download area.
Last month’s question was: Do you ever get the feeling that organisations put a lot of time and effort into securing your business and once they have it you aren't important to them anymore? The best answer we received was from Reg Ogilvie in Nova Scotia (Canada):
"I had been renting a DVR/TIVO box {that’s a Sky+ equivalent to UK readers} from the local cable company and decided to buy one and save the rental fee. The purchased one did not work properly, and they sent out 3 techs in the run of a week with no success. I even offered to let them take the purchased box into their inventory and just stop charging me for the one that I was renting but no success. So for $15/month they will lose a customer worth $200/month (internet, cable phone and long distance)."
We are doing a number of networking and speaking engagements during January, here are a few of the places where you can meet us if you are also attending (please DO come up and say "hello" to us!):
- Thursday 10th – BusinessLink Event at Cornucopia in Bordon
- Tuesday 15th – TFN Event in Basingstoke
- Thursday 17th – BusinessLink Event at the Apollo Hotel in Basingstoke
- Tuesday 22nd – BusinessLink Event at Dummer Golf Course near Basingstoke
- Wednesday 23rd – BusinessLink Event at the Red Lion Hotel in Basingstoke
- Thursday 31st – Presenting at Wired Wessex Event in Winchester
SAVE THE DATE:
Tuesday 12th February – we have a very special event coming up. Watch your inbox as details will arrive in the next few days.
If you would like David, Vanessa, or both of us to come and talk at one of your upcoming events, training sessions, or board meetings, please give us a call or drop an email to info@zee2a.com. Our diary is filling up FAST for February, but we still have some availability in March.
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