BUILDING MY ROLODEX

A friend called last week to schedule a “let’s catch up” lunch. I grabbed my calendar and he asked when I was available. When I told him it would be a week and a half before I could get together, he was shocked. He asked if I had a lot of jobs in the middle of the day during the week. I told him that mid-weekday work was rare, but I tried to book as many lunch meetings as possible.

While a few clients will take a lunch meeting, most of my mid-days are spent at networking meetings. I belong to several business networking groups and a few Chambers of Commerce. Their events and meetings give me the opportunity to meet hundreds of other business owners and contacts, face-to-face, to build great relationships. And those people can help carry my message to the hundreds of people they each know. In turn, I grow my contact list to possibly help my other contacts and clients with referrals.

A quick scenario; At a recent networking event, I met a man who owns a commercial hard surface cleaning company. They specialize in removing dirt from tile floors and walls in restaurants. They can restore grout to like-new appearance. When asked what I do, I briefly discussed my business. And I emphasized my vast experience and interest in working at restaurants.

To be honest, I will never own a restaurant. And he may never need a balloon entertainer. But as he visits his restaurant clients, I’ll be on his mind anytime someone mentions “Family Night”. And I will drop his name to people I meet who own restaurants, retirement homes and schools; any place with a kitchen that might have tile floors. If I can bring a referral to an existing or potential client, I improve my reputation. I’m not just pushing balloons, I’m also helping the client look out for their business.

There are many types of networking groups. Some require membership fees, other have meeting and referral requirements, while a few have mandatory participation levels.

Casual Contact Networks – These groups allow a wide range of professions to get together, learn about each other’s business and get to know each other in a non-business scenario. These networks often have monthly lunch meetings that can include guest speakers talking on topics of business, technology, marketing or other topics of general interests. Casual Contact Networks can also meet for breakfast meetings or after-work mixers. These networks include Chambers of Commerce that require membership.

Chambers are excellent sources to get to know businesses in your market. Members generally refer other members and meetings often allow attendees to bring marketing material to meetings to share. Most Chambers will allow guests to visit a couple of meetings prior to joining. This will allow you to get a feel for the group. I advise visiting several Chambers if possible. In my market, I could join up to eight Chambers of Commerce that are in my area. Not all of them fit my style or my marketing approach. I have been a guest at many of the Chamber luncheons to learn which ones work for me.

An excellent source for Casual Contact Networks is Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/). The website allows anyone to start a group, set up meetings and invite people to attend. These groups are very diversified, (Brazilan Culture, Ballet, Fitness, Single Mothers). But there are thousands of business networking groups. Just type your area of interest and zip code in the search fields. A quick look at the list can reveal many groups that gather at an area restaurant once a month just so you can meet other business owners, swap biz cards and help spread the word about their products/services. These meetings usually allow each person to stand in front of the group and present a short introduction to your company.

Strong Contact Networks – These groups typically meet weekly for the purpose of exchanging direct referrals collected over the previous week. Membership is restricted to only one person from each profession or specialty, (1 lawyer, 1 accountant, etc). The meetings are usually more structured than Casual Networks, allowing open networking but only a couple of more detailed presentations from selected members. These groups require members to cultivate their contacts into specific referrals for other members.

The largest of these networks is BNI (http://www.bni.com/), with chapters all over the world.

Community Service Clubs – These groups offer the opportunity to give back to the community while building relationships with other businesses that are like-minded in support of the Club. While there is no overt networking involved, conversations often revolve around business and providing word-of-mouth marketing.

Service Clubs include Rotary Club, Lions Club and Kiwanis Club. Primarily established for community improvement, these groups can be an excellent source of referral possibilities.

Professional Associations – What have been called “Knowledge Networks”, these groups are made up of one specific industry, (banking, insurance, architecture). The primary purpose of a professional association is to exchange information and ideas. While you might not be able to join the Certified Life Underwriters Association or the American Accounting Association, these can be excellent sources for referral business. While attending a networking event, ask an acquaintance if they are a member of any professional associations. Ask if they would recommend your service to their members. Chances are they would be eager to share your information with their colleagues.

Do I belong to a Professional Association? YES; My local balloon jam! While don’t have a fancy name like the Regional Association of Latex Inflators, we do get together to share twisting ideas, exchange tips for ending lines and help solve each other’s problems.

There are several tips to successful networking.

- Find groups that fit. You might “kiss a lot of frogs”, but you will eventually find groups that are comfortable and offer you opportunity to expand your contacts.
- Practice your “elevator speech”. This is your quick introduction of who you are and what you do. Emphasis on QUICK. Fifteen to thirty seconds and include who you are, your company name and your top services. I like to have the other person talk first. That way I can possibly customize my intro to fit their company.
- Have business cards available, not in your hand. Don’t introduce yourself by extending your right hand for a shake and extending your left hand with a business card. Wait for the opportunity during the conversation. If the opportunity arises, make it happen. Ask the other person for their card. They will also ask for yours. Now you have a prospect for your services and you have a contact for your referral list.
- Set yourself apart. One of the key tools, according to marketing geniuses, (Seth Godin, Scott Ginsberg), is to be unique. I don’t have a problem with that. In all of my networking groups, I am the only balloon business. And I don’t join a group that doesn’t provide the opportunity for me to bring a sample of my work to every meeting. Whether it is an attendance prize or a gift for the hosting restaurant, I always bring a balloon sculpture to show off my talents. I can talk all day about my stage show or my delivery pieces or my décor work and people will listen. But when I walk in with bouquet of balloon flowers or a leprechaun on a pot of gold or Santa with Rudolph, people are approaching me and asking what I do.

The best advice, above all other, is this: Participate. Regardless of the group you join, you must attend the meetings, join the conversations, meet new people, catch up with people you already know and become known to everyone. This is the best way to expand your referral base and build the relationships that will increase your business.

Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
http://www.sammyjballoons.com/
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

JAZZ AND BALLOONS

I look forward to the Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival every September. I have performed at the festival for eight consecutive years. While I don’t play sax or sing, I’m proud to be a featured artist. While, I don’t occupy space on the main stage; I always have an enthusiastic audience.

As a fan of jazz music, this is a great day for me. I get to make wonderful balloons, entertain my audience and listen to some fantastic music. The bands included the Dogtown Allstars, the Soulard Blues Band, the St Louis Jazz & Blues Revue and the Funky Butt Brass Band. While I didn't get to hear the Funky Butt Brass Band, Michael "Tunes" Brooks says their great. And that's good enough for me.

My own performance was interrupted several times by self-imposed “dance breaks” whenever the music moved me. Of course the crowd didn’t mind as they were usually tapping or snapping or head-bobbing to the beat anyway. Everyone was enjoying the great music and the cool vibe that moved through the air.

The Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival was founded in 2001 to promote music and culture in the Old Webster Groves Historic District. The festival has been a HUGE success over the years. The event started with a stage at the end of a street and four bands. Every year the festival has grown and now includes two stages on different streets, a kid’s area, food vendors, a jazz clinic, eleven bands and hundreds of music fans. By the late afternoon, the streets are full of folding chairs and blankets and families from miles around.

The organizers hire me to arrive early so I can get a good spot. Far enough from the stage to be able to entertain but close enough to hear every note. I get to listen to classics from the golden age of jazz, the funky rhythms of new age, the big bands, the sultry vocals, the percussion, the fat sax, the brassy horns.

This year, a light rain began to fall in the afternoon. Did the crowd scatter? Did the audience thin out? Not a chance. It was quite a sight seeing the umbrellas pop-up and start swaying to the beat.

Major congrats to the committee: Joe Rath, Jennifer Bellm, Dawn DeBlaze, Mary Chambers, and Katy Sommer. Of course, the biggest thanks to the hardest worker of all: Matt.

See you next year!


Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”

So I met this guy....

I had the opportunity to hear Scott speak. Who is Scott? He is “The Nametag Guy”. You know those sticky name tags you get at meetings that you write your name on so people can say your name when they talk to you? Most of us can’t wait to rip off that nametag and throw it away as soon as we leave the meeting.

Well, Scott left a meeting with his nametag on and realized that people were friendlier with their nametags on. People were more approachable with their nametags on. So he didn’t take his off. That was over 3,200 days ago. Scott has been wearing a handwritten nametag ever since. Scott wears a nametag every day, everywhere and for every occasion. He wears one on his jacket, another one under his jacket on his shirt and another one under his shirt that he never takes off. (Nice tat!) This gets him noticed. This makes him unique.

But Scott is more than just a nametag.

He has spoken to thousands of people at hundreds of companies about dozens of topics. He has written countless articles on ways to increase sales, build better customers, out-perform your competition, and attract more business. Scott has a daily blog. He has written multiple books. He Tweets.

But you can learn about all this on his website, http://www.hellomynameisscott.com/.
Or on his blog, http://www.hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/
Or listen to his podcast. Or watch his YouTube videos. Or visit his MySpace page. Or his Squidoo page.

Is there anyplace this guy isn’t? Well, no. And that’s one of his main points (and he has a lot of great points). If you’re everywhere, there is no room for your competition to be anywhere. If everyone is visiting your website, they’re not viewing someone else’s. If everyone is reading your blog, they’re not looking at anybody else’s. If everyone is wondering what you will do next, they’re not thinking about your competition.

If you have the unique angle on your business, great. But if nobody knows about it, so what? You have to be noticed and you have to let people know that you’re being noticed. And being noticed by people means being in front of people. Networking works. Period. Scott stresses this in many of his writings. And he proves it by speaking to groups, being interviewed on TV, newspaper articles, magazine covers. He gets people talking about what he’s talking about.

Hey, that’s what this article is about! You’re reading about me noticing Scott!!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get the word out about how exceptional I am.

Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
http://www.sammyjballoons.com/
Balloon entertainment with a twist

A wide and varied weekend

As I prepared for this weekend's work, I realized the Job Sheets included entertaining at a company picnic, decorating for a high school prom and twisting at a trade show booth. Each job requires a completely different mindset, approach, preparation and execution.


While I'm thrilled to be able to handle a variety of events, it has taken years to develop the ability to switch hats for so many different tasks. Each of these clients required different techniques to sell and each has different expectations of my talents.


The company picnic expects a fun-loving, wise-cracking balloon guy who jokes with the employee's children while impressing everyone with great creations. Since this is a re-book event for last few years, the client knows what to expect. The kids look forward to the balloon entertainment every year. I just have to be hilarious, engaging, creative and fun. But only for a few hours.


The trade show client hired me to bring new customers to his booth and entice them to listen to his pitch, take a brochure or even sign up for his service. The client gets the advantage of having a unique draw for his booth that the other exhibitors can't match. I have to not only be entertaining and creative but I have the added benefit of a tangible result: more potential customers drawn to the client's booth without the bottleneck of a long line. I have no doubt I can bring traffic to the booth. I understand the power of the balloon. I had to sell the client on the idea and now I have to deliver. (No problem!)


The high school prom committee contacted me months ago to discuss their prom decorations. This was after they saw my decor for a dinner/auction. They thought the idea of balloons at their prom would be very unique. I met with the committee, emailed bids, received proposals, mailed a contract. The clients (committee) expect the most beautiful, unique ballroom that will inspire memories for a life time. Quite a bit of pressure for a bunch of air-filled bags of latex.


Juggling the different jobs is easy. I have the confidence to entertain the kids, bring in customers and enthrall the prom dates. Managing the different expectations takes a lot of work and finesse. But it makes for a very interesting and tiring weekend.

My first BLOG

So, I'm a little behind the times. I have started this Web Log as a way of cataloging some of my thoughts about my balloon business, some of my balloon jobs, balloon people I know, balloon events I attend and all things balloon in my life.

Some of these postings will be of interest to some people. Other posts will be of little interest to some people. My only promise is that I will always be as honest as possible. The thoughts and ideas I write about will reflect my opinions, my experiences, my reflections. Sometimes I will have a lot to say. Sometimes, very little. I will try to write as often as possible or when circumstances warrant a posting. Who knows; some pictures may be needed to explain a particular concept.

Of course, comments are welcome. (But I won't publish criticisms. I'll read them, but nobody else will...) If you enjoy any of this, let me know. If you don't, that's fine. I'll keep writing as long as I have something to say.

Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations