Marketing

3 Networking Tips That Work Every Time

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably attending AT LEAST four to five networking events every month. And that can be brutal. Because some are effective, some are fun, some are extremely boring and not worth the effort and most are just ho-hum.

Networking, in whatever form, is a necessary evil. In order to keep your pipeline filled, you’ve got to participate.

But how can you be most effective in your networking efforts?

Here are 3 tips that work every time:

1-Be sure you are networking where your ideal clients are hanging out. Ideal clients–what’s that, you say? Ideal clients are the yummy, wonderful clients you would work with, all day long for free if you could. They are the clients you can’t wait to see, have the most fun with and love serving! Start building an ideal client profile around them if you haven’t already. And be sure to ask them where they network or just hang out! Likes hang together, remember the old adage, “birds of a feather, flock together”? So be sure you are attending networking events, or social gatherings or meet-ups where other ideal client types are also hanging.

2-What’s Your Intention Before Entering The Room? You must have an intention before entering a networking meeting. Perhaps it’s meeting a specific person you know is going to be there, maybe it’s meeting a certain number of people, or maybe it’s working the four corners of the room—systematically. That, can be a challenge. Whatever your reason for attending a networking event—be sure you have an intention or goal for yourself.

3-Have a kick *ss elevator pitch! Yes, you must have a really good elevator pitch that will PULL ideal clients in towards you. You must communicate what you do in a way that a 3rd grader can understand what you do. And it’s important that people will understand EXACTLY who you work with and who they should refer to you. The more clear you are about who you work with, being able to describe who they are and what you do for them (results you bring) the more likely you are to get referrals!

While these three tips may seem obvious and you might be saying to yourself, “I already know this”. In my experience, I don’t see a lot of people practicing these three tips at the networking events I attend (and I attend a lot!)

So take stock in how you are approaching your networking and I’d suggest you incorporate these three tips to make your efforts more effective and efficient!

Mandy works with talented, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. Mandy’s client’s receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own. Sign up for her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” right down below.

How Are You Spending the Next Four Weeks?

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

Things always start to get a bit crazy right after Thanksgiving, don’t they? It’s usually the time I notice that people start to say, “December isn’t the right month to start that (fill in the blank) project in my business, and I’ll just wait until January”. Or, “December is not the time to start a new class, it’s just too crazy”. Or, this is the one that really gets my attention, “I might as well just write off December and start focusing on January. You can’t get anyone’s attention in December”.

These are all stories and belief systems and I’m here to tell you, no matter what your business is, there is work to be done, business to be had and money to be made in December!

So if you’re someone who’s “written off December”, here’s a few ideas (and tips you can implement) that will make your December meaningful and profitable.

1-Look at your low-hanging fruit list
Who’s on your low-hanging fruit list, you know, those potential clients that know, like and trust you, probably have the resources to invest in your product or service, that need a little nudge, or powerful suggestion from you to buy or invest in your services? Is there a holiday gift idea for them, family or friends? A program you are offering to start their New Year off right? Look at your potential client list, gather up those “low-hanging” fruit people and create a package, product or program just for them-and start marketing it next week!

2-Who has a bit of money left in their 2013 budget?
Often times, companies, businesses, even individuals have money left over in their budgets-sometimes not a lot, but more than you might think. What kind of workshop, program, product or service could you sell to them in the next three weeks that they could pay for from their 2013 budget? Maybe you won’t even deliver until 2014, but they could pay it in 2013 and get it out of the way. You will be surprised how well this works when you really start combing your list and making some one-to-one calls.

3-Start planning your business strategy for 2014
After implementing #1 and #2 above, take a look at your own business and start strategizing new products, programs and services for 2014. Plot out on a calendar when you’ll be rolling out what. Be sure and write down the different steps and implementation phases on your calendar, so you can be sure and leave yourself enough time (and have the resources) to successfully implement your strategies. Develop a detailed plan through June 30, 2014. Mark your calendar on June 1st, for a date with yourself to create a detailed plan for July 1-December 31st. This tip REALLY works and I use it in my own business and in my client’s businesses. It has brought in hundreds of thousands of new dollars, just because it was all planned out BEFORE the year even began.

So get cracking, and don’t let the next four weeks go to waste. There’s a lot of opportunity waiting for you…

Please be sure and let me know in the comment section below, which of these ideas you intend to take seriously, because stating your intention to someone is a surefire way you’ll get it done!

Looking for Speaking Engagements?

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

People always ask me what’s the most successful way to get more clients? And I tell them, hands down, speaking engagements.

Now, I know there’s a lot of you out there who have a fear of public speaking, but I’m here to tell you, talking to a group of your ideal clients is so much more efficient (and effective) than talking to one at a time.

So how do you get speaking engagements? There are a variety of ways to land speaking engagements, which requires doing some homework, research and of course, putting yourself out there. Which is all TOTALLY doable!

Here are some tips and suggestions on where to go to land speaking engagements:

Chamber of Commerce and local business associations

Research your local chamber of commerce to see what kinds of events and workshops they currently offer. Where can you plug yourself in? What would you speak on? How would it fit in with their membership? Figure out who the person is who books the workshops and speakers and contact them through email, just asking if they are looking for possible speakers in the upcoming months.

Ask your ideal clients and networking buddies

Your clients and networking associates all belong to associations (local, statewide and national). Let them know you are interested in getting speaking engagements and could they put you in contact, or make a referral to a connection they might have who you could speak to. I’ve gotten many of my speaking engagements just by mentioning to friends, clients, colleagues and networking buddies, that I’m wanting to do more speaking engagements in the coming year.

Sign Up for Google Alerts and Other web-based services

Set up Google Alerts so you can receive email updates of the latest relevant Google search engines, based upon criteria you’ve entered.

For example, in Google Alerts, I’ve entered Women Entrepreneur Conferences, Women in Business Seminars, and Women’s Expos. When I receive an email alert that I think would be a good fit for one of my keynote topics, I will email the appropriate person to see how I might get on the schedule. Often times, it will be for the following year’s event, but I’ve been able to get quite a few speaking engagements this way.

Another great web-based service I’ve been using is called, Lanyrd.com. It is a social conference directory where you can learn about conferences all over the world. It also has recently added a speaker’s profile. This tool can be incredibly helpful in finding conferences that would be a good fit for your message.

The best place to start is to set an intention for a certain number of speaking engagements between now and the end of the year. Create a powerful signature speech that speaks to the struggles of your ideal clients. Do some research on local groups or organizations that are looking for speakers and make the contact to see if you can get on their schedule. You must set aside some time in your week to work on getting speaking engagements.

You can do it! Be sure and let me know how you’re doing and if I can be of help or support, please feel free to reach out at mandy@mandyschumaker.com

How Much Time Are You Working on Your Business?

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

Getting overwhelmed as an entrepreneur can be a fairly frequent occurrence, because there are so many things to do at any given time. I recently talked with a couple of entrepreneurs who have really increased their business in the past couple of weeks to the point where things are starting to feel overwhelming and stressful.

And there’s fear. Big fear.

Fear of having all the new business they’ve picked up, run out, and dry up. Because right now, they are so busy working in the business that they can’t work on the business.

In other words, all the prospecting, networking, following up, and seeding they did in the past six months, has really paid off, but now they don’t have time to continue their prospecting efforts and they know they may have nothing in the coming months, because they haven’t been seeding prospects.

One of the other challenges is not feeling like there is the time to work on some of your longer term projects, or to set up some of the systems in your business that would really move you forward in the future.

These are common concerns and ones that I see fairly often and there is just one solution: you must make the time in your schedule to continue to network and prospect, as well as move some of your other projects forward.

Here are some thoughts that might be helpful:

1-This is a good time to analyze what worked in terms of your networking and prospecting work. Where did all the business come from? Was it one particular activity? Maybe you sent handwritten notes, maybe you attended a lot of networking events, and maybe it was one-on-one coffees. Really look at what activity worked the best in bringing in all the new business you currently have.

2-Next, you must set aside the time to do the activity you learned from your analysis in #1 above EVERY SINGLE WEEK…regardless of how busy you are right now! Only you are in charge of your schedule and it’s crucial to schedule a few hours, even an hour or two to continue the prospecting activity.

3-You must also schedule the time in your calendar to continue working on some of the longer range projects. Perhaps you can’t currently spend a lot of time on them, but it’s important to get dates blocked off in the future, so you’ve created the time and space to work on them.

Not blocking your calendar to make time for yourself to prospect new business, or work on the projects that will help move your business forward is one of the biggest downfalls for entrepreneurs. It turns into a “feast or famine” situation over and over and over again. You either have too much business or no business. Using the three tips I listed above will help round out that roller coaster feeling for your income stream.

Please leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and if you found this post helpful!

You Must Keep Your Pipeline Filled

by Administrator Leave a Comment

Have you ever found yourself so busy handling client business that you stop networking, having one-to-ones, and putting yourself out there because, well, YOU’VE GOT TOO MUCH BUSINESS TO HANDLE?

And then what happens? You complete all of those client engagements and then YIKES-you turn around and there is nothing coming in. Nada, nuttin’, zero, zed. I can totally speak to this, because it’s happened to me numerous times. I network like a fiend, then am pushed to the max, handling all the business I’ve received from the outreach I’ve done, stopped the outreach (because I’m too busy with the client work) and then WHAM-nothing coming in.

This has happened to me nearly every summer when I move Downeast with my kids for July and August. When I come home in September, it’s like starting all over again. (I have a whole new plan on how this will work this summer.)

You MUST find a way to consistently network, put yourself out there and fill your pipeline. No matter how busy, or crazy your business (or life) becomes. Because when your pipeline is empty,it takes a lot of time, energy and perseverance to get the momentum going again. Not only have I seen it myself, but I’ve seen it with many of my clients.

And what’s worse, when you finally have room to breathe, and you go to find that new client work and there’s nothing there, that little voice (you know which one I mean) starts saying, “What if I don’t get work soon, I might not be able to pay my bills!” or “Wow-you really don’t have any business-what a failure!”

Then it becomes harder than ever to attract business when you come from a scarcity mentality.

So consider this:

1-Consistently schedule (and of course, attend) networking events

2-Make the time to go-no matter how busy you are

3-Schedule time each day or week for follow-up with leads and those that have indicated they might like to work with you

4–Schedule time to have at least one or two one-to-ones a week with potential clients or strategic alliances (those that are movers and shakers and can refer you)

5-Continue to practice gratitude for all the great clients (and client work) that you have-there’s nothing like gratitude to keep you in an abundant place, and attracting more and more new business

Let me know how this works for you-I’d love to hear from you!

Sorry, It’s Not About You…

by Administrator Leave a Comment

I attend a lot of networking events and currently belong to two different networking groups. I finally figured out what can make them feel tedious and drawn out at times: When people make it about themselves instead of other people, namely their customers or who they serve, I lose interest in what they are saying.

You’ve heard it before, “I’m an attorney and I practice criminal law, the usual, DUI’s, domestic violence and I also handle civil cases”. While this describes ‘what” they do, it is totally focused on them and not “who” they do it for.

Other examples of making it about you, is in website copy. Or sales pitches, or through email when contacting someone you don’t know.

The cardinal rule: Don’t ever make the conversation about you…make it about them- 100% about them.

All of your marketing material, emails, promotions, website copy, letters, elevator speeches, networking meetings, should be 100% about your audience-what you do for them, what you can do for them, and what you will do for them.

People are only interested in “what’s in it for me”, and the more you can make your message about “them” the more successful you’ll be. They want to know what results you bring, what value proposition you bring.

Derek Halpern, of Social Triggers has a great downloadable pdf, called, “How to Email Influential People”. He talks in great detail about this exact issue and while his article applies to emails, it is relevant for everything else as well.

Assignment: I challenge you to take a look at your website copy, marketing materials, previous email you have sent out, and your elevator speech. Look closely-have you made it all about you? Where can you make the changes to make it all about “THEM”.

See if this doesn’t make a huge difference in making connections with others and getting more “yeses” in your business!

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