Forget about New Year's Resolutions!

In the UK we have a long standing habit of setting New Year's resolutions. A New Year's resolution is something you want to do or achieve. So a typical New Year's resolution might be I want to give up smoking; or I want to lose weight this year; or I want to learn Mandarin etc.

Most people I know set New Year's resolutions but most of them rarely achieve or do them. It has always seemed strange to me why we set New Year's resolutions? What's the point in setting out to do something without then monitoring your progress?! People rarely ever check to see how they are getting on when they set a New Year's resolution.

Every New Year's Eve one of the topics of conversation will be New Year's resolutions. "What are you going to do this year?" "What's your New Year's resolution going to be this year?" I've been to many New Year's Eve parties where friends have told me what they are going to do in the coming year. Not one of them followed through.

That's because a New Year's resolution is not a big enough dream or passion. It's more of a passing want, something they'd like to do or achieve but there is usually a lack of belief behind it. Without absolute clarity and belief a New Year's resolution is always going to be hard to achieve.

I think it's always much better to set goals. But goal setting has never been that popular in the UK. Goal setting is perceived to be a very American thing. Now I don't think that's an issue but there are lots of Brits who think the Americans are a little on the loud side and over the top. I don't. I love Americans and I love their passion and drive. Which is why I do like goal setting. But with books like "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne and "The Success Principles"ec by Jack Canfield people are beginning to wake up to the power of goal setting.

As many of you know I've got a massive goal for 2011. I'm getting a body like Brad Pitt's by August 2011. http://bradsbody.com tells the full story.

So don't bother with a New Year's resolution this year! Think about some of those dreams and goals you've always wanted to achieve. Instead of a New Year's resolution, this year set a goal to achieve what you've always wanted.

To help you achieve your dreams and goals I recommend Billy Cox's brilliant book "The Dream Book". You can get your free copy here: http://www.dreamit.tv

Happy New Year and I hope you achieve everything you want in 2011. Please add your comments below and share what your goals and dreams are for 2011.

Networking for Business - In Summary

So that's it - my experience, advice and guidance on networking for business.

It’s your approach and attitude which are so important and remember that no one’s here to buy anything. Get your story clear so you can tell everyone about it and just be yourself. People buy people so take time to get to know the people at each meeting and over time you’ll make some great, new friends and find suppliers.

The other thing you’ll get from networking is improved motivation and confidence and please, please, please, remember to follow up!  

Business Networking Groups

For anyone who's interesting in trying networking for the first time here is a list of some networking organisations in the UK:

• 4Networking
• NRG Business Networks
• BNI
• WomenMeanBiz
• Viva Networking
• Business for Breakfast

In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

I hope you enjoyed this series! I'll be doing a few more blog series in 2011. If there is a particular area of business where you need help and advice, please add your comments below and I might create a series especially for you!

Business Cards - what do you do with them?

Jeffrey Gitomer is a huge advocate of Networking to help grow your business. I've been networking for a while now and the one thing I've noticed is the number of business cards I collect. I don't mean I'm a collector of business cards! I mean each time I meet someone at the various networking events I attend; I am given their business card.

I now have hundreds of the things! Here is a picture of my desk a few months ago before I came up with my system.

What do you do with all the business cards you've collected over time?


You need a system
I'm pleased to say I've now got a system. Michael E. Gerber would be very proud of me! As soon as I get back to my office from a meeting I take out the business cards from my jacket pocket and place them on my desk in front of my keyboard. I then open my Sharepoint contact list and add all the details from each one into the relevant contact list.This synchs with my Outlook contacts which in turn syncs with my iPhone so I only have to add the information once and I have the details where I need them.

In the case of those people who have asked for more information and help with domain names I ask them for permission to add them to my mailing list and all those I also add into MailChimp.*

Now you don't need to use an Intranet Sharepoint system from TWG Systems like I do. You might use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool such as ACT! or Salesforce or HighRise. But even starting out with a simple Excel spreadsheet is better that nothing at all.

Easy to stay & get in touch
You need a contact database so you can keep in touch with your contacts. So you can keep those people who have asked, in touch with your products and services and news. So you can keep in touch with those contacts who might become suppliers of yours. Imagine if one afternoon you need to get in touch with one of those contacts who's card is amoungst the hundreds spread over your desk, or in your drawer. How will you find their contact details? If you've entered them in a database one quick search and you've got all the relevant details to hand.

So start adding your contact's details into a system today.

*MailChimp is an amazing Email Marketing tool and it's free for up to 1,000 contacts! It is brilliant for small business owners. I will be writing a seperate blog post on MailChimp in the next couple of weeks.

Networking for Business - Part 7

Follow Up

It staggers me how many people in Networking don't follow up effectively!

Don’t forget to Follow Up! It’s amazing how many people say they will do something, call you or send you an email and never do! So do make sure you follow up with any of the people you’ve met and agreed to do something for. This follow up should ideally be the same day, so later on that afternoon or at the latest the next day. Any longer than this and you’ll probably end up forgetting and if you do remember the perception won’t be as good as it could have been.

It’s so easy to use the “I’ve been so busy!” excuse and yes we’ve all used it haven’t we?! “I’m so sorry I didn’t get straight back to you; I’ve been flat out”. But this is great! I love it when people don’t follow up; especially my competitors, because if you actually do follow up in good time, you’ll be head and shoulders above the rest. Most people don’t follow up effectively so this gives you a big jump ahead of them.

Keep Following Up

Also make sure you keep following up. If someone was interested in your products or services then keep following up. Keep calling them and keep sending them emails and of course if you are both part of the same business network give them a gentle reminder next time you see them.

Email Marketing
If you are not using email marketing in your business you should be. Email Marketing is now really simple to implement and can be really cost effective. I highly recommend MailChimp. MailChimp is a very easy to use email marketing system, accessed via a web browser. It is brilliant for following up any leads. You can send up to 5,000 emails a month and you can have up to 1,000 contacts in your account and all for FREE!
People can subscribed to your email campaign and you can add their details, with their permission. Then you simply send out your email campaign to let them know about your latest deals and offers.

Social Media

Another effective way to follow up is via the various social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, FaceBook and online forums. The 4Networking forum is a brilliant, free resource for businesses and it's a great way to follow up after a business breakfast.
LinkedIn is an excellent platform for connecting with business professional and it's quite typical to get a few LinkedIn requests a fter a business network breakfast or lunch.
Twitter is brilliant for connecting with your fellow networkers and for keeping in touch with each other and arranging follow up meetings.
So make sure you embrace the different social media websites and use them as part of your follow up mix.

The Telephone

As old fashioned as it seems to becoming; don't forget to use the telephone! It is still without doubt THE best follow up tool in your following up tool box. Too many people rely on email to the job for them. I always like to follow up via email, social media AND the telephone.

So don't be one of the masses; make sure you follow up and do what you said you would do and then keep following up!

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

Networking for Business - Part 6

Motivation & Confidence

One of the huge benefits of networking is the extra motivation and confidence you get.

Those people who know me, know that I don’t lack motivation. I’m quite an extrovert, I love life, I jump out of bed every morning with a smile on my face. One of my favourite sayings is "Life's too short not to live it up a little!"

Helps you Grow as a Person

But networking has given me even more motivation and it can for you too. Because I work from home a lot of the time, it was fantastic for me to be able to get out of the home office and actually start networking with people and again many who know me found it hard to believe that I was really scared of speaking in public. Having to do the 40 seconds or 1 minute rounds when I had to stand up and introduce myself and my business was terrifying at first. But having done so on a regular basis over the last year and a half I actually look forward to it and I now give regular talks to different groups and within 4Networking I am doing 4Sights all over the South West of England.

Help & Support

So the motivation and confidence I’ve got from networking has been great and part of that comes from all the help and support you get from the other members. Many of the people who come to these networking meetings have a lifetime of experience in business and so it’s a great place to come and get help and advice and to share and to learn from other business owners who have been in your situation. It’s also a great place to get support at times of trouble. I was feeling very down recently and I was amazed at how many new friends from networking called me up and made me feel so much better. I've also been for coffee with a couple of people who approached me asking for help on their business. I'm no expert, but they wanted someone to talk things through with and I was so pleased to be able to help.

If you've got a business issue or problem which you need help with, think about those who you know in your network and go to them. Ask them if they'll spare you some time. You'll be amazed at how happy most people will be to help. The "Can you help?" section on the 4Networking forum is a brilliant place to go to get help, advice and guidance. It's also a great place for you to offer your help to others who need it.

Testimonials

The other area where you can get renewed motivation is from doing a good job for a customer and getting a wonderful testimonial. This always sets me up for a great week. Remember this and please do give testimonials to anyone you do business with within your business network. It will absolutely make their week!

LinkedIn

Many of your contacts will be on LinkedIn so do ask any of them who you've done work for to give you a testimonial on LinkedIn. Once you've got some good ones, add them to your website too.

My next blog post will discuss one of THE most important aspects of networking - Follow Up!

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7
How to Use LinkedIn Effectively for Your Business

Networking for Business - Part 5

Suppliers

Again I didn't envisage that there would be suppliers I'd use in the room when I started networking. After all, why would there be? I wasn't there to buy! I was there to market my business and products and services!

But I quickly realised that there were potential suppliers for my business in the room. For example I’m now using a call answering service called answer.co.uk . I’d never thought about a call answer service before. I’ve been in business for 28 years and you’d think I should know better but we were missing calls. So on the recommendation from Mr Kim Hambley and the lovely Katie Millman I tried the service. Now our calls are taken by a professional call answering team and our customers have been very impressed. So think about your own business. If you're a one-man or one-woman band who answers your call when you aren't able to? It sounds far more professional to have your calls answered in your company name. It can also make your business seem bigger than it really is and gives your customers and potential new customers a good first impression.

I got my business cards printed by a guy I met through networking. The coffee mug I take with me and I take to most meetings was supplied by a fellow networker. And all of this was a surprise to me. I went along looking to sell my business and services and tell people about what I did but I suddenly realised there were potential suppliers in the room. I used to get all my stationary from a stationary retail outlet in an industrial estate near my office – I don’t anymore. I use KN Office supplies because I like Nick Elston, their sales guy who I met through networking, and their service is excellent. All my websites are done and looked after by Jamie Forster the owner of www.motley.co.uk. When I meet anyone who needs help with their website design I always recommend Jamie - he's absolutely brilliant. I've now got my own "Cloud"! An intranet system supplied by Andrew Twigg from TWG Systems. It's great, I can connect anytime, from anywhere and have access to my important documents, contacts and so much more.

So I’ve been giving business to others and I will continue to do so. So think about suppliers which you might need. Do you need business cards, do you need help in your business, do you need graphic design, do you need web site design, do you need stationary, what do you need? Also think about others who you know who might need the products or services of the businesses of those people in the room. It's always a great feeling to refer business to your fellow networkers. So just be aware of this during the 40 seconds / 1 minute section and listen out for any potential suppliers that might be in the room.

My next post is all about the motivation and confidence you can get from business networking. 

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

Networking for Business - Part 4

Friends

This was a huge bonus for me. I didn't see the whole friend factor at all. I came along like most people do at the start and I came along to sell; to market my business and products and services.

Business still happens

But that’s not what happens. Yes, of course it does happen. I’ve done a lot of business through networking.  We do Twitter for Business workshops and Blogging workshops all under the umbrella of our brand www.learnsocialmedia.co.uk  and we haven’t done any advertising. It’s all been promoted via email marketing and networking. The last event we ran last a couple of weeks ago was a sell out and all as a direct result of networking. I've had 43 new customers as direct result of networking and I now look after all their domain name requirements via www.freeparking.co.uk. One of those is a business coach and they have transferred in 5 domain names but they have also bought 11 new domain names for their business.

Know - Like - Friends!

So networking can be incredibly powerful for your business. But it’s the whole friendship thing which I hadn’t imagined and because you are seeing the same people each time its natural that over time, you will get to know them and like them. And that's when the business starts to happen. As I say, I've had quite a few customers transfer their domain names over to us from our compettiors and all because they know they have a hot line into me! A face they know; like and trust. Much more preferable than doing busines with a faceless organisation where they don't know anyone personally.

Coffee Mornings!

I love the 21^st century! I now do coffee mornings!!

Normally the domain of women, us men – well me anyway! – are now doing coffee mornings too! I meet people regularly for coffee and this has really helped cement friendships and of course, over time business happens too.

So don’t just think of networking as a business tool. There will be new friends of yours in the room at the next meeting you attend! And that was a great added bonus for me.

In my next blog post we talk about another unseen gem - suppliers.

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

How To Get More Done - Concentrate!

I was driving back to the office the other day and noticed a general trend in people's driving habits which got me thinking about business.

I was driving along a dual carriageway approaching a set of traffic lights. Both lanes went straight on. The traffic in the left hand lane was backed up with about 12 cars sat in a line but the right hand lane was empty. So I moved into the right hand lane and instead of having to queue up behind the others, when the lights went green, I sailed on effortlessly.

This got me thinking, why do so many drivers just "happily" sit in queues instead of going in the other lane and making effortless progess. I thought at first that perhaps it was a British thing. We're well known as a nation who "like" to queue for everything!

But as I continued my journey I noticed other drivers dithering and not making progress; being slow to react to traffic lights changing and sitting behind slow vehicles like lorries and buses. Now please don't get me wrong; this isn't about speed or getting from A to B in record time. But it's about people being focused on the job in hand and doing it well. I realised that many of the drivers I journeyed with that morning were not at all focused on the job in hand. They weren't concentrating on driving. They were oblivious to the traffic. They seemed to be in their own little worlds.

And I think this is something we all do from time to time when we're driving. Overtime, driving becomes second nature. (If you're a learner driver, then I do feel your pain! I promise you it does get easier wth practice!) So we don't concentrate on driving as much as we should. Instead we sit in traffic thinking about our lives; the work we have to do; the problems we're currently having; dreaming about that special person we just met etc..

Get in the game!
Which is why we end up sitting behind the slow vehicles and sitting in a long line of other cars. It's not that we really like queuing! I just think we're "not in the game", as Billy Cox would say. We need to get in the game! We need to really focus on the job in hand. We need to concentrate! Can you imagine what better drivers we would be if we concentrated. If we lived and breathed everything about the car, the noise of the engine, all our surroundings, the traffic lights, the speed, the steering wheel, changing gear at the right time and if we remembered our Highway Code. "Mirror, signal, manoeuvre". How many times have you seen someone start to pull out into your lane before they have indicated? It happens all the time.

Start focusing
It's the same in business. We are not concentrating. We are getting distracted. We don't focus intently on each task as we set about them. We let other things get in the way and disturb us. It's understandable really. With so many applications open at one time on a PC or Mac how can expect not to be disturbed?! An email drops into your in box; a new tweet arrives in Tweetdeck; a phone call.

Wouldn't it be much better if we set out with the right intention? Close all the applications on your computer and just leave open the one you are using for that 20 - 30 minutes. If you are working on your next email marketing campaign and you're writing the content for one of the follow up emails. I would write it in Word first. Close all the other programs down and just leave Word open. Close all your browsers, close Outlook or whichever email client you use. Switch off your mobile phone and divert your phone. And then just focus - concentrate - on the task at hand.

You'll be amazed at how much more effective you will be. You might even stop sitting in traffic and start to pick the empty lanes at traffic lights! Please try it and let me know how you get on.

Networking for Business - Part 3

People Buy People

And over time as you get to know other people in the network business begins to happen because people buy people. It's the whole Know - Like - Trust.

The same people
One of the great things about networking is you get to know lots of people and it’s only over a period of time that you get to know each other. So you go along to these regular lunchtime meetings and the same people appear – now a lot of people moan and say oh it’s going to be all the same faces – but I think that’s BRILLIANT! I want to see the same faces because it’s only over the 3^rd or 4^th cup of coffee with someone that you actually start to strike a bond and start to create some rapport. You suddenly find that we’re both into motor racing, or we’re both into fishing or wow we both like knitting! Well, perhaps not knitting but you get my point!

Acquaintances
So it’s really important that you make those acquaintances over a regular period of time. If there’s 30 people at the event you won't get to meet them all properly. You'll get to chat with a few but there's never enough time to meet everyone. So you'll  want to go again and meet the others next time and get to know their businesses because you won't have spoken yet and chances are you won't fully know what they do.

Speaker Slot
I highly recommend putting yourself forward for one of the speaking slots. All networks usually offer a 10 minute section where one of the members can present to the group – everybody gets to know slightly better and that’s why I’d urge you to put yourself forward for the members’ section. Absolutely vital because then everybody in the room gets to know you and your business a little bit better. Not only do you get to tell your story in the 40 seconds or 1 minute round but you get an extra 10 minutes when people can listen to you and get more of a feel for what you’re like as a person. That would be good wouldn’t it?

People buy people so you’ve got to get to know each other. And there will be some people in the room that you won’t particularly get on with and that’s fine. But there will be some people that you really warm to and not only will you really warm to them, they’ll actually become friends.

And it's the whole freind factor I'm going to discuss in my next blog.

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

Networking for Business - Part 2

What's Your Story?

Last time I suggested that you should change your approach to networking and instead of going along to sell your products or your services you should go along to share your story. 

Is Your Story Clear?

And in order to share your story you need to know what your story is. So what is your story? Have you got your story clear? Most networking events give you between 40 seconds and 1 minute to stand up and tell people about you and your business. But in the past have you got your story clear? Was there something you meant to say but forget in the nervousness of it all! Of course some of us get nervous during the 40seconds / 1 minute round. It’s nerve racking standing up in front of other people.

Practice Your Story

Which is why you need to make sure you have your story completely clear and you must practice it prior to the meeting. If you practice it then when it comes to your turn, you can absolutely nail it, so that you let people know exactly what you do, so that they understand what it is you do what; what special offer you’re running; what event you’ve got coming up, when and where and what sort of referrals you’re looking for.

Make it Memorable

So make sure you spend some time getting your story right and try to make it memorable and exciting so that people want to know more about it. There's a guy called Jay Blake from Ichthus Video who does a brilliant 40 seconds. He holds up a tiny funnel and explains that this is what most small businesses are using as their sales funnel and then produces a huge blue funnel and asks if you want to know how to get a huge sales funnel full of leads have a chat with him. Jay runs a video business and helps companies film and add video content to their websites to help them generate a huge improvement in interest and therefore leads. The fact I'm writing about Jay here shows that it was memorable!

If people understand what it is that you do and what sort of customers you’re looking for, then if they know people who need the services or products which you sell, they will think of you rather than anyone else. And of course as you get to know each other more business starts to happen because people buy people.

My next blog post is all about how people have to get to know each other before the magic of business can happen.

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

Networking for Business - Part 1

Your Attitude & Your Approach

Your attitude and your approach both set you up for success in networking. Just think about it for a second. Why do you go networking? The reason we all go networking is to promote and market our business, our products and our services to other business people in our local area.

But nobody is there to buy anything. Let me repeat that – nobody is there to buy anything. You don’t go networking to buy anything do you? No! We all network for the same reasons – those same reasons all wrap up into one main reason – We all go networking to market our businesses, to let other people know about our business, to let people know about our products and services in the hope that they might buy from us. But nobody goes networking to buy from us! We’re there to let other people know about our businesses.

So approach networking with the right attitude and go along to listen and to find out about other people’s business. If people are only there to tell you about their business, their products and services; then go along and in a completely counter-intuitive way turn up to listen and find out more about the other people in the room. Don’t be the kind of person who comes along and just tells people all about what they do and how wonderful their business is. Don’t be one of those people who just hands out business cards to everyone. People aren’t interested! Stop selling because nobody's buying!

Listen to what other people do and think about how you might be able to help them; who you might be able to put them in touch with. And by being that kind of person, I promise you, you’ll be staggered at the serendipitous things that can happen.

That’s my word of the year by the way – Serendipity! I’ve had so many serendipitous moments on the back of networking – it’s been incredible.

So approach networking with the right attitude and don’t go along to sell anything. In my next blog post I'll be explaining about how and why you should share your story.

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

Beware when Christmas shopping Online!

My wife was recently shopping online for Ugg Boots and got very excited when she found the following website.

If you click the image to see the full size you'll see that it's a website called www.uggboots-xmas-sale.com and at first glance it does look like the real thing.

My wife called me in to have a look at how good their prices were and I too was amazed. But the old cliche; "if it looks too good to be true, it is too good to be true" got me wondering.

Using my Internet detective skills I did a WHOIS look up on the domain name. A WHOIS Look up is just a search which is generated at the central domain name Registry database and is available to the general public. It shows information like when a domain name was registered, when it's due to expire and who the Registrant (Legal owner) of the domain name is.

A quick look at the WHOIS record confirmed immediately that this was indeed too good to be true. It is registered to someone in China and is yet another of those Phishing type website where they are passing themselves off as the real Ugg Boots company.

There have been a lot of these sort of websites set up in China. Nominet, the .uk central Registry closed down just over 1,200 such websites last year working in conjunction with Scotland Yard's eCrime unit. Read the news article here:

Over a thousand scam websites targeting Christmas shoppers shut down after online raid by Scotland Yard's e-crime unit.

Much to my wife's relief she hadn't processed an order and we saved ourselves all the aggro that would have ensued in trying to chase our order. Now, perhaps we might have actually received the UGG Boots but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that the boots wouldn't have been the real deal!

If you find a website like this one and you think the prices look really cheap; think twice. Do a WHOIS look up to see if the website is owned by the legitimate company and if in doubt DON'T buy from the website.

To do a WHOIS Look Up just go to the Domain Tools website  and enter the domain name of the website without the "www" and click the "lookup" button. See the image below for an example:

By all means drop me an email and I''l be pleased to do some Internet detective work for you. So please take care when shopping for your Christmas pressies online this year.

Networking for Business - Introduction

Over the next few weeks I'm going to share with you my experience of Business Networking and I hope this will help you become more effective with your Business Networking activity. I love people and helping people and I've been networking really effectively throughout 2010.

Now please don’t get me wrong – I am NOT an expert – I don’t profess to be an expert on Networking, but I’ve been doing it very effectively for the last year and a half and it has transformed my business; I’ve made an awful lot of friends, I’ve grown as a person and it’s been absolutely brilliant for me and my business.

I am a member of a nationwide business network called 4Networking and there are over 260 linked groups in the UK. So while my posts might be slightly more skewed around the way 4Networking is structured, I do believe and hope that my posts will be of help, benefit and interest to all people who go business networking. 

In fact I was pleased to see one of my mentors; Jeffrey Gitomer writing about Networking in his brilliant book - The Little Red Book of Selling. In Principle 5 of the book it's titled "It's Not Work - It's Net work" and Jeffrey makes 3 key points:

1. Get face to face first
Meeting someone on the phone is not the best way to start any relationship... when you meet someone face to face you can see them and hear them at the same time. This is 100 times more insightful.

2. Networking eliminates cold calling
Jeffrey considers cold calling to be a waste of time because when you cold call you are interrupting someone by trying to barge in and sell them something.

If you meet them first and they like you, you have a much better chance of doing business with them.

Imagine cold calling someone and then meeting them at a networking event. What would you say to them? "Hey remember me? I'm the guy who cold called you and you hung up om me!"

3. Networking leads to Referrals
By helping other people first you'll find that other people will help you. Not every person you meet whilst networking is a direct prospect but they may well know someone who is.

In this Blog series I'm going to share with you some ideas and some tips and some advice on how I’ve used Networking and I hope that this advice and tips and ideas will help you with your approach to networking.

In my next blog post I'll explain why your approach to networking is of the most importance.

Related posts:
In case you missed any of the other articles in the series just click the relevant link below:

Networking for Busines - Introduction
Networking for Busines - Part 1
Networking for Busines - Part 2
Networking for Busines - Part 3
Networking for Busines - Part 4
Networking for Busines - Part 5
Networking for Busines - Part 6
Networking for Busines - Part 7

My next 9 Blog Posts

As my subscribers slowly increase I thought it might be useful and interesting for you all to know what's coming up in the next few weeks on my blog.

I've decided to post a Blog Series on Networking for Business. It's going to run over a 3 week period from next week taking us into the 2nd week of December. There will be 9 posts in the series and I hope that you'll find it interesting and of use. The posts will go out 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

Networking is a huge gold mine for people and business and there are lots of hidden benefits which people don't always realise they'll get from going networking on a regular basis.

If you currently go networking I hope my blog series will give you some new ideas and if you don't go to a regular network I would strongly encourage you to try. And I hope my Blog Series will be of use and inspire you to try it.

The first one in the series will be posted on Monday 15th November at 10:20am GMT. 

10 Brilliant Business Books I've Read This Year

I've always been an avid reader of business books and this year I've discovered quite a few gems which I thought I'd share with you.

Brad Sugars suggests that we should all be learning each and every day. I went to see Brad give a talk in the UK recently and he said "the more you learn; the more you earn." He also stated towards the end of his talk that "if we can out learn him, that will be the day we can out earn him!" There will be a few of Brad Sugars business books on my reading list for next year!

One of the best ways to learn business related advice and guidance and ideas is from buisness books written by business people who have been there, seen it, and done it!

In no particular order, listed below are ten of my favourite ones which I've read this year. I'm not doing a full review of each one but I've included a few words to summarise my thoughts.

• Crush It - Gary Vaynerchuk

I absolutely LOVE this book. Gary Vee explains how every single employee who is not happy should just leave and get on with following their passion in life. He says that if we follow our passion and build a business based on our passion then we can quite quickly monetise it.

Read Crush It and cash in on your passion.

• Trust Agents - Chris Brogan & Julien Smith

This book is awesome and very special to me. I went to Like Minds in Exeter in Feb 2010 and met Chris Brogan and he signed my copy of Trust Agents! He really is a very special guy and the stuff he and Julien have written in Trust Agents is brillaint and they show you how to use your influenece in the digital world in a way that remains honest, effective and profitable.

Simon Bunker has written a god review on his website http://bloggingbookworm.com/review-trust-agents/ and you'll see my comment where you can see a photo of Chris signing my book at Like Minds!

• SuperTrends of Future China - James K. Yuann & Jason Inch

This is the book I'm actually still reading right now. It is excellent. China without doubt are going to be a massive world leader and some of the business opportunities suggested in this book are absolutlely ready to jump on board right now.

The mobile phone market is going to be huge and the Internet is already helping China to be the world's largest online users with over 200 million online. Yet, this only equates to 17% penetration! Unreal!

• The Go Giver - Bob Burg & John David Mann

This is one of my favourite book of 2010 because I love and totally buy in to the Go Giver concept. There are too many people in business who are all about Me, Me Me and take, take, take.
It's the most amazing story of how the main character, Joe learns the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success. The Go Giver was an absolutely serendipitous read for me as it reinforced so many of my own beliefs. Read my review here.
And how cool that Bob Burg took the time out to comment too! He and I are now connected via Twitter which just blows me away!

• Awaken the Entrepreneur Within - Michael E. Gerber

I have to just state here that I am a massive fan of Michael Gerber. He is truly a genius, a brilliant story teller and a mesmerising speaker. This book is all about Michael's Dreaming Room. A fantastic concept of going into the dreaming room to find your inner entrpreneur and to create the perfect business that fills your passion and a gap in the market.
Michael writes in such an easy to read style; it really flows and I couldn't put it down.

• Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill

This book was written in the late 1920s and is just as relevant today and seems quite timely with us coming out of our recent major recession. It was written at the end of the great depression so there are many parallels.
The 13 steps to riches are incredible and I still find it staggering that Napoleon Hill came up with this stuff of brilliance all those years ago.
Get yourself a copy and read it again and again.

• The Luck Factor - Dr Richard Wiseman

This is a great book which explains that there really is no such thing as luck. We all make our own luck. It's a sort of scientific research piece based on interviewing loads of lucky and unlucky people to discover the difference. There are some great stories used as examples.
The good news is the unlucky people in life can improve their luck using 4 scientific principles of luck and these can significantly change your life.

• Get off Your Arse - Brad Burton

This is not your stereotypical business book but don't pre-judge it. GOYA is incredible and it's packed full of brillaint tips, advice and guidance for small businesses.
Brad Burton is the founder of 4Networking; the UK's fastest growing business network with over 250 joined up groups across the UK.
Brad's style is easy to read and doesn't pull any punches. It's refreshing to have a business book which tells it to you straight.

• Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me - Penny Power with Thomas Power

I've been an advocate of Penny and Thomas Power for many years and I was so thrilled when Penny released this book. It is packed with a wealth of her's and Thomas' business experience gained from founding and running the world's first social network - Ecademy.
The book explains some of the different platforms but more importantly it goes into the how and the why it's so important to connect and get to know people and have conversations.
Penny is passionate about Social Media and calls it the Individual Revolution.

• The Little Red Book of Selling - Jeffrey Gitomer

This is a beautifully produced book and one you feel like you want to take care of. It's a cloth bound hardback with lovely shiny pages and it's crammed packed full of sales wisdom.
The chapters are short and punchy with loads of great side notes and some brilliant quotes.
Each chapter is based on a principle and in each one there is a link back to Jeffrey's website where you can get all sorts of extra, valuable freebies.
All of us our sales people in one shape or another - this great book is like a sales person's bible. Grab your copy and take it with you everywhere!

I hope you too enjoy these as much as I have and I one quick declaration - the links to each book uses my Amazon affiliate code. I hope you don't mind. If you buy just a couple of them I'll get about 3p so thanks for assisting me in amassing my daughter's inheritance!

Please do comment and let me know what you thought of any of these books. Also, please do share any other business books you like that you recommend.

Taking Quality Time out to Think

I love to take time out most days to have some quiet, quality time to gather my thoughts and get my head clear. The day to day noise of business can often be difficult to cut through when trying to resolve an issue or get your head clear for quality thinking and new ideas to form.

I shot this video on holiday last week to share with you how I like to take time out to gather my thoughts:



I also take our Jack Russell puppy out for walks at lunch time or late afternoon and on these walks I usually take my iPhone and headset with me so I can listen to motivational audios or talks I'm putting together. Today, I went on one such walk and listened through the talk I'm doing next week in Bristol. I record my talk onto audio using the Voice Memo app on my iPhone and then I can listen to it anywhere I'm on the go; even in the car.

The photo on the left was taken on my walk today and I love this tree. We're lucky to live on the edge of some wonderful countryside.

So take some time out this week and spend it quietly, gathering your thoughts and leave all the clutter behind. Just zone out and let your mind clear and you'll be amazed at how you can then allow new thoughts and ideas to flow in. It's also a very effective way of getting your mind straight when you have an issue you're trying to resolve.

Please let me know how you get on.

What's Your Story?

Every business owner has a story; a story about why they started their business; what the key reasons were at the time and what drove them to make the decsion and to take the first step.

Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart had his story, Fred Smith, the founder of Federal Express had his story and Ray Kroc, the founder of MacDonalds had his story. In fact Ray Kroc would sit down with his future MacDoanlds Francishees and before they went on their training and before they got the keys to their new store, Ray Kroc would share his story with them.

Michael Gerber recently started his new business at the young age of 73 and he calls it "The Dreaming Room". His latest bestselling book, "Awakening the Entrepreneur Within" explains his latest story.The book is excellent and takes you on the whole journey of creating a new business from the initial idea right through to getting going. Part of this process is creating your story. It must be compelling and passionate so that people can buy into it. Especially important if you are going to be employing staff. Your new recruits need to know your story - you will need to tell it to them so they know your dream; your vision and they can join you on your journey.

It's often difficult for staff who don't know the owner's story. They do their job but it would be way more fulfiling if they knew the story of the business, the reason why the company is doing what it's doing. Can you imagine how much more exciting it would be if you knew your boss' dream and vision for the business? How many bosses have sat down and told each member of staff their story? Think about how your staff would feel if you took the time to actually sit down with them in the next week and told them your story and how important your business is and what you want to achieve in your business and how you need their help. You're on a journey together and you want their help and their committment. During these tough times you can explain why it might not be possible to give them a pay rise, but by spending some quality time with them, telling them your story, you'll be surprised at how much happier they will be and how much more effective they will be at their job.

If you run your own business then you need to have your story and be ready to tell it at every opportunity. Martin Luther King, Jr had a dream. He knew what his story was and in telling it to the world on 28th August 1963 he changed the course of history.

People buy people and if you have a passionate story then people will warm to you and will be more ready to help you. It will help you when you engage suppliers - they will understand your story and know what you're trying to achieve and be more likely to help you if they can. If they love your story and buy into your story they will be almost as enthusiastic about it as you and be pleased to partner with you.

What's My Story?
I call myself an Internet Evangelist! I love everything to do with the Internet. I'm passionate about helping business owners get back control and stay in control of their online business. So many people don't know where their website is hosted or if the domain name is even owned by them. See my Blog post from June - http://blog.dickiearmour.me.uk/2010/06/are-you-in-control-of-your-online.html . I spend every day helping people get back control of their domain names and it gives me a massive sense of satisfaction. The Internet is perceived to be quite complicated and people get really confiused about domain names, websites, and email and so I love to help our customers understand and I give them help and advice on how they can remain in control which helps them avoid many of the pitfalls.

So what's your story? What's the story of your business and why you started it? Take time out today to hone your story and then go and tell the world! If you have staff make a promise to meet with each of them within 1 week and sit them down and tell them your story and the vital part they play in it.

Personal Domain Names & Why you Should Own Yours

It still surprises me the number of people I meet who do not own their personal domain name. I own:
dickiearmour.com
dickiearmour.co.uk
dickiearmour.me.uk
richardarmour.co.uk
and my wife and daughter have their personal domain names too.

A domain name is a finite source. There can only be one dickiearmour.co.uk and once it's been registered no one else can get it, as long as I renew it at the time of renewal, or I forget to renew it! You never know when you might want to use your own domain name and if you haven't protected it by registering it, then you could be disappointed when the time comes that you do want to use it and try to register it.

The obvious two main uses of a personal domain name are for:

1. Email
   and/or
2. A website

You Don't have to use your Broadband email address!
When you get broadband you automatically get an email address from your broadband provider. So if I was with BT or Sky my email address might be dickie.armour@sky.com or dickiearmour134@btinternet.com. Now that's all well and good but what happens when I change broadband provider to say Orange? I lose my old email account and have to set up a new email address with Orange and then go through all the hassle of telling my friends and family, many of whom won't remember and will still continue to send emails to you at your old email address!

With your own personal domain name this doesn't happen. I'm with Tiscali - now TalkTalk - for my broadband and even though I do have a tiscali.co.uk email address I never use it. I don't need to. I use an email address on my personal domain name - dickiearmour.me.uk. So if and when I change broadband providers it makes no difference to me that TalkTalk will delete my old tiscail.co.uk email account because I don't use it. And, I won't have to bother telling my friends, family and business contacts because they all use my dickiearmour.me.uk email address already.

My wife rides dressage horses and has represented GB on numerous occasions; in March 2007 on The Spanish Sunshine Tour, August 2007 at Hickstead and May 2009, at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. She hasn't got a website but does have a personal domain name which she uses for email. But she is now considering getting a website designed and as a rider she wants to use her own name for the website because like most sports people they promote themselves using their brand - their own name. So she has no worries on that score because she's already got her own domain name!

Update: 2013
My wife now does have a website - www.nicolacooper.co.uk   

Perhaps there will come a time when you want to set up a website on your own personal domain name. You might want to start blogging and use your own name for your blog or perhaps you are a business coach or a consultant or a trainer. It makes sense to use your own name as your business and therefore a personal domain name would be needed. 

The other area where I'm a huge advocate of getting a personal domain name is for our children. I bought the .co.uk and .com in our daughter's name and I'm really pleased I did. She is already beginning to use it with friends at school and even had to send her maths teacher an email of some photos of shapes last week. He was so impressed she had her own email address! I bought her domain names soon after she was born. It appears there is a Doctor in the Midlands with the same name. After a year or so I got a phone call from her asking if I was prepared to sell my daughter's domain name as she wanted to use it! There can only ever be one version on any domain name extension and my daughter has all the main ones for her name. I politely declined the doctor and so she'll have had to look for alternative domain names. 

In America there has been a trend of buying domain names for newborn babies since about 2007. See this article from the Fox News website - Parents Rush to Register Newborn Babies' Internet Domain Names and I'm surprised more people here in the UK don't do this. The children of today and tomorrow are going to be living and breathing the Internet and will no doubt have websites and blogs of their own. The other thing you can do with your own domain name is point it to your Facebook, Twitter or whichever social network page of your choice. With the younger generation embracing these social networks I think we'll see a lot more of this in the future. 

So protect your's and your children's Internet identity today and get your personal domain names before someone else does.

Writing Copy for Email Campaigns - How I get in the Zone

When I sit down to write an email or letter firstly I make sure I will have no distractions.

No Distractions

So I close all other applications on my PC so I just have Word open. I use Word for doing my draft emails too. I then just cut and paste them into an Outlook email when it’s ready. I make sure my mobile phone is off or at least on silent. I also unplug the phone socket in my office and tell reception that I will not be available for 20 minutes or however long I need. To really make sure I won’t be disturbed I very often go to a coffee shop with my laptop.  As I mentioned in My Business Time Table I use an online countdown timer www.online-stopwatch.com to set chunks of time and at the end of that time a loud alarm rings alerting me to stop.

Then I start to think about what the reason is for the letter or email – what is my desired outcome? What is the objective I’m trying to achieve? For example if it’s to tell someone about my great products or services with a view to getting an appointment then I make it short sharp and snappy and I always make sure that I have a VERY OBVIOUS call to action. So they know what I would like them to do next.

Email Marketing Campaigns

If you're doing an email marketing campaign you will need to send out a number of different emails. It's important for you to spend some time deciding on the different emails and what your call to action is going to be in each one. For example; let's suppose you're a vocal coach and you want to work with music producers and vocal artists. Your two key target markets are obvious - vocal artists and music producers. Assuming you have a contact database you can now start to plan your email campaign to them.

You'll probably aim a seperate campaign at each target market, but some of the content will be relvant to both so you can re-use some of your content. For the Music Producers you could plan the following emails:

• Initial introduction email - your service and what makes you special with a call to action of a FREE session with one of their vocalists to show what you can do.
• 1st Follow Up email - Just a polite email briefly reminding them about your service and mentioning the special offer and ask them to get in touch.
• Outside of the email campaign I always recommend a phone call to the person to follow up the email.
• 2nd Follow Up email - great to speak to you and just wanted to show you this video of some testimonials. Again mention the call to action.
• 3rd Follow Up email - Include some recent success story you've had working with a music producer and how you helped them cut down studio time.
• 4th Follow Up email - Send them a few links to some articles you've written on vocal coaching or perhaps promote an event your running.

You get the general idea. You should always be looking for reasons to get back in touch with your prospective customers and also your existing customers. To make it relevant I make sure I know my target market and make sure my message tells them NOT about the features but instead it MUST tell them about the benefits – what they will get from dealing with me; my company; buying my products and services. What is it they are looking for and does my product or service fulfil that need?

Just get Writing

Then I just start to write the message. I don’t worry about the spelling or grammar too much to begin with. I even switch my paragraphs around after I’ve read the message a few times. I find that just writing the beginning part gets my creative juices flowing and I can get into the right groove and then I find the right approach and message.

It's also a good practice to read other emails you get from time to time. Find the ones you like and which made you take action and look at them. What was it about those emails? Copy their ideas and tailor them for your business and products and services.

You should start with a beginning a middle and an end and make sure there are compelling calls to action. For example if you are offering them a FREE session with you then make sure your email states this clearly:

Call today to secure your FREE session with me - only 10 FREE places left.

Use an offer with a deadline so they are more persuaded to act quickly.

Also, make sure you include links back to your website in your emails so it's nice and easy for them to click and get to your website. These links can direct them to the exact place on your website where you want them to visit.

The Subject Line

The other area when email marketing you must spend time on is the Subject Line of the email. The subject line is the first thing they will see so it must grab their attention without being too over the top. I always include their first name at the beginning of the subject line. This is very effective at grabbing their attention because you've used their name and they will assume you know them.

James, this amazing new service is set to revolutionise the Music Business!

There are words and phrases you should try to avoid using in subject lines otherwise you get caught in ISP Spam filters, but that's a huge subject all on it's own and not my speciality.

So Plan & Get Writing

So make sure you plan your campaign and what each message subject will be and then just start writing. Put aside some time each day to work on your content and keep going. And if you'd like some help and guidance or if you have any questions please feel free to get in touch.

Please add your comments below and please do add your advice too.