I often tell people that networking is not a mad dash for business cards; that the people you see at professional events who scurry around passing out and collecting cards as quickly as possible are doing it wrong. I also say the you don't need a huge network to see positive business results from your networking efforts. But the other day I was running out of room in my desk drawer, so I had to throw out a stack of business cards. There were over 1,200 business cards from the networking connections I made during the first five years I was running RockStar Consulting. It was not a small stack. So then, why do I tell people to not … [Read more...]
How to Ask For Help On LinkedIn
One of the challenges with using social media for business is that it's so new. LinkedIn has over 500 million professionals on it, but it's not even 15 years old yet. It makes perfect sense that we're still grappling with how to actually use the platform in our day to day business lives. Especially because in business, there's a lot on the line. We know that if we post an embarrassing picture on Facebook, a few of our work friends might see it. But if we make a mistake on LinkedIn, all of our professional connections will see it and it could hurt our career. I was recently talking about how to ask LinkedIn connections for help with a … [Read more...]
2 Simple Secrets Professional Public Speakers Use
Public speaking remains one of the biggest fears that people wrestle with, and it is only made worse by the fact that we seem to be speaking in front of groups more and more often! Office meetings, sales presentations, networking events; our schedules are filled with opportunities to share our ideas in front of an audience (and get nervous about it...). It's worth developing your comfort, though, because confidence in public speaking can have a direct and positive influence on your career success. Managing Stage Fright Even experienced professional speakers get a little nervous before they take the microphone. But what if you are in the … [Read more...]
Leaving a Business Voicemail the Right Way
With our headlong rush into social media and email, it seems that it's become rarer and rarer for us to actually speak to others on the phone. This has definitely led to a decrease in phone skills, and unfortunately for many professionals it's destroyed their ability to leave a good voicemail message. This problem is compounded by the fact that, since we're leaving less voicemail messages, when we do find ourselves needing to leave a voicemail it's important and we get performance anxiety. Create Clear Communication By the way, I'm not talking about creating a perfectly-crafted sales message to get a cold call victim to call you back. … [Read more...]
3 Things Everyone Likes to Talk About
You want a useful professional network? Then you need people in it. You need more people in your network than there are now? Then you should meet new people...and get them to want to spend time with you. And that’s probably where I lost you… One of the biggest challenges in building a strong professional network is that we have to bring new people into it. And let’s face it, meeting new people can be tough. It takes a lot of energy to start and develop a conversation with a complete stranger. It’s especially daunting when you feel that you have to carry the bulk of the weight and be conversationally awesome. Luckily, you … [Read more...]
5 Places You Should be Networking this Summer
I don't know about you, but once the thermometer hits 80 degrees the last thing I want to do is put on a suit and go to a networking event. Here in the Midwest, we try to squeeze in as much fun as we can in our seemingly too short summer. But that doesn't mean your networking should slow down in the summer. In fact, it should be hotter then ever; everyone's in great mood and there's a lot more sunshine! You just have to go where the people are. Here are 5 great places to network when the sun is out: 1. Cookouts Whether it's for your neighborhood association, your kid's little league team, or your church picnic, summer cookouts are … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Rock Your Second-Half Networking
Ah, July. We're all sitting on a beach, enjoying the summer. But soon the fall will be here and with it the mad dash to accomplish our 2012 goals. Make it easier on yourself by having your network poised to help you as the weather starts to cool. Here are three ways you can make your networking more effective: 1. Create a plan – Many people fail at building a strong professional network because they don’t develop a strategy first, they just blindly flail about. Networking is much more effective when you create clarity around your objectives first. Think about the questions that journalists ask: Who, When, What, Where, Why, and How? Who … [Read more...]
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