Networking: What Happened to that Connection?

Checking In and Re-connecting - It's Part of Networking Too!
by Karen Frank, Linguistic Alchemist, Networking Trainer

Let's face it it's a "set it and forget it" world. 

We're all caught up in day to day 'stuff' and sometimes finding a connection to someone is like checking off an item from your "to do" list.

Ah, I've been looking for a contractor as a strategic ally - check!  I've made one phone call - check! We had coffee - check!

And then silence.

Or maybe the only time you check in with someone is when you have a connection for them.

Aha! I found someone that needs Sally's services! And then you contact Sally only to find out that she doesn't actually do the thing your friend needs. She used to - but not anymore.

It's kind of weird, actually.

**this article will be continued in the next blog post :)

Networking Expert, Karen Frank publishes Networking News, a semi-monthly newsletter devoted to helping you avoid marketing disasters and networking faux pas.  Get the home study course "The Seven Deadly Sins of Networking and How to Avoid them" Free when you sign up for Networking News at www.7deadlysinsofnetworking.com


www.GoABRA.com
Look for ABRA Houston on LinkedIn and facebook.

Here is the networking equation for getting new clients:
Networking leads to Referrals which leads to Direct Contact/Follow-Up which leads to Presentations which leads to Sales

Are You Carrying Forward Your Legacies?

In past history, legacies were taught by family elders (often in the form of stories) to younger generations who then carried the legacies forward and then taught it the next generation, and so on. Eventually, man created separate elders for family, spiritual, political and business situations and slowly man began to disconnect from his legacies as they became less interwoven and interdependent. Each of the four legacies began to grow independent of each other.


www.GoABRA.com
Look for ABRA Houston on LinkedIn and facebook.

Here is the networking equation for getting new clients:
Networking leads to Referrals which leads to Direct Contact/Follow-Up which leads to Presentations which leads to Sales

Are You Connected with Your Legacies?

Through the centuries, with amazing technological advances in transportation and communications, man has become more and more separated from his legacies. This separation has occurred at all levels but, starting at the family level and encompassing our legacies at the spiritual, political and business levels, too. While family, spiritual, political and business legacies each had their own character; they were very much interwoven and interdependent, too.


www.GoABRA.com
Look for ABRA Houston on LinkedIn and facebook.

Here is the networking equation for getting new clients:
Networking leads to Referrals which leads to Direct Contact/Follow-Up which leads to Presentations which leads to Sales

Where Is Your "Results" Loyalty?

A major problem in society is a prevailing and self-serving "I want it now" attitude which leads to short-term decisions that often are counterproductive to long-term success. We need business and political leaders who are more concerned with building legacies of success to be carried forward by future generations than they are with looking good in the short-term. Unfortunately, such concerns are not popular and often result in removal from office in business and politics based on "lack" of short-term results.

www.GoABRA.com
Look for ABRA Houston on LinkedIn and facebook.

Here is the networking equation for getting new clients:
Networking leads to Referrals which leads to Direct Contact/Follow-Up which leads to Presentations which leads to Sales

Are You Lost in the Sales Cycle?

"Marketing and sales operates on a predictable cycle, with four separate stages:

1. Filling the Pipeline
2. Following Up
3. Getting Presentations
4. Closing Sales

The activities that take place within each stage of the cycle will vary depending on your business, but the cycle is the same for everyone." ~ C.J. Hayden in her book: GET CLIENTS NOW!

Sales is not that complicated and there is no "secret formula" to success. What we have to do is determine the top activities that will produce results for us at each level of the sales cycle and then execute those activities consistently in as excellent a manner as possible.

Networking is a proven venue for moving through the four stages of the sales cycle.

Here is the networking equation for getting new clients:
Networking leads to Referrals which leads to Direct Contact/Follow-Up which leads to Presentations which leads to Sales

www.GoABRA.com
Look for ABRA Houston on facebook and LinkedIn

Marketing Is A Happening!

"You can't just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream; you've got to get out there and make it happen for yourself." Diana Ross as quoted in C.J. Hayden's book: GET CLIENTS NOW!

The main thing in life is to do something every day towards your dream(s) and goals and purposes. Of course, if we plan what we are doing and analyze the effectiveness of what we are doing and make adjustments accordingly, we will be more successful.

In marketing and sales, one of the top things we can do is network with others. Effective networking will bring us closer to our goals and dreams.

Here is the networking equation for getting new clients:
Networking leads to Referrals which leads to Direct Contact/Follow-Up which leads to Presentations which leads to Sales

www.GoABRA.com
Look for ABRA Houston on facebook and LinkedIn

Marketing is about the Love

"Consumers hate advertising but, luckily, love their friends. ... They will listen to their friends' recommendations, open their friends' emails first, and take their friends' advice over the most cleverly phrased ad message.
Marketing has now become a trust game. Consumers will listen to sources that they trust, because these are entities that won't yell at them, slick them, or spin them; they will simply pass on relevant, accurate information." ~ Kim Brooks as quoted in C.J. Hayden's book: GET CLIENTS NOW!

Kim Brooks also says; "... the Internet has finally brought advertising cynicism to a head. Consumers are simply tired of all the noise being thrown at them."

Bottom line: People recognize the internet as a communication medium and prefer it to be a way to communicate with friends and are just tuned out and turned off by all the advertising. Therefore, when we use the internet as a method of direct contact with people, we must offer more value (love) in our communication and less (if any) advertising. As Kim Brooks says; "... marketing has now become a trust game." An excellent way to gain people's trust is through various networking venues. The more people are personally exposed to you and receive value (love) from you (information, referrals, introductions) the more they will view you as a trusted source.

Here is the networking equation for getting new clients:
Networking leads to Referrals which leads to Direct Contact/Follow-Up which leads to Presentations which leads to Sales

www.GoABRA.com
Look for ABRA Houston on facebook and LinkedIn