Effortless Networking

I recently relocated (yes, I move around a lot — which means I have to build my local network from scratch on a regular basis! Why do you think I write about networking?).

Well, as I was chatting with my new neighbor, Anne Kirby, I discovered that she was up to some really cool stuff, where business networking is concerned.

Anne Kirby is the owner of HunterKirby Design and also one of the founders of The Creative House of Lancaster (CHL).

HunterKirby Design is a small design firm in Lancaster, PA. They offer web design, branding, photography and other desktop publishing services — and they primarily cater to small business.

Now, due to their involvement with The Creative House of Lancaster (CHL) — an innovative approach to business and social networking — they now have a pool of young, fresh talent to pull from that allows them to take on larger projects.

As Anne said:

“The CHL challenges us to be better designers and businesspeople. Together these creative individuals generate an energy that is hard to find in large, expensive design firms.”

Well, I convinced Anne to an immediate interview! Here are my questions and her responses:

What made you start the Creative House of Lancaster? Why did you not to join an existing networking group?

In the Spring of 2007 after attending some of traditional networking groups in the area a few of us noticed that so much potential was being lost by how exclusive the groups where, and the cost being something that a lot of start up businesses cannot afford.

Also, my colleagues and I didn’t like the fact that most people in these groups didn’t care to get to know each other on a personal level. If I refer someone to a client or fellow business establishment I wanted to feel comfortable referring someone who has the same business standards as our own and that’s sometimes hard to do if you’re only an acquaintance.

We also wanted to have fun networking while getting to know people not only on a professional level but a personal level as well.

How is the Creative House of Lancaster different from other forms of networking?

We are a social network group and there are no fee’s as long as members actively participate and are willing to take on more responsibility then other groups. We focus on bringing creative individuals together in a relaxed atmosphere with a strong emphases on having fun while building bridges, relationships and having a sense of community.

We feel that a true social network group does more then just meet and pass information along. We feel it’s our duty to give back to the community and get involved. In that way we differ greatly to your typical network group.

How did you get started with this group? What’s your vision for group?

My business partner Christina Martin and I happened to be at a local networking function and meet up with some other designs that followed similar business practices to us and we thought it would be nice to meet up with others like them so we could collaborate, network, inspire each other and pull resources together.

After long discussions we realized that a group like this didn’t exist in Lancaster so we decided to start our own.

We envision the CHL being a place where creative individuals can gather, collaborate, refer, inspire, mentor, challenge and push each other to do our very best, personally and professionally. We believe it should not cost anything to network, collaborate or just build friendships on a local level. We want the CHL to push past the typical network group by getting involved in the community and promoting our members.

Our motto is “Harvesting Renewable Talent” and we welcome all members with open doors and open minds.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

To give you a better sense of what The Creative House of Lancaster is all about, here’s our mission statement:

The Creative House of Lancaster (CHL) advocates the success of Lancaster County Small Businesses and individuals interested in art, music and design by committing its members to supporting each other in their business, personal and professional development and growth. We believe in taking creative and innovative leaps that redefine the local business community by harvesting local talent, promoting collaboration, fair-trade, teamwork, networking, mentoring, social communication, and nurturing a sense of community.

The purpose of CHL is to provide a forum for its members to build and maintain business and personal relationships, and to grow and develop professionally.

We’re doing this by providing opportunities for members to network with each other not just at networking meetings, but also by working together on special projects.

To you give you an idea on how we get involved in the community we are currently working with the East King Improvement District downtown to help revitalize the area.

These special projects help showcase the talents of the members and increase public awareness of the organization, which in turn attract and keep committed members.

These projects also provide an environment that challenges, inspires and promotes creative thinking among the participants.

We really thought this group would grow quickly but it has far exceeded our expectations and we are only 3 months old.

[For instance] 32 people attended the 2nd CHL meeting! After a few speeches and updates we opened the floor up for questions and socializing and let me say that the energy in the room that night could have lit the building. I’m not sure Lancaster has seen this kind of diverse talent gather in one place, and we’re so happy to see it evolve and unfold in such a short time.

Like I said [at our last meeting] we all can do great things if we pull our resources together!

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Well, I couldn’t attend their last meeting — it was my birthday and I was celebrating it with my family. But I tell you, I’m looking forward to attending the next one. I don’t know about you, but to me this group sounds fascinating!

By the way, if you’re doing something new and different when it comes to business networking, and you’d like to share your story on this website, let me know.

Whether you’re talking with someone in person, by phone or by email, there are some principles that are absolutely necessary to establish a genuine connection with a prospective customer.

Without these, your conversation is over before you even get started.

In the Effortless Networking book, I wrote about how to connect with prospects at business mixers or similar events. Click here to read an excerpt.

And here is an article from Ari about how to use these principles when selling via email.

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How to Use E-Mail To Connect with a Decison Maker — Without Using a “Sales Pitch”
by Ari Galper

Of all the selling mediums that have been the most abused, email seems to be at the top of the heap.

Because e-mail communication is simply text, void of any real human connection, many people who sell have adopted it as a way of avoiding having to pick up the phone to call someone new.

In fact, e-mail selling has now become part of the traditional “numbers game”. The more e-mails you send out, the better your return might be.

The problem is, you make some sales doing that, but you’ll burn your reputation and lose more opportunity that you even thought possible.

Sending a cold email to a decision maker in an organization is like a one-way electronic cold call.

And, if the email is written using a traditional sales pitch, it puts immediate sales pressure on the receiver (yes, sales pressure can be delivered through email) and the receiver immediately associates the sender with the negative “salesperson” stereotype.

I get these kind of email “pitches” all the time, as I’m sure you do as well.

The good news is, if you can shift your mindset away from making a “pitch”, and use the Unlock The Game Mindset instead, create a dialogue, be gracious and focus on a problem you can help them solve, you’ll find email can be a very profitable selling tool.

One of my clients, who is a sales executive for a software company, sent me an example of an old-school email pitch that he received last week.

I decided to dissect it and reinvent it the Unlock The Game way, pulling concepts directly from the Mastery Program, so that if you don’t have the program yet, you can get a taste of what you’ll learn.

Here’s the “cold introduction” e-mail that arrived in my client’s inbox:

Dear John,

My name is Michael Johnson and I am with XYZ company. We are the leading provider in back-office operations software with many clients such as XXX, YYY, ZZZ.

I’m writing you to see if you or your company would be interested in a demonstration of our software. It would be a brief 15- to 30-minute demonstration that we could do at your convenience.

Our website, dogandponyshow.com, lists many testimonials from customers that describe how we have improved their productivity, as well as complete details about our products and services.

I’ll give you a call later in the week to see if we can set up a time for the demonstration.

Sincerely,
Michael Johnson
Productivity Consultant
XYZ Software

On the surface, it looks innocent enough, but take a moment and ask yourself what your instant reaction would be if it arrived in your e-mail box.

Let’s look at it sentence by sentence:

Dear John,

My name is Michael Johnson, and I am with XYZ company. (Starting a conversation without asking a question can be perceived as an intrusion. Also, starting out with “My” and using “I” immediately focuses the conversation on you, not on your prospect.)

We are the leading provider in back-office operations software with many clients such as XXX, YYY, ZZZ. (This sentence is a mini-presentation designed to show off your client list. The writer is assuming that the prospect is already interested in the sender’s software. He’s also assuming that the prospect has a problem to be solved and that his company’s product can solve it.)

I’m writing you to see if you or your company would be interested in a demonstration of our software. It would be a brief 15- to 30-minute demonstration that we could do at your convenience. (Offering to demonstrate a solution without first determining any problem is likely to set off negative sales alarms.)

Our website, dogandponyshow.com, lists many testimonials from customers that describe how we have improved their productivity, as well as complete details about our products and services. (This paragraph continues the barrage of information, all based on the assumption that the reader is interested. If he isn’t, however, this writer has come across as a typical “salesperson.” He has communicated that he and his company are aggressive and interested only in the sale, rather than in taking the time to build trust and get to know the issues and problems that face potential customers.)

I’ll give you a call later in the week to see if we can set up a time for the demonstration. (This is the usual “assumptive” close used by most traditional salespeople. However, it only reinforces that this e-mail is an obvious attempt to get an appointment so the sender can make a sale, rather than opening communication so the sender can understand the reader’s world.)

Sincerely, (This is the traditional cold and aloof closing.)

Michael Johnson
Productivity Consultant
XYZ Software

My comments (in blue) zero in on the specific wording and phrases that feed the negative sales stereotype and give the impression that the writer cares only about the sale.

The problem is — even if your intentions are honest and sincere, e-mails like this are more likely to burn bridges than to build trust.

There is a better way.

Here’s the same e-mail, but rewritten from principles and strategies found in the Unlock The Game Mastery Program.

My comments show the reasons behind the phrases and why they both reduce potential sales tension and increase the chances of a favorable response.

Dear John,

Not sure if you can help me, but thought you could possibly point me in the right direction. (By starting off from a position of humility rather than with the typical assumptive introduction, and by asking for help, this e-mail gives the reader a chance to either tell the sender that he has reached the right person or to refer him on to someone else.)

Would you happen to know who in your organization would be responsible for diagnosing and solving productivity issues related to your technology infrastructure — specifically, underperforming servers, outdated software upgrades, or out-of-date computer hardware? (Rather than offering solutions, the writer is addressing very some real problems and issues that may exist in the reader’s company. In other words, the e-mail is about the receiver, not the sender. Also, the writer doesn’t mention any demonstration because problems must always come first, and the solutions later.)

I’m with XYZ company, and we specifically help companies solve these types of issues. (This reinforces that the writer’s company solves problems.)

Any help you could provide would be very graciously appreciated. (This statement expresses the warmth of the writer’s gratitude in advance.)

Warmest regards, (The warmth of this closing humanizes the whole communication.)

Michael Johnson
Productivity Consultant
XYZ Software

How do you think you would react if you received this e-mail?

Perhaps you would give a sigh of relief because you wouldn’t be feeling any sales pressure from this stranger you’ve never met.

This example shows that, even though e-mail is basically an impersonal one-way form of communicating, with the Unlock The Game Mindset you can humanize the connection.

When you give prospects a chance to respond to your request for help, you increase the possibilities for two-way communication and trust-building dialogue.

You might want to start reviewing your e-mails to prospects.

To your success,
Ari

Ari Galper is the founder of Unlock The Game™, the only selling program that completely eliminates pressure from the selling process. His Unlock The Game™ Sales Program has helped thousands of entrepenuers and sales professionals worldwide. Visit ww.UnlockTheGame.com to take a Free Test Drive!

If you have ever struggled to get your company or product quickly understood in the marketplace, you will definitely want to read
this week’s article. It’s written by guest author Vito Monroe, co-creator of BrandU®.

And if you’re all alone in your business, worried about how to effectively grow your business or struggling to find your market, you will definitely want to check out the upcoming tele-seminar, “Turn on the Power of your Business” from the Vito and his partner, Kim. Click here for details.

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The Power of Four: Understanding the Four Dimensions of Human Communications
by W. Vito Montone, BrandU®

We are often asked how we get a company or product understood in the marketplace so quickly. Easy, we build it as a brand. Yes, yes, you‘ve heard Kim and I say this over and over.

But just maybe “how” is the wrong question. I mean we know how, we’ve created the process that thousands of entrepreneurs are using worldwide and we continue to use it to start up new brands for ourselves and our partners (watch for some exciting announcements next month).

Maybe the question should be “why?” “Why does it work?” is a more interesting question. It is the “why” that drives us to create processes for everything.

I love movies and books. I have hundreds of them in my library. Some I read or watch over and over. Why? They fit a feeling, situation or mood that I’m in. They inform and they inspire me. They are good stories. They connect with me. Why?

There is only one reason perennial stories work on us humans. They are “whole.”

I say that they are tales. A tale is a snap shot of something, a slice of life, a peek into a condition that in its full form makes no statement or conclusion. It just shows you something.

In my opinion there has certainly been quite a few good tales. But they all have one thing in common - they didn’t move me. Don’t get me wrong they were enjoyable, perhaps even poignant, but they didn’t give me a deep experience. Should the goal be to convince me to buy the movie or book and watch it over and over? I certainly think so. Brands you love have done that; they have shared a “whole” story with you.

Now think about marketing communications. Most of it may be enjoyable, may have shown you a snap shot of something, a slice of life, a peek into a condition that caught your attention.

But did it last?

To be long lasting, marketing communications must be “whole.” You must feel it deeply. It must address the whole of us. We don’t make buying decisions just on what somebody shows us. We go through a balanced four-dimensional decision-making process. It is no accident that our branding process is based on the four dimensional theory of manifestation called Unified Conscious Development (UCD).

The four filters of UCD must be applied to all aspects of communication, so that it can be perceived as whole and people can experience it fully.

Our branding process addresses two sets of four – the four steps of the internal brand statement and the four steps of CLIC for external communications.

Here is the essence of the four filters that are applied to every thing we do and assure us that it is “whole”:

1. Clearly define the nature of the offering.

   It doesn’t matter whether it is a company, a division, or a product– we need to understand the very simple nature of it. How is it thought of in the material world and what are its essential characteristics? Regardless of what we are communicating, we need the simplest understanding of what it is.

2. Share a fixed belief about it.

   Nothing comes to life without you knowing what you think about it so we can decide what we think about it. It’s the proverbial “stake in the sand.” The author of a whole story knows where he/she stands and is proud of it. You are the author of the brand.

3. Share fluid aspects governing it.

   The dynamic partner to a fixed belief is its fluid characteristics. This refers to factors that are consistent but able to change. It may be understood as the subjective, something that is relative versus absolute. Like hiking in the woods going east to get home, but having to go north or south around obstacles to reach it.

4. Know the context of it.

   The relationship of a company, a division, or a product to the whole of everything must be addressed. While it is often unseen or intangible, this filter provides the relevance. It involves addressing how the offering fits with other products, fits within a customer’s life or how it impacts the world.

Together, all four filters correlating to the four dimensions of our human existence will tell the “whole” story, enabling your customers to experience your brand. Now you know why.

© Castle Montone, Limited

Author and BrandU co-creator, W. Vito Montone teaches entrepreneurs and small business owners how to turn their business ideas into a moneymaking marketable brand — from idea, to brand, to market. If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank™, get your FREE branding tips now at www.whybrandu.com.