To be an effective networker you need to be armed with stories. Stories help you connect and make points with your fellow networkers so that they can relate to you and you to them. Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. But they also need to be relevant to who you are talking […]
Five Things to Remember in Networking: Storytelling Read More »
Networking isn’t just for sales or to be done outside the walls of a company. I had a lesson in what it can (or can’t) do recently. At, of all places, my car dealer. My recently purchased car was due for its first oil change. All was going well until the service manager came to
Intra-Company Networking Read More »
Many companies make the statement “our people are our most important asset.” And then treat them as disposable parts and pieces. While a business must run in the black, saying one thing and doing another is the issue at hand. As it is in networking as well. Over the past number of weeks I have
Really Valuing People Read More »
With the death this past week of Peter Falk, one of his obituaries read like a primer on networking. Best known as Columbo, Mr. Falk was eulogized by Associate Press Writer Frazier Moore. In his story Mr. Moore points out not just the usual “born-lived-died” facts, but he talks about the essence of the characters
There has always been confusion around the term business development. How many times have you heard someone put the title of business development director on their sales manager? There really is a difference between business development and sales. Just as there is a difference between networking and selling. While speaking to my long-time colleague, Scott
Business Development Read More »
When it comes to establishing a relationship, there is a pattern we see over and over. This is not scientific by any means, but in my experience and that of networking colleagues, we see these steps in this order in many different situations. From business to social to dating interactions, the establishment of a relationship
The Five Steps: Establishing a Relationship Read More »
At a recent mayoral discussion (couldn’t really call it a debate) between Mike Rawlings and David Kunkle at the North Dallas Chamber, Rawlings drew an example that has application to general marketing and networking. The three M’s of successful management of a city (or any business, for that matter) are: Metrics Mirroring Marketing Metrics are
The 3 M’s of Successful Management Read More »
In one of the latest issues of D Magazine, there is a story about the widow of Fred Baron, a long-time attorney and adviser in the Dallas area. While it was an interesting interview and profile of Lisa Blue Baron, what her late husband left her with was the most striking part of the story.
Three Life Lessons Read More »
There are lots of ways to build a network and lots of reasons, too. I heard this list not that long ago in a session at –where else–a chamber of commerce: Exposure. You gain exposure for you and your business at chamber events and contacts. Access to decisionmakers. Mayors, city councilpeople and otehr civic officeholders
Why Join a Chamber of Commerce? Read More »
It is an age-old paradigm. New methods of connecting can surface, but why people do business with others doesn’t seem to change. People do business with others that they know, like and trust. Knowing someone takes time. Over time, you get know what they mean when they say certain things, how they act in certain
Why People Do Business with Other People Read More »
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