Networking & Community – Page 2 – Career Life Institute

Meeting the Challenge: Creating a Community Vision & Making It Happen

Communities, like paintings, are essentially an aggregation of multiple "colors" sometimes expertly combined and sometimes not.

We can all recognize the difference between a good painting and a bad painting. Good painters are internally driven, care passionately about their vision, and work tirelessly to combine the individual elements to create it. The painter of a cheap motel painting is primarily driven by external needs—getting immediate cash, creating something a certain size to match given decorations, and getting as many done as cheaply as possible. The difference is motivation, vision and commitment to a quality product.

The difference between good and bad community planning is similar. Recognizing this, the challenge is clear; to be successful in creating our community vision, we must:

Be Proactive

We need to act without external prodding. We must ask ourselves first—"What do we want our community to be?" At the Institute of the North Coast, we believe there is a much higher level of community consensus than is portrayed through the media and local "myth and folklore."

Be Inclusive

The public will always be involved in community decision making. How they will involve themselves depends on the process. Any planning process, whether it be for land use planning or welfare reform, must be open early to all of those who affect or are affected by the outcome of the process.

Take Time to Do It Right

Nothing stifles creativity and motivation faster than rushing a group of people through a process. Imagine if great artists were required to produce three paintings per day. Community planning should receive no less attention to detail.

Measure Progress

Unfortunately, we often ignore or are not motivated to include one of the more important pieces of planning, accurately measuring our success. Evaluation of programs frequently focuses on "process" measurements, rather than "outcomes" measurements.

Finally, we all must remember that we cannot do this alone. It is true that a single individual or organization can provide the leadership needed to inspire a broad-based community vision. But ultimately, it takes the commitment of all of our community to ensure success—having a community vision that reflects the community's interest and having the commitment of our citizens to achieve it.

Referrals and Leads

At a recent women entrepreneurs network meeting we held a brainstorming session to discover new, easy and fun ways to expand our businesses. Since this is an ongoing process for all of us, we are providing some of the best ideas for you to review. Be creative and use a variety of ways to increase your success with your business.

Some practical and easy ways to expand your business are:

Get referrals and leads through your customers and clients after you make a sale or finish providing a service;
Ask directly for referrals from people you know;
Contact satisfied customers and clients you have worked with in the past;
Always provide high quality work;
Always acknowledge referrals and leads you have been given;
Write articles for publications to get your name out there;
Provide discounts and coupons, which draws in new customers and clients;
Stay in contact with your customers and clients on a regular basis so they are reminded of your service;
Have a visible presence at Conferences and Fairs;
Build loyalty with your customers and clients;
Volunteer in the community to increase your visibility;
Give presentations to community groups for exposure;
Be actively involved in networking organizations–Business Connections-type networks, Chambers of Commerce, Main Street Programs, etc.
Offer flexible hours so you can easily receive referrals;
Advertise and market consistently so people remember you are there;
Always have a friendly smile and positive attitude with everyone you meet.
Take advantage of regional and national networking opportunities where you can expand the base of your referrals and leads.

Top Ten Tips for Using E-Mail to Improve Your Marketing Effectiveness

E-mail is used extensively throughout the world for both business and personal use. As a small business person it can be a very valuable ally in your marketing effort.

Here are some tips that will assist you to use e-mail effectively.

Let your Signature Tell a Story.
Make sure you enable the "signature" feature in your e-mail program. This feature allows you to create a short message that goes out at the bottom of every email you create or reply to.

Some keys to an effective signature:
- The message should be short – no more than 3-7 lines.
- It should contain your name and the name of your company.
- It can contain your tag-line, Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage.
- It should contain your website address (if you have one). It does not have to contain your e-mail address since that will be in the header of your e-mail anyway.
An example of an effective e-mail signature:

     Alice Friendly
    Friendly Services, Inc.
    707-444-4444
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    We make it easy for you to make friends!!
    www.friendly.net

AOL doesn't currently allow you to do this "automatically", so if you have AOL you'll need to cut and paste or type it every time. I understand the next version (ver. 5) will allow it.
Have an Integrated Approach.
If you have your own virtual domain, make sure your email address reflects it. Using our example above, which makes more marketing sense: johnt@internet.com or john@friendly.net? It's easy to have the "friendly.net" mail forwarded to the internet.com address (ask your webmaster to do this), and, unless you use AOL, it's easy to change your e-mail program to send the "friendly.net" address on your outgoing mail (check your Help files). Unfortunately, AOL doesn't allow this.
Entice Your Audience in a Subtle Way.
Whenever possible, create a "signature" that's included in your Bulletin Board or Discussion Forum posts. This gives people who are interested in whatever you've had to say an opportunity to not only e-mail you, but can also provide the address so they can look up your website.
Provide Added Value.
When responding to someone's question or comment on a newsgroup, e-mail list or discussion group, it's okay to discuss your expertise or offer something from your website that solves their problem, but beware of blatant advertising or promotion. For instance, if someone is asking about using the Internet for job searches, it's okay to let the person know about a page on your site that provides links to several resume posting services. On the other hand, it's tacky to say, "That's my business and I can help you for a fee." Provide something of value on your site, and they'll come back.
Provide Good Customer Service.
Respond to your e-mails in a timely manner. And let people know what to expect in terms of your standard response time. Be sure to answer complaints immediately. Use good customer service techniques and follow through until the issue is resolved. Make your answers short and positive, but avoid being abrupt.

When you are replying to a message, only include the relevant parts that you are responding to. It's sometimes tedious (and difficult) to wade through several paragraphs trying to find the newly added comments. And, when a discussion has gone back and forth several times, the e-mail file can become overly long.

Remember, some issues are better handled by phone, regular mail, or in person. Use e-mail to set up appointments or to share information. Even using the smiley icons can't really express irony, humor or wit very well. NEVER USE ALL CAPITALS – IT'S LIKE SHOUTING AT THE OTHER PERSON.
Build Your Network Database.
Begin today to collect the e-mail addresses of all your prospects, customers and clients. Let people know you will protect their address and keep it confidential. When you return from a business trip or conference, send a short e-mail message to the folks whose cards you've collected. Make it personable and friendly, and if possible, add some value by including information you think they will find interesting.
Broadcast Your Message.
If you have an e-mail account, you can send out broadcast e-mails. For instance, you can effectively use e-mail to announce sales, send newsletters, surveys, schedule group meetings, etc.

Many traditional media are beginning to accept e-releases. When you send your press releases through e-mail, make sure they are very clear (who, what, where, etc.) and get to the point even more quickly than you would with a mailed or faxed release.

If you send out e-letters, be sure to include information about how an individual can unsubscribe or remove themselves from your list. You might even want to follow up with people to find out why they unsubscribed. You could learn a valuable customer service lesson.
"Group" Your E-mail.
Learn how to set up "groups" to make your process easier. Using groups streamlines the process and lets you add and delete people from a specific "group" list rather than having to individually add everyone to every mailing you send.

When sending out a group e-mail, only put one address in the "to:" field (use your own if your e-mail program allows it) and put the rest in the blind carbon copy ("bcc:") field. This way you respect the privacy of your group by not passing their addresses on to everyone else. E-mail privacy is a very big issue. Using this process also eliminates the problem of having to scroll through several pages of header information just to get to the message.
Use Descriptive Subjects.
With all the competition for people's attention, it's even more important to make sure your "subject" field is quickly and easily understood. Many people skip over (or even delete) messages unless there's some compelling reason to open and read them. Give them a reason by having your subject tell them what's in the message. And use effective marketing techniques to focus on the benefits.

And a suggestion from John Butel (Organised Solutions – jbutel@volante.com.au) "For short messages use the subject line only. Get your message across and people don't have to spend time opening the email. Takes your message to the top of the list when selecting emails to open."
Proofread For Safety.
Assume your e-mail will be read by everyone – even though it probably won't!! Re-read it at least once before you press 'send', and for goodness sake, spell check it for errors!!

The Art of Networking

Networking is a proven strategy for building your career, your business and your credibility. Experienced business people know that anything is possible through networking. Because it is a very creative process, it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to market yourself (and your business as a successful entrepreneur).

The key to networking is cultivating relationships and sharing ideas, information and resources. This is a two-step and two-way process: the first part is to let people know what you do and why they should come to you to do business. Learning how to “toot your own horn” – sharing your expertise and what you offer – in a clear, assertive way is essential. The second part is to listen to what others have to share –their area of expertise and the products and services they have to offer. Your intent should always be to set up a “win-win” situation where all parties benefit from the exchange, whether immediately or sometime in the future.

In setting up your two-way street, the universal law of giving, as referred to by Deepak Chopra in his Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, can be seen in action through effective networking. “The universe operates through dynamic exchange . . . giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy. In our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives.”

At Business Connections (a local County-wide networking group of women business owners and business-owners marketing to women), members are given the opportunity to participate in “30-Second Spots,” at every meeting. This is an opportunity to present yourself and what you have to offer through your business in a very concise, direct way. Not only do you benefit from hearing other members give their promotional spot, each time you do your own 30-Second Spot you improve with practice, practice, practice.

NAFE, the National Association for Female Executives, a national networking association, says the “two key words for successful networking are planning and personal.” That means planning for the results you want, and making contacts for professional and personal gain. Networking has to be planned to be effective – it doesn’t just happen – and quality networking only happens when supportive personal relationships are built.

In reality, networking (relationship building) is a 24-hour-a-day process. When you are consciously looking to expand your network, you will be most effective when you are focusing on people who already have the results you want, as well as paying attention to the formal and informal networks you can join.

Remember that networking itself may not provide immediate benefits. It may take years to see the results of your networking efforts, or you could be pleasantly surprised at any moment by an important phone call from someone you recently connected with. The timing is always less important than the relationship

So what are the important steps to creating a warmly successful networking relationship? First, take time to prepare for your upcoming meetings and events. Realize every event is an opportunity to network. You will always get more of what you are focused on, so make the most of every group situation, whether it is a familiar group you've been meeting with for years, or a totally new group you are walking into for the first time.

It's also important to remember the number one basic networking principle: we are all equal. Whether you are currently ‘in transition’ or the CEO of an expanding business, you have something of value to share with others. Make sure your “attitude is right” – that you are excited about your opportunity to meet new people, and then be open to the whatever shows up. In a formal setting or a business networking event, bring your most current promotional materials to share.

Even in an informal setting it's good to have extra business cards with you at all times. You never know where your next best lead is going to come from, it could be in a coffee shop or on a bus, or even at your son's baseball game.

So, take the time to develop your “art of networking,” and realize it’s an organic and creative process. Each of us has wonderfully unique gifts to share with others. Move beyond your shyness and take full advantage of all the networking opportunities that come your way–opportunities to promote yourself and your business, but most importantly, the opportunity to build relationships of value.