Archive for March, 2006

How to ruin your reputation in a single interaction

Sunday, March 26th, 2006

Here’s a story about what NOT to do, when it comes to business networking.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about asking my network for names of Executive recruiters to give to a client of mine.

Although I only asked people I trusted for these references, I decided to follow up with some of the names that I got. I just wanted to make sure that they were a good match for my client.

Well, I’m glad I did! I was able to not only give my client a good quality list of recruiters, I also got a real-life anecdote for you about how a very simple action (or inaction) can affect your credibility.

So here’s the story:

One particular colleague emailed me the name of a recruiter, recommending him highly. My colleague also copied the recruiter on this email, to alert him that a potential referral (i.e. me) was coming his way.

Very well handled. I was impressed.

So I contacted the recruiter by phone, mentioning that I was referred to him by my colleague. I didn’t get a call back.

A week later, I decided to follow up with an email. Still no response.

Hmmm. I decided to contact my colleague to see if could help me get in touch with this recruiter. He said he’d follow up with the recruiter and get back to me.

The next day, I got an email from a staff member at the recruiting company, saying that she was following up on behalf of the recruiter (who was the owner of the company).

I was unimpressed.

The fact that this recruiter didn’t take the time to send me a quick email, saying that he got my message and so-and-so from his company would follow up with me, made me lose all respect for him and the way he conducted business.

His behavior seemed to imply that he didn’t particularly care about getting *my* business.

This meant that I would never refer anyone to his company.

Further, this action (or non-action) on his part also made my colleague look bad, since he’d spoken so highly of this man. It called into question my colleague’s judgment.

So what’s the moral of the story?

  1. Maintain the trust of the people who refer you or your business to others, by treating every referral with respect and attention, whether or not you end up doing business with them.

  2. On the other side of the coin, refer people with care. Make sure the people you refer will treat others the same way they treat you. (And I assume you only refer business to people who treat you well.)

Now that I’ve told you what NOT to do, here’s a book that’ll tell you what TO do: Referral of a Lifetime, by Tim Templeton.

It’s a parable-type book, which I don’t usually like. But I like this one because it summarizes the principles along with examples of how to apply them in the appendix. Just this makes the book very useful. Enjoy!

Till next time,
– Sri

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Rewarding people who send you referrals

Sunday, March 19th, 2006

A few weeks ago I wrote about reciprocating — how best to give back to your network. Here’s another way to give back, and one that I use myself.

Often, my past clients and customers refer my products and services to their friends and associate. And I’ve always expressed my appreciation by sending them a personal thank you note.

However, a year ago, I decided to survey all my clients and customers to see how else I could show my appreciation, that would also be useful to them.

I got a lot of great information!

I found out that “one size doesn’t fit all”. Some people were interested in getting discounts off my products and services, others preferred a referral fee, and yet others were quite happy with a simple thank you note from me.

Using this feedback, I created a referral program (also known as Affiliate program), for my comprehensive “Effortless Networking” product.

I designed it to be open, so that anyone can participate in this program by signing up online. So people other than my clients and customers can also participate.

Those who actually have a copy of this program are obviously better able to explain to people why they’re recommending this product to them.

However, those who don’t own the product are still able to send me good quality referrals because they may have worked with me in another capacity, or may have experienced what I offer in another way (such as, through my articles, free Q&A calls, workshops, etc.).

In any case, I am able to thank each person who refers this product to others, by giving them a commission on the price of the product. And having found out that many people appreciate getting a referral fee, I give a generous 50% commission.

Of course, people can — and do — refer me business without participating in this program. However, this is *their* choice.

As I mentioned earlier, different people value different things, and I always want to offer them one or more options.

So if you haven’t done so already, ask people in general, and your sources of referrals in particular, how they want to be thanked or rewarded when they help you out.

Then use the information to build a program or system to regularly and consistently thank them — in a way that’s useful and valuable for them.

By the way, if you want more details about my referral program, click here.

Till next week,
– Sri

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No time to network?

Sunday, March 12th, 2006

“No time to network!” Is this something you grapple with?

I can certainly relate to not having enough time in the day to do everything I want to. Soon, with a toddler and an infant, ALL my time will be spoken for — for a while, at least. Still, I’m fairly confident that I’ll continue to network.

How can I say that?!

Before I answer the question, let me ask you this: do you consider “networking” to be a distinct and separate activity (like an item on your “to do” list)?

That could be part of the problem.

Well, here are two ways you can network, even when you “don’t have time”.

First, integrate “networking” in your normal day.

People “network” all the time. You too. Except, you may not think of what you’re doing as “networking”.

Here is an example of what I mean:

Let’s say you’re looking for a landscape maintenance company, that will take care of your yard year round. Mowing the grass in the summer, raking the leaves in the fall, clearing the snow in the winter. But perhaps you’re new to the area, or maybe you know the area but are a new homeowner, and you don’t know how best to find someone who is reliable, affordable and does good work.

So what do you do? Chances are, you probably ask people you know who are homeowners, for information, recommendations and references.

This is networking.

And as I said, you probably do this kind of thing without thinking.

Now, if you consciously applied the same concept to your business needs, you wouldn’t need to carve out extra time for “networking”. It would become integrated into your normal day and how you did business.

Second, leverage technology whenever you can.

In this day and age, it’s possible to get to know and work with someone without ever meeting them in person. In my previous career, I successfully built and led a team, whose members were located in 4 different continents.

How did we work successfully without ever meeting each other? We simply used technology (nothing fancy — common stuff like phone and email) to get to know each other, keep in touch and coordinate our work.

You can do the same in networking.

Here are a couple of examples of how you can use technology to your advantage when networking:

A client of mine asked me once if I could recommend some Executive recruiters to him. I didn’t have this information. However, I did belong to several online groups that had people who could provide me with this information.

So I posted a question on a few of these lists, describing exactly what I was looking for. Within a couple of days I got a list of Executive recruiters from people I trusted. And I passed this information on to my client.

Note a couple of things here though. First, this information came from “people I trusted”. Even though I’d never met many of them in person, I knew them (or got to know them) through email and/or phone conversations. Second, I posted my question on *some* lists — I chose only those lists whose members I thought would be best able to help me find this information.

In terms of generating referrals for my own business, here is one way I leverage technology to help me with this:

I regularly ask my customers and subscribers, especially those who find my articles and products useful, to refer people to me.

Specifically, I ask them to tell their friends and associates about these resources, and provide an online form to help facilitate this. I ask for referrals (and present this form) during key interactions, such as when someone requests the free self-paced program, or buys one of my products.

My point is, even when I’m unable to ask for referrals in person, using technology I am still able to ask.

If you’re interested in checking out the product I use to ask for referrals online, click here.

And if you want more information on how to integrate “networking” into your normal day, check out Clarify your networking goals and get results (module 1 of the Effortless Networking self-coaching program). The worksheet that comes with the program goes into detail about the “how to”.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Posted in Improving Effectiveness | 1 Comment »

The power of knowing what you want

Sunday, March 5th, 2006

Here’s success story from Cindy Caldwell, a creative consultant for Randstad Creative.

To put things in perspective: Cindy’s big breakthrough came after attending just ONE Effortless Networking Q&A call.

This proves that the solution is simple. And you can do it too.

Here’s Cindy’s story in her own words:

One week after participating in one of the [Effortless Networking] Q&A sessions I attended a “High-Speed Networking” Event.

I figured it might be a good way to get me out of my comfort zone and apply some of the techniques we talked about in our call. I positioned myself so that when people rotated every five minutes, I was staying put and people came up to me to talk. This was fantastic and I found it very easy to talk to most people.

It was a great way to practice saying what I did, without being pressured to give a sales pitch (in fact the group that runs the event — Networking for Professionals, advises against any sales pitching during the exercise).

So, what did you do differently, Cindy?

One of the main things I brought with me from the Q&A call was “Ask for what you want.” It seemed other people I met were following this practice, because without any subtlety people were asking me, “What do you want? What did you come here for?” And I was able to give them set answers, “To find appropriate clients and talent. To find referrals. To get the word out about our business.”

From this networking event,

  • I wound with 25 new contacts who I had had a conversation with that night
  • I also interviewed a talent on the spot
  • found a realtor for me personally
  • got an invitation to join another networking group, and
  • made an appointment to have lunch with a software professional and
  • introduced him to my IT recruiter.

Wow — that’s an amazing list of accomplishments for one event! What were you doing before you found this new approach?

Before joining [the Effortless Networking] newsletter group and attending that one Q&A call, I was doing the usual cold calling and visits. This was working, a little. But it felt so unnatural for me. I would go to the occassional event, but feel I couldn’t have a conversation with people unless someone else went with me.

Was there a particular networking concept or principle that helped you find this new approach?

Know What You Want. This could be as simple as “I want people to know about my business.” But the more specific you are, the more apt you’ll get what you want. And in an environment like the “Hi-Speed Networking” you get exactly 2 1/2 minutes to tell someone what you’re looking for.

When and/or where did you get this insight or learn this concept?

As I said, the [Effortless Networking] Q&A session…they are so helpful. Even if you don’t have a specific question in mind, I would advise anyone who has some difficulty in business social situations to sign up.

Is there anything specific that helped you apply this concept?

Going to an event that was made for networking (not boozing it up, not standing around in little cliques) and applying the techniques I learned such as “Asking for what I want” and saying simple things like, “Have you met anyone here that might interested in what we have to offer?” was a real confidence booster.

Because of this networking event, I was invited to join Powercore, in which a member of that group asked me to join another (more intimate) professional group, and because of that group, I was invited to another free event this week. The more I get out there, the more my natural contacts will develop.

Cindy, this is excellent! So tell us about your business.

I am a creative consultant for Randstad Creative. Randstad Creative/IT is a division of Randstad Work Solutions. Randstad is the fourth largest staffing organization in the world with over 2,200 offices in 13 countries.

Randstad Creative/IT is a fairly new division and we have offices in Atlanta (that’s where I am), New York, Philadelphia, Boston and DC. You can learn more about our services on: www.us.randstad.com

What do you offer your clients or customers?

Randstad Creative offers top creative talent, assessed by professional agents, in areas of expertise such as: Graphic Designers & Production Artists, Web Designers & Developers, Printing & Pre-press, Art Directors, Creative Directors, Copywriters, Proofreaders & Editors, Technical Writers & Instructional Designers, Traffic & Production Managers, and Marketing & Public Relations. We offer a range of flexible workplace options: short term or long term contract work or direct hire.

Who are the people who *most* benefit from your services?

Two kinds of people: Those creative professionals looking for work and creative professionals looking to hire. Our clients tend to be Creative Directors, small business owners, Art Directors, production departments, but we also will help out human resources as well.

In what way(s) do they benefit?

We take the work out of finding good freelancers and potential job candidates for you!

We do NOT get paid on a commission, so we would never just send you a “warm body” just to send someone. We work very hard at getting to know you and your environment, as well as our talents’ goals. Randstad Creative agents are also creative professionals.

My background is in print & web marketing and writing & editing. My fellow agents come from production, photography and graphic design backgrounds.

In-depth knowledge of the creative industry ensures we can best evaluate talent portfolios and resumes. We additionally qualify talent through interviews, behavioral event questioning, testing and detailed reference checks.

If anyone wants to contact you for more information, or to send you a referral, how might they do so?

Please call or email me with any questions:
Cindy Caldwell
+1-404-351-7885
cindy.caldwell@us.randstad.com

If I can’t help you, then I will find you someone who can–we have many offices in North America and Europe. We handle all sorts of placement from creative and IT to administrative and light industrial.

Thanks for sharing this story, Cindy. And congratulations!

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Cindy’s spectacular success is based on the simple concept covered in Lesson 1: Know what you want.

This concept may seem “simplistic” at first, but as you see from Cindy’s experience, it’s actually very powerful.

Try it yourself!

Posted in Building Confidence, Improving Effectiveness, Networking Conversations, Success stories | No Comments »