Networking expertise to help you grow your business
I was stopped at a red light at some road works a few weeks ago and the car ahead of me (who was nearest the lights) just moved off and ran the red light. Maybe he just got sick of waiting, or maybe he thought that the lights were broken and stuck on red as they seemed to stay red for ages.
Did you ever go to a “bring a bottle” party? Or a summer barbeque where everybody brings some food or dessert? You want to be the person who brings something to the party, people enjoy it and in turn you enjoy their food or drinks. Everyone has a great time.
You don’t want to be that guy who comes to the party all the time with nothing, however they still expect everyone to feed them! What if everyone turned up with nothing? Then the party is over before it even began.
Yet this is how we approach our networking, or referral generation with our “what’s in it for me?” hat on….. we want to eat at the table without bringing anything to the table.
I work in an organisation where the philosophy is built on the idea of “Givers Gain”. By giving business to others, you will get business in return. This is predicated on the age old idea of “what goes around comes around”. [click to continue…]
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I was at a conference recently which had a great keynote speaker called Paul McGee, if you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, jump at the chance! He was captivating, and talked to the audience about some of the concepts from his book “S.U.M.O. (Shut Up, Move On): The Straight-Talking Guide to Succeeding in Life” which is a fabulous read…however something really stuck with me that he said:
“In a world of iPhones and iPads, never forget the impact of eyeballs.”
As an expert in word-of-mouth marketing and networking, I was delighted to hear this phrase. However, it got me thinking….in a lot of cases people choose between face-to-face and online networking, rather than seeing them as different pockets in the same jacket of marketing. I was reminded of the story of a local BNI member who specialises in social media marketing. Her name is Jenny Brennan and her company is Virtual Office Worx… here it is in her words:
What’s flying got to do with it?
I travelled to the UK recently for a couple of days BNI training with my team. As I was walking through London’s Heathrow Airport looking for the taxi driver who was due to pick us all up, an airline representative came up to me and asked me “Can I help you? Are you one of our customers?” [click to continue…]
Sandra runs BNI(Business Network International) in 19 counties of Ireland. BNI is Ireland’s leading business referral organisation, she is also BNI’s Director of European Affairs
