Tending the garden

As we all continue to network and connect with people, let's not forget you are making and nurturing relationships.

As with a garden, you need to tend water, fertilize, harvest and rework the soil.

Water by regular contact with your network. Sincerely reach out to those in your circle. Top of mind is good.

Give back to fertilize. Do something in return for your contacts. Buy them coffee, connect them with someone you've met or who is in your network.

When a contact or introduction turns into business, it's harvest time. But harvest time for farmers is a time of reflection and reinvestment and bill paying time.

That's when you rework the "soil": be sure to send thank yous and spread the wealth. Tell your contact of your success and thank them with a personal note, a gift card, flowers or lunch. Offer "what can I do for you in return?"

Relentless

Connecting others

One of the satisfactions of networking is seeing it in action. I've been fortunate enough to be a part of putting people together for their mutual benefit as well as the well-being of a client of ours.

Lynn Felhauer, the co-owner of The Graphic Edge, a graphic production company here in the DFW Metroplex, is a contact from the North Dallas Chamber. Lynn and I now meet on a regular basis and share leads and ideas. She is an expert networker.

Scott Clifford and his business partner, Art Fairchild, have a graphic production company and installation company. Scott and Art are trade show graphics veterans and expert installers and graphic suppliers.

It was only natural to connect the guys who install with the people who produce. These connections together recently produced and installed a graphic for our ageny's client, Aviall. The result was a high quality vinyl graphic for an importnat client, delivered on time and for a very reasonable price.

The value of these network connections really can't be measured in just one way. I know each of the suppliers independently before they were connected. Once they connected for the end client, I was assured of the quality, speed and price of teh finished product.

Don't forget to look around you and see who can do what for whom. Remeber that today's competitior is tomorrow's client and you never know where the next lead to business will come from.

Relentless

I and me

Watch those personal pronouns.

If you haven't noticed already, this author makes a point of trying to avoid the personal pronouns "I" and "me". Maybe it's because it is better to listen that to talk ("God gave you two ears and only one mouth") and hear what the other person in a conversation has to say. Wait and answer only when they ask, "and let's hear about you."

In other words, it's not about you. Two stories to share.

One of the worse offenders in this is Sid Hartman, the senior sports writer at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Sid's columns include more references to him ("in my opinion", "when I talked with the coach") than the people he is supposedly reporting about ("my close personal friend"). Now, if you like to read that kind of stuff, ok. But it's boring and self centered and lacks credibility.

A better story is the one heard a long time ago and one this author lives by. A man was invited to a party. He made a point of spending his time talking to people throughout the evening, asking about them. He only spoke of himself when one of his conversants came out and asked a question directly about him. Then he answered and brought the conversation back to his guest. At the end of the evening, many of the guests this man had engaged in conversation told the hostess how interesting this man was and asked who he was.

We all need to remember to have conversations and not monologues.

Relentless

A Strategy to Networking

When I signed on with the agency I'm working with, they asked me to connect with the community and make our name known and visible. And along the way, gain clients.

I took a three-pronged approach, one that could be applied to networking in general. The outreach I proposed and followed was to connect with:

• A chamber of commerce in the metro area
• At least two associations or customer-centered groups
• The regional business press

Chambers. I "shopped" chambers in the DFW Metroplex. After sitting through many meet-and-greets and "elevator speech" sessions at smaller chambers, I caught up with the largest, oldest continually operating chamber in Dallas, the North Dallas Chamber. I chose them, not only because of the types of events they held (that allowed great interaction) but because of who attended: business people of all levels, city council people, mayors, state legislators, congressmen. Pretty good company and a place where "the power of teh referral really lives.

Associations. I wanted to be where my potential customers spent their off hours. Since we target marketing and communications decisionmakers, I chose IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) Dallas chapter (this is the fourth city I've been involved with this group; after Reno, Seattle and Minneapolis, I can safely say this is the most active and effective group of the four).

I also hang out with the DFW American Marketing Association (AMA). This is aimed a bit higher at C-level and management-level marketing professionals. Meetings are all over the Metroplex with something most every week.

The Business Press. While I read most everything on line, I still subscribe to paper papers. The daily Dallas Morning News gets every page turned every day. The Dallas Business Journal is a weekly not-to-miss part of my life. Both give a clear picture of what is going on in the regional business community and a great source of leads (however, the smaller Collin County Business Press still is my all-time leader for providing leads for cold calls in the fast-growing Northeast part of the metro area).

The three-pronged approach keeps me busy and has build my data base sufficiently in almost two eyars to allow for the publication and sitribution of an on-line newsletter.

Relentless

The Gatekeeper

We have all encountered them: the person between us and the person we want to talk with.

Whether it is a job search or B2B call, or even a scheduled appointment, there is always a receptionist, secretary or assistant in the middle. Since most of the time this person is a woman, let's call her:

The Gatekeeper.

Now let's be positive about this: this person is the entry point to the conversation and, ultimately, face-to-face meeting you want to have with Ms or Mr Contact. By all means be polite. And if you encounter them on a regular basis, get to know them by name and something about them. Again, as in other forms of networking, people want to do business with people they like. Believe me, this is a transaction, whether you realize it or not.

I had a former boss who used to find excuses to stop by to see his prospect. Tom would show up at her office with a brochure or other item to deliver and be stopped by the building receptionist. He was really hoping to have a chance encounter with his prospect, but over time, he got to know the receptionist. She got to be friendly and even volunteered information about who was in when or out on travel or vacation. When Tom would call in, this same receptionist got to know his voice and called him by name, both in person and over the phone. Tom eventually got to see his prospect and earned her business.

Never underestimate the power and influence of anybody in a company. Even if they haven't been told, everybody in a company is in sales and represents the company.

Especially The Gatekeeper.

Relentless

LinkedIn

This social networking site has had reams and volumes written about it. There probably isn't anything new I can impart except what I've learned from my personal experience. A few Rules of Thumb when it comes to using and being a part of the LinkedIn community:

• Tailor your profile to match your resume. It is a version of your vitae, after all.
• Be honest. State the facts in your profile.
• Ask for introductions, when appropriate. Be sure you know someone well enough to ask and then have a solid reason to want to be connected to the person you're asking about.
• Same goes for Recommendations: don't ask someone you hardly know to write one for you. And really don't ask them to write it and then say "just read my profile and write one." Yikes.
• Keep visible periodically, but not so much as to be an irritant. And avoid trite or personal comments following the "is" statement. Keep it professional.
• Be mindful of your brand and awareness of it.

There are many other things--this is a start list. for more, visit Guy Kawasaki's list at:
http://blog.linkedin.com/2007/07/25/ten-ways-to-use/

Relentless

Best meeting places, Dallas-fort Worth

With more and more of us being stationed in virtual offices without the advantage of an internal conference space, here is a list of favorite places to meet over a meal, snack or coffee in the Metroplex:

• Mi Cocina, MacArthur and LBJ.
• Big Fish, Grapevine.
• Paradise Cafe, Alpha and Tollway.
• Champs, Addison.
• Popolo's, Preston and Royal.
• Champs, MacArthur and 114.
• Gloria's, Addison.
• Mi Cocina, Legacy.
• Anamia's, Southlake or Coppell.

Why choose these? Well, how about:

• Location; proximity to where both parties can meet at a given time.
• Atmosphere; is it quiet or loud, tables to spread out or not.
• If you can hang out past your meal or service.
• Food: the oyster nachos at Big Fish.
  

Where do you like to meet your clients (and not just in Dallas; let's hear about your city.

Relentless

Quantify yourself

Being connected to marketers and market research people, I find that most everybody and every business is demanding a measure of products, services......and people.

Not to be clinical here, but how do you quantify yourself? I was at an luncheon today where the speaker said that "Since 1992, he has spoken about technology....in more than 30 countries on 6 continents."

OK, Allen just measured himself on topic (technology) over time (since 1992) and geographically (30 countries on 6 continents). In the span of one sentence, he painted a striking visual that also gave the reader/viewer/listener some signposts and measures.

Other examples:

• The Pittsburgh Steelers won 6 Super Bowl championships in 34 years.
• The Beatles had 30 number 1 songs in 6 years (ok, not the exact number, but you get the idea).
• I've produced trade shows in 35 cities in 21 states and 7 countries.

Everything can be measured. For purposes of your resume or elevator speech, how do you quantify yourself?

Relentless

Build your network into your life

This goes without saying. In this day and age and with technology enveloping us, this is something we all do anyway.

The truth is, as our work lives have become more virtual, work and life are intertwined. When I say "integrate" the two, I mean it in a softer, more civilized way.

For example, the networking groups I frequent most are a local chamber and two associations that are in my field.

The chamber allows me contact with a wide and varied group, so I now have a regular set of restaurants I frequent for virtual meeting, an insurance guy, a courier company (who is also a client) and a few graphic and communications consultants I use as subcontractors or partners.

On the association side, I serve on both boards. This allows me to chair a special interest group in my company's area of expertise as well as work with sponsors and volunteers. My company and personal brands are visible without being gaudy or rude. We are here to serve and businss will follow.

Relentless