Students Of Success

What makes you want to talk to anyone?

For instance, I’m sure you’ve attended a wedding or friend’s birthday party, where there are many people you don’t know. What do you typically do at these events? Do you talk to anyone you don’t know? And if so, how do you choose whom to talk to and what to say to them?

I usually start by talking to the person sitting or standing next to me. And I usually ask about how they know the host of party. It’s the easiest starting point for me! And then my curiosity takes over and gets the conversation flowing.

Other people may be drawn to talking with “strangers” because something about the other person catches their attention. For instance, something that the other person is wearing (unusual jewelry, funky tie, beautiful shoes), or something that they overheard this person saying (about where they live, how bad the traffic was that evening, how mischievious their dog or cat was that morning), etc.

What about you?

I ask, because in the business context it’s not so different.

Common things that get conversations started at business mixers are name badges. You may be intrigued by the title on a name badge and want to ask what such a job might entail. You may want to talk to a person because they work at a company that is of interest to you for some reason.

In fact, I met one of my long-time associates and friends that way. She saw my name badge and asked if I worked at SRI. I said “No, that’s my name — it’s Sri.” We had a good laugh and started talking. As we talked, I realized I’d seen her on the news on TV a few weeks before. So our conversation moved to that topic. By the time we ended our conversation, we both agreed that we should meet later to brainstorm about possible collaborations.

My point is this: people approach and talk with “strangers” quite naturally when something about the other person catches their interest.

Some common tips for “conversation starters” in the business context are, asking about:

• Primary concerns about the other person’s business
• Problems they want solved
• What unmet business needs they may have
• Areas where the solutions you provide may overlap with their needs

You may have already heard of these. But as I mentioned last time, before you can effectively use any tip or strategy, you must be clear about whether it fits your needs. In other words, would the information you get from using any of these “conversation starters” be of interest and use to you?

So the question for you is this: what is of interest to you? What (if anything) makes you curious about all the “strangers” in a room, when you attend a networking event?

(By the way, if you find that nothing interests you or makes you curious, then you might ask yourself why you chose to attend that event.)

Once you’ve identified that, you can let your curiosity guide you. You can start looking and listening for things that are of interest to you in other people, as you move through the room. And when you find these people, see how it feels to start a conversation with them. I bet it will be much easier!

And when you do find someone with whom you truly connect, be sure to get their contact information. Because these are the people you must follow up with. The rest — well, it’s up to you what you do with the rest…

Now, if you’re still uncomfortable approaching someone you know you want to talk to, and even know what you want to talk to them about, there’s another unresolved issue hiding somewhere. But that’s a topic for another day!

(c) Copyright 2006, Srirupa Dasgupta

Sri Dasgupta helps business professionals get better results from their business networking efforts through focused and relevant conversations. She is the author of the Effortless Networking, and writes regular articles offering business networking tips and related resources.

The ability to connect with people is essential to success in any business. Professional networking events present opportunities to interact with others on a personal level and to develop profitable relationships. These occasions are critical for anyone who wants to grow a business or promote a career.

Many people are simply not comfortable walking into a room full of strangers and striking up conversations. Here are five common stumbling blocks that you may face and tips to help you overcome them.

A RELUCTANCE TO TALK TO STRANGERS. You were taught at an early age not to speak to people you don’t know. It’s not safe. In certain situations today this is still good advice. In business, however, talking to strangers is a way to generate interest and support for your products and services. If you only talk to the people you already know, you will miss out on opportunities to make new connections and establish valuable contacts.

To get past your discomfort in talking to strangers, set a goal for yourself before you attend any networking event. Decide how many new contacts you want to make or how many strangers you want to meet. In some cases, you may specifically target individuals whom you’d like to know.

Next come up with some icebreakers or conversation starters. Have questions prepared that you can ask anyone you meet at the event. You may want to inquire about other people’s business, their connection to the sponsoring organization or their opinion of the venue.

LACK OF A FORMAL INTRODUCTION. It’s much easier to make a new contact when there is someone else to handle the introduction and pave the way. If you wait for another person to make the move you may not meet anyone. At networking events, the goal is to meet as many people as possible.

This is the time to take the bull by the horns, walk up to people you don’t know, introduce yourself and start a conversation. You can do this if you have prepared your self-introduction in advance.

You will not introduce yourself the same way on every occasion. Perhaps it is your first time to attend an association meeting. In that case, you might want to say that as part of your introduction. Let people know who you are, why you are there and give them a reason to ask more abut you.

FEAR OF BEING SEEN AS PUSHY. You may think that you will turn people off if you are assertive and that if they want to talk to you, they will make the first move. If this is your line of thinking you will find yourself spending your time alone at the reception or meeting function and leaving without a single new connection. Being open, friendly and interested does not turn people off.

You will not come across as overly aggressive if you seek out the “approachable” people. These are the ones who are standing alone or who are speaking in groups of three or more. Two people talking to each other are not approachable because they may be having a private conversation and you would be interrupting.

THINKING THAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY NOT LIKE YOU. There is always the risk that the other person is not interested in you and doesn’t want to meet or talk to you. It happens. If that is the case, don’t take it personally. Nothing ventured is nothing gained. When you get a cold shoulder, smile, move on and say to yourself, “Next?”

HAVING YOUR INTENTIONS MISUNDERSTOOD. Approaching someone of the opposite sex to begin a conversation may seem more like flirting than networking. This is more of an issue for women than men. Women have an equal place in the work arena and need to make professional connections the same as men do. Women in business can no longer afford to hold back when there is opportunity at hand.

Neither men nor women will have their motives misinterpreted if they present themselves professionally in their attire and if they keep the conversation focused on business issues or topics that are not personal or private.

Whatever your stumbling blocks, face them before the next networking event and devise a personal plan for getting past them. Once you do, you will find yourself connecting with confidence and courtesy on every occasion and the results will be reflected in your bottom line.

(c) 2005, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL - ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors’ Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman’s Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, e-mail her at lydia@mannersthatsell.com or visit her web site www.mannersthatsell.com/

Active business networking gets results. But when you are new to networking, either as a start-up business or as a responsibility in your new job, it can be very scary going to a meeting of business people. Here are 9 tips for networking newbies…

Make the meeting as easy as possible for yourself:

1) Contact the host or organiser, explain you are new to this and would like some help. Ask if you can have a copy of the attendee list BEFORE the meeting.

2) When you get the list, check if there is anyone on the list you know; or a business that your company deals with.

3) Then check who you would like to make contact with; who you would like to meet.

4) Arrange to be introduced: If you find someone (or a company) you know on the list, give him/her a call and ask if he knows the people you want to meet. If he does, ask if he would mind introducing you at the meeting. You now have someone you can talk to immediately you arrive (the person you’ve just called) and you have a goal to meet someone new, in a safe environment when you are introduced.

If you do not recognise any names on the list, call your host/organiser and ask if he/she would introduce you to the people you want to meet.

5) Arrive early. It is a lot easier to greet people as they arrive and have them join YOU, than it is to arrive later and then try to ‘break into’ conversations that have already started.

6) When you are introduced to someone make a point to remember his/her name.

7) Ask questions about him (or her); his interests; how long he’s been in that business; what’s his biggest challenge; what advice would he give to someone like you, who is new to networking (he’ll feel flattered you’ve asked). And listen to his answer(see my article: Networking Meetings - Creating Rapport with People You Meet).

When you are asked a question, such as “What do you do?” have a succinct, but preferably intriguing, answer. Don’t launch into a full presentation. (see my articles: Networking Your Way to Profits: Part 1 ‘The Power of The Elevator Speech’ and Networking Your Way to Profits: Part 2 ‘Creating Your Elevator Speech’).

9) Remember – networking is about creating relationships, so consider how you can help the people you meet – and that does not mean by selling something to him (or her). Think about who you can introduce him to; people who need his services or products or can supply something he has expressed an interest in that you are not able to supply.

©2005 Original Work by Carol Bentley

Learn more about Persuading People to Buy… Subscribe to your free reports, with no obligation, at http://www.CarolBentley.com

Carol is the author of ‘I Want to Buy Your Product… Have You Sent Me a Letter Yet? (How to create powerful sales letters, advertisements, flyers, brochures, web pages and newsletters that persuade hundreds, or even thousands, of additional customers and clients to buy from you!) by Carol A E Bentley (Rated 5-star on Amazon.co.uk) This book is available at a special offer at http://www.CarolBentley.com/offer

Carol is one of the highest paid direct response copywriters available. If you would like to talk to Carol’s office about having her work on your current or next sales project you can use the contact form on her website http://www.CarolBentley.com/contact.asp

Healthcare managers are discovering that a “best practice” imported from another organization is not a panacea. First, one size never fits all. Second, managers charged with process improvement often think of the search for a best practice as a one-time effort. In truth, performance improvement is always ongoing. That’s why smart organizations are intensifying the search for best practices with “knowledge communities” – groups of people who share a common interest and are committed to exchange information and solve common problems together on a continuing basis. Here’s how knowledge communities can make a difference in patient care and the organization’s bottom line.

Why the Search for “Best Practices” Fails

There are five approaches to best practice “search and implement” missions that strangle management. They all begin with a vague project to find a best practice without any certainty on search parameters or desired outcome. What usually happens is one of the following:

Scenario 1:

The manager cannot find a better performer that is similar to his or her own organization in terms of size, scope, structure, environment, trauma level, profitability, etc. Therefore, there is no one from whom to learn.

Scenario 2:

Hospitals that are insufficiently diverse swap best practices, which then become inbred rigidities or sacred cows. No innovation occurs because there is no diversity in the learning pool.

Scenario 3:

The manager searches and searches for the “holy grail” or elusive best practice. The search continues with no end in sight, and nothing is accomplished. Or, the best practice is found, but never implemented. Searching doesn’t bring results. Doing does.

Scenario 4:

The manager at Hospital A succeeds in finding a best practice. Hospital B has standardized on a single vendor for artificial knee implants. The manager copies the practice by standardizing on a single vendor from Hospital A. The result? The physicians revolt because no one was consulted! Or, by signing a two-year exclusive agreement to get a lower price, Hospital B misses out on new advances in orthopedic implants and the high-volume, well-respected surgeon defects. The moral? Best practices are not commodities. Mindlessly mimicking a best practice is a recipe for disaster. Adapt, evolve, customize!

Scenario 5:

The manager finds that the best practice in pharmacies is computerized order entry, which is extremely costly and challenging to implement. He or she is overwhelmed by the grand plan, freezes and does nothing, instead of taking incremental steps to arrive at the goal. Best practice should be about motivation, not intimidation.

So, what’s a manager to do?: Join a Knowledge Community

No two organizations have the same clientele, physicians or environment. It follows that knowledge management processes must be as different as the organizations that practice them. The process has to meet the specific needs of the organization and provide managers with experience and knowledge they can use for improvement.

Knowledge communities offer a concrete starting point – a first place for managers to turn when they want to customize a successful practice to the organization and make it an ongoing part of their management style. In discussions with other members of the community, they gather ideas, test hypotheses, solve common problems, compare implementation strategies, and build courage to change and leverage shared knowledge. Available anywhere, anytime through the Web and technology such as teleconferencing, knowledge communities are the 21st century version of the professional society networking experience.

As part of a knowledge community, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts participates in telephone conferences with eight to ten similar hospitals across the country. Sally Kaufmann, Manager of Rehabilitation Services, explains, “The members of our knowledge community share information on clinical topics that are of interest to us as rehabilitation managers in an acute care setting. As a benchmarking group, we compare data on the types and volume of services we provide and the cost of providing care. And, when clinical questions arise, any member of the community can generate a question and email it to the knowledge community facilitator, who then generates a survey that helps compare information on the topic. For example, we just completed a series of discussions on using whirlpools in the treatment of wounds. The therapy has become somewhat controversial recently, which raised some uncertainty about our current whirlpool practice. Hospitals participating in the discussion completed a pre-conference call survey to compare our programs, followed by a live discussion of specific issues. I then arranged a follow-up call with a member of the network who turned out to be particularly expert in this area. She gave me some solid advice, which helped me create a packet of information for physicians who are referring patients to our whirlpool service. It alerts them to alternatives and recommends a new referral process that may or may not include whirlpool.”

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah, a division of Intermountain Healthcare, has been a member of a knowledge community for several years. Ron Liston, Director of Rehabilitation Services, reports, “Periodically, the knowledge community administrator runs a comparison of our hospital with some of our IHC sister hospitals, as well as hospitals throughout the U.S. For example, our inpatient rehabilitation program has been compared against similar units in terms of productivity, cost per unit per discharge and cost per patient day. If you’re the most expensive in the group, you can call the other hospitals and learn what they are doing to keep costs down. The procedure is simple. The knowledge community administrator schedules a time for a conference; you call in with a password, and you’re on the phone with ten of your peers all discussing your issue.”

Liston has participated in focused phone conferences concerning staffing mix and productivity. “Providing excellent outcomes while increasing staff productivity is always a challenge,” he says, “but when you share knowledge with ten other hospitals, someone always has a creative idea.” He in turn has shared IHC’s seven-on-seven-off staffing model which works well in a hospital that provides physical therapy seven days a week. IHC’s policy and procedure were posted on the knowledge community’s Web site, available for other members to learn from.

Small Steps to Big Goals

Incremental steps are the best way to improve, manage change and make a difference. Knowledge communities simplify the process of adapting and evolving a practice to fit the organization because managers can learn the incremental steps others took to arrive at the goal. Rather than searching for an elusive best practice or finding one too overwhelming to implement, managers can obtain practical information in digestible bite-size pieces. In Scenario 5, for example, a member of a knowledge community might learn that Pharmacy Manager X at Hospital A began by giving the physicians preprinted drug prescription forms. This approach worked well and eventually evolved into computerized order entry.

The healthcare industry has traditionally shied away from obtaining and utilizing external information from other healthcare systems and other industries. A knowledge community makes the process easy and comfortable because the member organizations are not competitors, but span the country. More importantly, a knowledge community expands the collective knowledge of the group and raises the bar for everyone.

“I highly recommend joining a knowledge community,” says Kaufmann. “Busy managers who do not have the time to research topics on the Internet or in the medical library can network with hospitals in different parts of the country. We learn what financial or clinical issues our peers are struggling with or have solved in creative ways. For newcomers, a knowledge community can seem a bit daunting, but once you get in the habit of sharing information, you realize that it’s a very valuable educational resource. It’s the perfect way to connect with peers on specific business and clinical issues. The time spent is well worth it in the long run.”

“Any organization that is small or lacks a solid peer group needs to belong to a formal or informal group to bounce ideas off each other, ask questions and get answers,” says Liston. “Sometimes we need to go beyond our own organization to learn how others are wrestling with problems that are similar across the industry. I can’t imagine being in a single hospital, or even a small group of hospitals, and not having instant access to peers to help deal with questions and concerns of daily operations. It’s not just for the benefit of hospital leadership. Department managers or senior physical therapists who are struggling with certain issues can get help from their counterparts in other organizations,” he added.

Solutions for Better Care

Knowledge communities are most successful when the sharing of information and experiences is accessible to the people (often department managers) who can effectively create change. Providing these people with readily accessible peer groups empowers them to learn from others to create solutions for themselves. This in turn expands the organization’s ability to change and improve. Everyone in the organization, not just a few executives, are now thinking about the kind of process improvement that will not only better the organization, but enhance the patients’ experience, which is what healthcare is all about.

Sidebar:

How to Advance or Doom Knowledge Management

Advance:

·Put knowledge where the action is, the front lines of the organization.

·Leverage internal and external peer-to-peer interactions to grow the collective knowledge of the group.

·Make historical knowledge available – easy to access, readily retrieved.

·Encourage a flexible, risk-taking culture to encourage positive change and growth.

·Maintain organizational curiosity for new ideas to germinate.

Doom:

·Focus on IT as the answer. IT may provide a shell to contain knowledge, but human intervention is necessary to actively manage knowledge exchange.

·Rely on written documents to transfer knowledge. Interactive sharing is to effective knowledge exchange.

·Breed a culture that inhibits action.

·Restrict or convolute access to knowledge.

·Decline to resource knowledge. Knowledge distribution, archival, use, interactions and access will not be valuable unless they are thoughtfully managed and facilitated with appropriate manpower.

·Refuse to participate. Asking for information from others without sharing ideas and information in return creates an unsatisfactory relationship.

Shelley Burns is Director of Knowledge Management and Michelle Gray-Bernhardt is a Healthcare Knowledge Consultant with The Healthcare Management Council, Inc., located in Needham, Massachusetts. HMC is a dynamic benchmarking, knowledge management and consulting company that helps its healthcare clients create goals and execute plans for ongoing performance improvement. For further information, call (781) 449-5287 or visit the company Web site at http://www.HMC-benchmarks.com

Whether you’re looking for a job, have a job, are hiring or even none of the above, networking can be invaluable part of who you are and what you do. But networking isn’t just about the free lunch (if there is one – and you know the old adage about that anyway).
When it comes to the language of networking, be sure it’s all about them and less about you. Like advertising, networking is all about a “what’s in it for me” approach. But the approach needs to be turned around so that the person benefiting is your conversation partner and not you, yourself and you.

If and when you make the exchange about them and not you, you will find that opportunities begin to present themselves to you in ways you may not have even imagined.

If you want to get the most out of business networking and cultivate a network of endless referrals, follow these commandments:

1. Build, don’t sell: Don’t view your encounters as selling opportunities, but as relationship builders. Nobody wants to be cornered or pressured. You’re not “sponging” off of others for your own benefit (that approach will turn others off quickly).

2. Listen. Don’t go on and on about your experience, your business, your education or your significant other. Ask questions and listen to the answers so you can find some common ground upon which to have a real conversation.

3. Ask. Questions and comments about their companies and even their hobbies and families will get you further than just the typical, often boring business card exchange and small talk.

4. Be specific. Don’t generalize or assume when discussing what you do or what you are looking for. Give specific scenarios so your conversation partner knows how to help you should the opportunity arise.

5. Be a connector. Find ways to refer others to one another even when there is no direct benefit to your job or business situation.

The real work begins after the event. Follow up, preferably within 24 hours, with a handwritten card or e-mail (there are arguments for choosing one or the other, just make sure you do at least one).

If you’ve promised to give them a name, number, web address or other information about a potential customer, employee or business connection, be sure to follow through and send it along. If the situation warrants it, call them a few days later to arrange a time to meet for a coffee or have lunch and start from there.

Final thoughts: Remember, whether it is a job fair, a business event or even a social situation, treat networking as an exchange of ideas, information and experience.

Be generous in sharing your talents, experiences, and ideas, and the benefits will come back to you many times over.

Allison Nazarian is president and chief copywriter of Get It In Writing, a Florida-based company that helps businesses nationwide harness the power of words to sell, inform and publicize. Allison can be reached at 561.487.3917 or anazarian@getitinwriting.biz.
Copyright© Get It In Writing, Inc. May be reprinted without permission of Get It In Writing, Inc and Allison Nazarian if in full, unchanged format and with complete attribution to author.

There it is. The event you’ve been waiting for. It’s all the big name speakers you’ve been drooling over, it’s in a city you’ve been dying to visit and it’s just the perfect information you need right now to take your business to the next level.

You grab your plane ticket, pack up the laptop, ship Rover off to the doggie sitter and are off. Three days later, it was a fantastic event. You met great people, you learned a ton of new things. You’re pumped up and ready to go.

Three weeks later somehow you can’t remember the name of that great contact you’d made and you really haven’t changed the way you do business. Here are some steps to take to set yourself up for success before you actually fork out your hard earned dollars.

Figure out the Why
Way before you head out the door ask yourself . . . WHY are you going? What do you want to achieve? Is it to meet people? Get specific information? Get motivated? Get new business? Or maybe it’s because you want to corner a speaker for 15 minutes to pick their brain. Why, why, why? Determine why you are really going in the first place. This is called a desired outcome. Write out your desired outcome so you know ahead of time what you want to accomplish.

Go in Prepared
Now that you’ve determined why you are going. Determine what you need to do to achieve your desired outcome.

What preparation do you need to do before hand? If one of your desired outcomes is to talk to a certain speaker, maybe there is a VIP lunch you buy a ticket for. If you want to pick up some new business, maybe you bring some samples with you, so you are prepared for an impromptu sales meeting. Maybe there is a contact you want to spend some time with so you fly in a day early. Whatever it is, think about it ahead of time and go in with a plan.

Play 6 Degrees of Separation
As a kid, my mother always said, “never say anything bad about anyone because you never know who they know”. Well, she was right. Someday, two people will be having drinks on Mars and one will say to the other, “Oh you’re from Earth, do you know Bob?” And they will.

Once you are at the event, be prepared to meet people and figure out who you know in common. It never fails to amaze me how you can randomly meet someone in an elevator, who lives in a different city than you and it turns out you know a ton of the same people. Or you can sit down for lunch with someone you don’t know and find out that they grew up with your out-of- state cousins. And no, I am not making this stuff up, these are actually things that have happened to me.

This is important because it helps you quickly bond with people and form a relationship. I’ve landed new clients because it turned out we knew several of the same people, which gave me instant credibility.

Create a plan of action
So when you’re not out in the hallway chatting it up with someone who could recite your rolodex, you’re probably listening to speakers and soaking up a ton of information. All too often I’ve had people tell me that they are so overwhelmed with the amount of information they are getting that they have no idea where to start.

Here are a couple of ways to manage your information so you can implement what you’ve learned.

Forget your American Express card. Never leave home without a packet of post-it notes. In your notes or handouts, mark pages with action items or ideas that you want to revisit with a post-it note. Then, when you go home, revisit all the post-it note pages first and add those ideas or action items to your day-to-day activities.

Or create a master action list. Take a couple of pieces of paper and put them at the very front of your seminar notebook. As you learn new things that you want to incorporate or you get ideas, jot them down on the list. Don’t censor yourself, just jot it down. This way you come home with a targeted list of action items to explore. Review your list. Decide if and how you want to move forward with each item and then simply check them off once you’ve tackled them.

Seminars can be a great way to learn the latest and greatest techniques, get motivated and build your network. Being prepared before you walk through the door will give you that extra edge to make it even better. See you at the next event.

© 2005 Beth Schneider. Want to reprint this article, feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, Chief Infopreneur of Process Prodigy, is a business process consultant who helps solo-entrepreneurs, small business owners and network marketers who want to systemize their business to increase profits, increase productivity and grow their business without having to give up the family oriented, flexible, balanced lifestyle they desire. Beth works one-on-one with her clients, offers home study courses, and teleclass boot camps. For more information visit http://www.processprodigy.com and sign up for your FR*EE 5- Step Process Starter Kit and FR*EE Process Tips.

Beth Schneider, Chief Infopreneur, uses her natural ability to create systems and motivate people, providing streamlined, effective and consistent processes and procedures.

Ever thought about hosting your own networking event and promoting your business at the same time? Ah ha, what a wonderful idea – you could invite non-competing business associates, other entrepreneurs, etc., and tell them to bring a friend.

I’m an introvert. Is it really that simple? It could be, but if you are too bashful to take the lead, ask an outgoing, non-competing business acquaintance to joint sponsor the event. Share the work and share the reward.

Action Items:

Preliminary Planning

*Set a date.

*Select and reserve a facility. It could be a local restaurant, club, meeting room, library, community room, etc.

*Ensure the area has adequate parking.

* Develop a preliminary guest list. Tell your guests to bring a friend.

* Determine your budget based on estimated costs of food, mailings (if applicable), etc.

* Determine if the event will be “free” or if you will charge a “minimal” fee to cover expenses.

* Finalize menu.

* Decide if you will have a speaker, or allow brief presentations by participants. Naturally, plan to take a few moments to introduce yourself and your business.

* Make a site visit and meet with your sales representative about room setup, A/V needs, etc. (if applicable).

* Plan a “datesaver” letter, postcard or appropriate email communiqué.

* Invite your guests.

1 Week Before the Event

* Print appropriate quantities of your company materials. Remember, the purpose is to promote your business.

* Stuff registration packets (if any).

* Print name tags and double-check spelling of all names.

* Notify caterer of counts and if they are significantly lower or higher than initially expected (if applicable).

Event Day

* Arrive early, making sure all arrangements are in place and station yourself at the front door.

* Meet and greet your guests.

* Provide a sign-in sheet or method to capture contact information, i.e., prize drawings, raffle, etc. Don’t forget to request that all-important email address, so you can have an inexpensive means to communicate later.

* Relax and smile.

* Never tell “war stories” to your guests or intimate that things might be less than perfect. Chances are no one but you will notice any mistakes.

* Mingle and enjoy the event.

After the Event

* Close the books — pay all bills.

* Send thank-you notes to all the attendees. Great time to implement a “Keep Clients Program”.

* Compile and review evaluation results, if applicable.

This event is your opportunity to make new business acquaintances and influence people. Now that it’s all planned, enjoy the networking and meet your ideal client.

Part 2 of Getting the Most Bang from a Networking Event describes how to network with your ideal client and become her “go to person” resource.

Sharon Williams is president and CEO of The 24 Hour Secretary, an administrative, secretarial, marketing and internet-based business support services firm open 24/7. Sharon helps busy and often overwhelmed executives and entrepreneurs, achieve their goals by giving the gift of time. Learn about the “Keep Clients Program” by visiting http://www.the24hoursecretary.com/keep-clients.htm Subscribe to her ezine Smart Business = Success, stocked with tips for busy professionals and visit her blog for up-to-date marketing strategies and other business tips, located at http://www.the24hoursecretary.com

If you have been in business for any amount of time, you go to networking
events. Did your body just seize up? Was there a swelling of nervousness in your gut? Are you about ready to stop reading? I encourage you to stay with me about networking. Let me ask: what’s the difference between someone who asks you at a picnic or at church, “Who do you know who …?” versus the reality that this is the same question being asked by everyone at a formal networking event? The difference is likely that phrase “networking event!”

Estimates are that we each know about 200 to 250 people. In this group of
people, this sphere or circle of influence, business happens informally and formally,
passively and actively and with success and without. Since I am an introvert, my take
on networking comes from a want to make the most of the event in the shortest
amount of time. My energy drains too fast in too much of a great event! Here are a
few pointers to put extroverted behaviors for the most introverted of us with high
success.

1. Go to a networking event with an intention.

What usually works is to set an intention to meet just three new people. Or, an
intention to get business cards from three new people. Something immediate and
small is usually doable for any of us.

2. Carry business cards everywhere

My business cards are with me everywhere. I always have one box of business
cards in my car, a few business cards in a jacket pocket and always in my business
portfolio. In the rare situation that I might not have one, then I ask the person I
meet for theirs. No one has ever refused to give me his or her card because I did not
have mine.

3. Communicate eyeball to eyeball.

As I wrote that I wondered, “Who sustains eye contact better, introverts or
extroverts? Maybe there is research on that. For me, eye contact is easy. I feel better
when I focus on the person I am talking with and not seeing all the hustle around
us. For a fact, we know that in general, most people have more positive feelings
from eye contact than lack of it.

4. Use people’s name: you’ll both be uplifted.

Doesn’t it
make you feel important when someone remembers your name? You don’t need a
memory course to do this better. The easier you make it the better, particularly for
an introvert. One, two, three: One, use a person’s name immediately when you meet
them: “It’s great to meet you Cindy Tracy. Two, then use their name in your
conversation when you ask a question: “How long have you been coming to these
events Cindy?” And, easy three, if someone else approaches the group you’re in,
introduce the person you just met by their name.

5. Stand out from the crowd with follow-up.

Even the shyest of us can easily reap results in this part of the process! Write a
short, simple thank-you note within about a week to those three new people you
meet. Thank them for talking with you and helping you learn about what they do in
business. Include your business card. I am amazed how few people continue to
make this part of their networking system.

6. Propel yourself forward with giving.Let’s just say that
everyone at this event is seeking a recommendation for something. Your best bet is
to discover what they are seeking. It could be anything – a good movie to watch, a
restaurant recommendation, where they can get a previously released music cd –
anything for any aspect of life. When you follow-up, ask about what they thought
about your recommendation. With your focus on how to help someone fill the
smallest need first, you’re still moving forward in your networking.

Right On!

Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, networking can be more
comfortable and confident when you come from the place of knowing that everyone
is seeking a recommendation at some time. The “networking event” just puts formal
dress on web weaving - connecting people with whoever or where ever will get them
what they want.

Pat Weber is a coach, certified telelcass leader, and corporate trainer. In her
business coaching, she works with small business owners, independent
professionals and salespeople to help them get more of what they want sooner than
later.

Visit her website at http://www.prostrategies.com. Sign up for her free
ezine.

Well… first off, let’s define exactly what a Forum is so that you’ll be able to relate to what I’m about to explain within this article.

The simple definition of a Forum is… it’s a online community with a open discussion that allows you to ‘Post’ questions or queries related to a specific topic.

You can find Forums online related to any topic under the sun, so it doesn’t matter what the question is that you might have because there’s a Forum out there with hundreds, if not, thousands of members ready and willing to give you helpful Tips and Advice to the questions you have making your life and decision making that much easier.

I can’t stress this enough, especially if you’re New to Internet and the Internet marketing scene.

Now, for the last segment of this article on want to focus on WHY forums are essential for Anyone who is considering starting an online business.

Well, the main reason is this… Forums are a great way to research your market you are considering developing a Product or Service for.

Why, you ask?

Simply because this is where people go to post there questions about a certain problem they’re dealing with and the ‘Rule Of Thumb’ is… when creating a Product or Service (no matter what kind of product or service it is) make sure it solves a — Problem.

This is the KEY ingredient to the success of your Product or Service.

Seriously, take a look at all the Posts from the members and note which ones share the most common threads.

If you see alot of common treads, that means there’s potential for a Product or Service to be developed.

By doing this simple task it will save you Time and more importantly… MONEY, because who would spend the Time and Money researching and developing a Product or Service if there was NO demand for it. Right?

You see how this works.

It Pays to do a little research.

And Research is the KEY ingredient for a successful Product or Service and Forums are simply a great place to get started, especially for anyone considering starting an online business.

Now, with that said, what you need to do now is figure out what you would ENJOY doing as a online business and draft up a business plan from there.

This is a VERY important step.

Then, go to your favorite search engine and search out a few forums within the area of business your interests lie and become a member.

Take notice to the main topics and write them down on a notepad so you can look over them later to see if there’s any potential.(Remember, the most common threads)

It’s that simple.

I truly hope this article helped you and opened up your mind up to the endless possibilities that await you online, no matter what business your considering.

We all need Answers and Forums are simply the BEST place to get them answered.

Cory Threlfall is an Internet Marketing Strategist and is the Editor and Publisher of The Internet Wonders eZine which is published ‘Bi-Weekly’ that focuses on providing Webmasters with quality Articles, Product Reviews, Tips, and More on how to Promote, Build and Increase your Web Traffic! Subscribe at: www.internetwondersezine.com

As far as I’m concerned, wireless networks would have to rank as one of the best inventions in history. They really are the best thing since sliced bread. I mean, really, bread is easy enough to cut yourself, but have you ever tried to wire up a network? Its a lot of hard yakka as many would say.

WiFi is the wireless way to handle networking. It is also known as 802.11 networking and wireless networking. The big advantage of WiFi is its simplicity. You can connect computers anywhere in your home or office without the need for wires. The computers connect to the network using radio signals, and computers can be up to 100 feet or so apart. So, in the spirit of spreading the word, I’m going to give you some great reasons why you need a wireless network.

Sharing Internet Access.

Wireless networking gives you a cheap and easy way to share one Internet connection between multiple computers, eliminating the need for more than one modem. You can even add new computers to your network simply by plugging in a wireless card and switching them on — they get an Internet connection straightaway! There aren’t many wired networks that can say that.

Sharing Files and Printers.

A wireless network gives you access to your files wherever you are in your home, and makes it easy to synchronise the data on a laptop with a home computer. It is much easier to send files between computers with a wireless network than it is to send them by email, or even by burning them to a CD.

Plus, with the printer connected, you can also write things wherever you want, press print, and go and collect them from a printer connected to another computer — printers that are plugged into one of the computers on the network are shared between all the computers automatically.

Always On Connection

A big factor in the spread of broadband was that it let Internet connections be always-on, without needing to dial in. Well, wireless networking lets network connections be always-on, meaning that any of your computers can connect to the Internet whenever you want! You can take laptops from room to room, and it doesn’t matter — they’ll always have access. Plus, there’s not even any need to set up a username and password system, as wireless networks work without logging in. It’s just so convenient!

No More Wires.

This, of course, is the biggest reason why you should switch your network over to wireless. Wires are inconvenient, expensive, ugly and dangerous — you’ll be delighted to see the back of them.

The average Ethernet wire doesn’t cost that much per metre, but once you’ve bought enough metres to do whatever you need to do, well, it tends to add up quickly. Not only that, but if you want to run your wire between rooms or floors, you have to knock holes in the walls — which might not even be allowed if you’re renting. I know plenty of people in rented apartments who had to keep their network confined to one room until they went wireless. With wireless networking, well, you can even take your computer outside, if you want to!

No more wires also means no more spaghetti all over the floor and in the corners. Not only does this improve the safety of your home, as it’s all too easy to trip over exposed wires, but it also means that you don’t have to go to all the trouble of packing all the wires up and re-connecting them at the other end when you move. It also means that you don’t have to examine every wire for damage if your Internet connection breaks down.

Play LAN and Internet Games.

You might have seen an option in your favourite game to play over a LAN. Well, wireless networks are LANs, which means that your whole family can play that game together — without needing the computers to be anywhere near each other. It’s far more fun to play against real people you know than to play against random people over the Internet, not to mention that the game will work much faster. You could even invite your friends to bring their computers and join in — a ‘LAN party’!

An added benefit is that wireless equipment lets you easily connect any games consoles you or your kids might have to the Internet, and start playing online. It’s far easier to play online with a wirelessly connected Xbox or PlayStation 2 than to have to connect it to your modem every time.

Convinced Yet?

If you’re excited, then that’s great — keep reading these articles for advice on how to set everything up. If you don’t think it’s for you yet, well, don’t give up on it — I’m sure you’ll come round when you realise just how easy and cheap wireless really is.

Information supplied and written by Lee Asher of
Eclipse Domain Services
Domain Names, Hosting, Traffic and Email Solutions.

Submitted with AD Submitter.