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”
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
DOING WHAT YOU LOVE
As I write this article, the thermo-
meter reads three degrees. I’m not boasting or com-
plaining. My friends in Minnesota and Michigan are emboldened by their temperatures in the negatives. And fellow ballooners in Florida started wearing coats and gloves when the mercury plummeted below fifty.
I love living in the Midwest. I enjoy having equal parts of all four seasons. I look forward to the heat and humidity of August, the rain of April, the late frost in March, the last gasp of fall in November, the first day of short pants in March, the following day of wearing coat and gloves. I truly feel sorry for anyone who can’t enjoy both mowing the lawn and shoveling the driveway.
The cold weather gives me the opportunity to organize myself for the coming year. Compiling receipts and invoices for tax time, updating addresses for marketing campaigns, writing press releases for upcoming projects and working on new balloon designs.
I was recently talking with a friend at a networking luncheon. He has recently started a graphic design business out of his home. He has many years of experience and is very talented. His portfolio of logos, ad campaigns and websites is very impressive. (He designed the logo for my Balloon Garden project.) He’s been self-employed for about six months and already has a good client list.
We were discussing all the stuff we have to do that has nothing to do with the stuff we want to do. As we talked, we were joined by a few other “non-employee” business owners. (That’s the term being used to describe anyone who runs a company but doesn’t hire traditional employees.) Our little group included a bookkeeper, a baker, a plumber, a graphic designer and a balloon entertainer. We had a lot in common. While we all worked out of a home office, (the baker has partnered with a commercial kitchen), and are in different businesses, we all loved what we did. We all had a passion for our chosen field.
Unfortunately, to be successful in our business, we had to spend a lot of time not doing what we loved. Between marketing, contracting, invoicing, phone calls, letters, return phone calls and proposals; we were left with a small part of the calendar to perform our expertise. We came to the conclusion that you better love what you do because you’ll get very little time to do it. The rest of the time involves trying to convince someone to pay you to do what you love doing.
Many in our little group had worked in larger companies doing what they were now doing on their own. The plumber had worked for a national chain. The baker had worked in many restaurants. The bookkeeper had worked for a big firm. We all had our own reasons for starting our own businesses. Either the freedom to make our own decisions or to express our own ideas or to do things the way we wanted.
We discussed what we most loved about owning our own businesses. Nobody talked about the paperwork or phone calls or sending contracts. The plumber loves to rebuild drains. The baker loves to decorate cakes. The bookkeeper loves to balance numbers. I love to create unique balloon sculptures and entertain an audience. In our own ways, we love to show off what we love to do for the appreciation of our clients.
Certainly the burden of having to do everything yourself is outweighed by the sense of accomplishment in doing everything yourself. Love what you do and appreciate the time you get to do it.
Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
FOR APPEARANCE SAKE
A networking group I belong to holds a meeting for new members. This orientation is to inform them on the benefits of the group, the networking opportunities and the ways to benefit the member’s company by attending meetings. Because I’ve been an active member for many years, I am asked to speak to the new members about networking.
Before the orientation began, I was introducing myself to new faces in the crowd. The makeup of the group was typical; insurance rep, remodeling guy, banking woman, etc. A wide variety of business types. And a variety of business dress. The main presenter is a financial advisor and always wears a suit. The banking woman wore a jacket and skirt. I typically wear nice pants and a logo-embroidered polo shirt.
As I was talking to a couple of people, a woman walked in the room. She approached our group and made her introductions. She is the area representative for a well-known cosmetics company, (I don’t mention the name of the company for good reason). The woman was dressed in baggy gym shorts, a wrinkled and stained T-shirt and cheap flip-flops. Here she was, attending a networking meeting full of potential customers wearing clothes suitable for hanging around the house.
More importantly, we didn’t just represent potential customers; we are her referral agents. The number one marketing use of networking groups is the “I know someone” aspect. The people you meet may be your future clients. But they talk to their customers and when the topic of your business comes up, you should be their first thought.
I know this works. I am the only balloon entertainer in my networking group. I am the BALLOON GUY! All other ballooners in my market are compared to me for people in my group. When the topics of “balloons” or “entertainment” or “balloon dress emails” are mentioned, my fellow members (over 450 of them) think of me first. That’s 450 business people talking to thousands of their customers with me on their mind. Now that’s marketing power.
But that’s not the topic of the day.
The first impression of the cosmetics lady was: gym shorts and T-shirt. It was difficult to listen to anything she had to say after that. She was very knowledgeable about the long history of her company. She was enthusiastic about her involvement with the company. She was proud to be a representative. My attention was drawn to that wrinkled, stained shirt.
No, I don’t wear a suit and tie when I attend networking events. I’m not in a “suit and tie” business. (I only own a couple of jackets and a few ties!) And I can usually be found in lounge-wear while I’m writing or practicing my stage acts. That’s in my home-office. But we were in a room a business people. I don’t wear my “entertainer outfits” when I attend business meetings. Those clothes are for performances. The remolding guy didn’t wear his tool belt. The doctor didn’t bring is sphygmomanometer. And the karate guy wasn’t wearing his Gi and Obi.
I have worked very hard to be known as “The Balloon Guy” in my networking groups. I am educated about balloon events, trends, conventions. I can build the most amazing balloon sculptures. And yes, I know most of the artists in those balloon-dress emails.
More importantly, I am a business person. I dress professionally when I’m at meetings. I can speak to issues affecting small companies. I address micro-business marketing ideas. I discuss articles from the recent business magazine. That gives me the respect of being a serious business person.
The cosmetics lady may attend other meetings and she may wear more appropriate clothes. It will take a long time before people forget her shorts and shirt first appearance.
So how do you present yourself? Is your appearance appropriate to the event? Do you wear a tuxedo to a bar-b-que pool party? Do you wear a tropical print shirt to a funeral? (I got to do this for a parrot-head friend as his last request. He would have smiled at the entire crowd in outrageous attire.)
We in the entertainment industry need to advance the idea that we are fun. Just make sure you dress the part.
Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”
Before the orientation began, I was introducing myself to new faces in the crowd. The makeup of the group was typical; insurance rep, remodeling guy, banking woman, etc. A wide variety of business types. And a variety of business dress. The main presenter is a financial advisor and always wears a suit. The banking woman wore a jacket and skirt. I typically wear nice pants and a logo-embroidered polo shirt.
As I was talking to a couple of people, a woman walked in the room. She approached our group and made her introductions. She is the area representative for a well-known cosmetics company, (I don’t mention the name of the company for good reason). The woman was dressed in baggy gym shorts, a wrinkled and stained T-shirt and cheap flip-flops. Here she was, attending a networking meeting full of potential customers wearing clothes suitable for hanging around the house.
More importantly, we didn’t just represent potential customers; we are her referral agents. The number one marketing use of networking groups is the “I know someone” aspect. The people you meet may be your future clients. But they talk to their customers and when the topic of your business comes up, you should be their first thought.
I know this works. I am the only balloon entertainer in my networking group. I am the BALLOON GUY! All other ballooners in my market are compared to me for people in my group. When the topics of “balloons” or “entertainment” or “balloon dress emails” are mentioned, my fellow members (over 450 of them) think of me first. That’s 450 business people talking to thousands of their customers with me on their mind. Now that’s marketing power.
But that’s not the topic of the day.
The first impression of the cosmetics lady was: gym shorts and T-shirt. It was difficult to listen to anything she had to say after that. She was very knowledgeable about the long history of her company. She was enthusiastic about her involvement with the company. She was proud to be a representative. My attention was drawn to that wrinkled, stained shirt.
No, I don’t wear a suit and tie when I attend networking events. I’m not in a “suit and tie” business. (I only own a couple of jackets and a few ties!) And I can usually be found in lounge-wear while I’m writing or practicing my stage acts. That’s in my home-office. But we were in a room a business people. I don’t wear my “entertainer outfits” when I attend business meetings. Those clothes are for performances. The remolding guy didn’t wear his tool belt. The doctor didn’t bring is sphygmomanometer. And the karate guy wasn’t wearing his Gi and Obi.
I have worked very hard to be known as “The Balloon Guy” in my networking groups. I am educated about balloon events, trends, conventions. I can build the most amazing balloon sculptures. And yes, I know most of the artists in those balloon-dress emails.
More importantly, I am a business person. I dress professionally when I’m at meetings. I can speak to issues affecting small companies. I address micro-business marketing ideas. I discuss articles from the recent business magazine. That gives me the respect of being a serious business person.
The cosmetics lady may attend other meetings and she may wear more appropriate clothes. It will take a long time before people forget her shorts and shirt first appearance.
So how do you present yourself? Is your appearance appropriate to the event? Do you wear a tuxedo to a bar-b-que pool party? Do you wear a tropical print shirt to a funeral? (I got to do this for a parrot-head friend as his last request. He would have smiled at the entire crowd in outrageous attire.)
We in the entertainment industry need to advance the idea that we are fun. Just make sure you dress the part.
Thad James
SAMMY J Balloon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com
“Balloon entertainment with a twist”
Friday, September 11, 2009
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
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
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