Category: organizations

    Putting Your Best Foot Forward

    When you join a membership such as an “inner circle,” “mastermind group” or a local business club, it’s important to learn how to put your best foot forward. Not only do first impressions matter, so do repeat impressions. You know how a person has to see an advertisement seven times before they choose to purchase? Well, it’s not much different when it comes to building relationships and getting to know people via memberships.

    * Be Prepared – Don’t go to meetings disorganized, dropping paperwork, letting your phone ring, and that type of thing. You need to be fully present at every meeting instead of worried about what’s going on outside of it.

    * Don’t Sell Anything – The worst thing you can do at any membership meetings, or any social gathering at all, is to try to treat it as a sales meeting. You shouldn’t sell anyone anything at these events. Instead, just be yourself, and get to know people and let them get to know you.

    * Dress Appropriately – Each membership has a different personality so you’ll have to base how you dress on the membership. But, you want to show your personality too. Don’t show up in your PJs and looking dirty, but do be yourself and dress right for the membership.

    * Offer Your Hand First – The person who walks up to someone and introduces him or herself is the power person in the group. You need to go up to people, introduce yourself, and offer to shake hands. Look them in the eye, and tell them your name clearly, and ask theirs. Then listen.

    * Get Professional Business Cards Made – Always have cards with you when you leave your office or home. It’s very important because it’s the best way to meet with others after the event. You’ll never remember everyone, so using the card they give you and jotting down on the back something to help you remember them is a great thing to do. It’s something they might do too.

    * Get to Know People – Your entire job at any event is to get to know people. The more you get to know people and they get to know you, the more likely they are to recommend you to others, as well as hire you if they need what you offer.

    * Ask a Lot of Questions – Remember to always put the other person first, and learn as much as you can about them. The more people get to tell you about themselves, the better impression they get of you.

    * Show Up – It’s important to show up to the meetings, events, and luncheons when the membership you choose to join has them. Don’t just sign up and never show up. Showing up is the best thing you can do for your business.

    Whether you have a home business or a bricks and mortar business, it’s important to always practice putting your best foot forward. What that constitutes is different for each type of business and business owner, depending on their audience and niche.

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    Building Long-Lasting Business Relationships

    The best way to build long-lasting business relationships is to participate in the group or communities that the members participate in. You need to know how to get into any group, fit in, and get to know your customers and clients in a whole new way. It’s no longer good enough to just sell them something and then move on. Now you need to cultivate relationships that ensure that the relationship lasts longer.

    * Give Freely – Before ever asking anyone you meet for a favor, always do things for them first. Freely give of yourself to people and they will remember you. If you’ve done a good job letting them know what you offer, they’ll come to you when they’re ready.

    * Stay Professional – It’s especially important to remember that social media is part of the way you communicate professionally today. You need to keep the things you share business-like, avoiding personal oversharing or inappropriate sharing.

    * Practice Your Elevator Speech – Some people object to calling it that, but it’s just a way to say that you should be prepared with a short way of introducing yourself, your business, and what you do for people. Be sure to frame it with the benefits for the client instead of making it all about you.

    * Be Honest and Ethical – It can be a dog-eat-dog world out there, and you’ll have to compete with a lot of unethical people. But, keep your own morals and don’t cross those legal and ethical boundaries just to get business.

    * Do What You Say You Will Do – Don’t volunteer to do things you don’t have time to do. If someone asks you to do something and you simply can’t do it due to a time crunch or something, say so. But, when you say you will do it, do it, and do it to the best of your ability.

    * Don’t Monopolize Anyone’s Time – We’ve all met the person who talks too much, or the person who doesn’t talk at all, or the person who sticks by one person at an event. Don’t be that person. Instead, learn to converse intelligently and appropriately with a variety of people.

    * Be Welcoming – When someone new wants to join the group, be welcoming and open to them. Sometimes groups can become cliquish, and it can cause serious problems with the group. Not allowing new people in and making them feel like they belong can make a group stagnant.

    * Listen a Lot – You’ve heard the saying, “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason”? Well, it’s true. Use this as your guide to listen twice as much as you talk. Sometimes talking too much is a sign of nervousness; if you can focus more on what people are saying than what you want to say, you can also calm your nervousness.

    Building long-lasting relationships takes time in business and in your personal life. Both have many of the same characteristics for success. Be yourself, be honest, listen, and be helpful. But, don’t overshare or act in an unprofessional manner. If you want business relationships to be fruitful, they have to trust you, so be trustworthy.

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    Creating a Memorable Portfolio for Your B2B Event

    Going to B2B events is a great opportunity to generate leads for your business. There are many types of events, such as seminars, workshops, webinars, teleseminars, conferences, tradeshows and even executive briefings. For many of these types of events, you’ll need to take a portfolio with you so that you can impress the other attendees.

    You can add these things to both a physical and an online portfolio. Put the URL of the portfolio on your business card, plus make a few copies of your portfolio to hand out to prospects who come to your event table.

    * Examples of Content – Any demonstration that you can write well is an important addition to your portfolio. Adding a few examples of your best work will help the attendees see what you can do.

    * Your Book – If you’ve published a book, you should bring plenty of signed copies of the book to give away and to sell if allowed.

    * Show Unique Work Examples – Any project you’ve worked on that demonstrates outside of the box thinking, plus how you solved problems, is a good project to include in your portfolio.

    * Include Your Education – If you have relevant education, courses, or certifications, include a copy of the certificates in your portfolio. This shows a commitment to your work.

    * Define What You Do – Ensure that anything you put in your portfolio demonstrates exactly what you do for your target audience who will be at the B2B event. Leave out anything that is not directly relevant.

    * Prove What You Can Do – Find relevant samples that prove the best of what you can do for your audience. If you design websites, show the best websites, especially websites that are relevant to the audience at the B2B event.

    * Awards – If you’ve received any awards, put copies of those into your portfolio. This shows that your work has been recognized by others and makes people trust you more.

    * Press Mentions – If there are good press mentions including published press releases that you can include, do so. These show that you not only know what you’re doing but other people think you do, too.

    * Include a Resume or CV – Many freelancers balk at including a resume or a CV, but the fact is people want to know your history. This will help develop trust.

    * Testimonials – If you have some great testimonials, include them in your portfolio because word of mouth is powerful. Even if the person doesn’t know the testimonial giver directly, it can make a huge difference if they can at least verify the person.

    Including these things in your portfolio is a good start to helping you make any B2B event productive for you. The idea is to sell yourself to the right audience so before you start, choose who your sub-audience is from those who will attend the B2B event.

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    How to Become Popular When New to a Group

    Joining a new group can be daunting because people have become used to the other members. There may even be cliques. But, there are tricks to becoming popular in a new group. Some will take a while but some will start working right now.

    * Create Excellent Profiles – Your profile online should be cohesive throughout all networks. It’s no different than if you are meeting people in person; you want to present the same person to everyone, right?

    * Introduce Yourself – Provide an introduction that is not a sales letter. Just say who you are, what you do, why you do it, and who you do it for. Practice your elevator speech for both in-person events and online.

    * Watch and Learn – When you first join any new group, after you’ve introduced yourself you want to watch and learn. You need to know how the group works and what the group values are before you jump in too fast.

    * Build a Portfolio – If the new community is image oriented, build a good portfolio of images so that people who friend you, follow you, or like you can learn more about you. Even if the network isn’t image oriented, you can build in links to your profile that showcases what you do.

    * Reach Out to Friends – If you have existing friends that would like the group, invite them to the group if you’re allowed to do that. It’s important to bring in more people, so that you can become more popular faster. The more people you already know in the group, the better.

    * Engage with People – Don’t just be silent. Share, like, follow, and converse with people in the group in a friendly manner. Answer questions, offer free advice, recommend others. Follow the rules of the group, written and unwritten.

    * Meet Up In Person – Meet people in person who are close to and are part of the group. The more people you can meet in person, the more the other people will trust you because they’ll know you’re the real deal.

    * Be Active – You want to make sure that you are active enough in any group that people remember you and look forward to seeing you. But, not so active that you seem like you’re crazy or not busy enough in your business.

    If you take some time to get to know the group, and slowly get involved without being pushy, you will become popular in the group within a few weeks. You just have to give it the time it needs, the participation necessary, and the right effort. Plus, be yourself, be genuine, be honest, and transparent, and people will love you and want to be part of your circle.

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    Ten Ways to Take Advantage of Industry-Related Community Sites

    There are web communities that are started by industry leaders and organizations that you can join. Some of them have a fee and some don’t. A community site can be hosted on a social network service like Facebook or it can be hosted on an individual website or other platform. It can consist of a forum, blogs, information center and more. When you find an industry-related community site to join, you might want to consider these ten ways to take advantage of them.

    1. Become a Full Member of the Community Site – Most community sites require you to sign up. Some require you to pay a fee. Most of the time, you have to use your real name and show how you fit into the industry. If you’ve chosen a good community site to join, a lot of the information you share will only be available to members. Sometimes you have to spend a little money to get the most out of a community site.

    2. Fill Out Your Profile Carefully – Since this is an industry-related community, you want people who view your profile to know where you fit in with the industry. A lot of times members will hire other members or recommend other members. The more accurate and clear your profile, the better.

    3. Introduce Yourself in a Professional Manner – At some point after joining an industry-related community site you’ll need to introduce yourself to the other members. Some sites have particular areas where they ask you to do that. Some even have surveys they want you to fill out in order to introduce yourself. Try to do it the way they want you to and be as open as possible.

    4. Answer Questions of Other Members – Once you’ve introduced yourself, and have participated in a few discussions, it’s fine to start answering questions that other members ask that you have knowledge in. This will help the members get to know you more and allows you to establish expertise.

    5. Interact with and Engage Members – Don’t just go on a community site and post your own stuff without entering into discussions. Discussions are what make any type of community work, whether online or off. Don’t treat the online community as anything less than real interaction.

    6. Volunteer with the Community Site – Many online community sites need help and they will be very happy to take volunteers to help manage message boards, add blog posts, find resources for members and more. If you want to volunteer just ask.

    7. Use Member Benefits – Industry-related community sites often offer benefits to their members. It’s important to take advantage of them. Many times they’ll have things you can get involved in, as well as job boards, special offers or even live events. Try to get involved with the community you choose to join.

    8. Promote the Community to Others – When you find a community that you like that offers a lot to your industry, tell other people about it. The more people who join the community, the better for you because that’s more people you can get to know and potentially work with.

    9. Ignore Wrongheaded Criticism – In many communities, especially free ones, you will have issues with bullies and “trolls”. The best way to deal with these people is to ignore them. If there is an authority to report them to, do so. Do not engage with them because people are watching you to see how you deal with pressure.

    10. Honor Privacy Issues – Many groups are private, and due to that, people will discuss things believing in a code of honor that what they say stays in that group. Be sure to not share anything outside of the group. Being part of a community means you honor their need for privacy.

    If you want to be seen as an expert in your industry, it’s important to be seen as much as possible in a professional manner. Joining a community that is related to your industry can help. You can join communities that consist of colleagues or potential customers or both. Once you join and start participating, you’ll find many ways to get known and grow your business.

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    Nine Ways to Participate in an Online Community

    One of the ways to make an online community work is to practice a high level of participation. When you get involved in your online community, it will really pay off in a big way by making you closer to the other members. You and the members can become awesome resources to each other throughout your business’s growth.

    1. Introduce Yourself – When you become part of an online community, start out on the right foot by introducing yourself according to the rules of the group. Most online communities have rules that prohibit sharing of URLs or advertising, but most allow you to introduce yourself to get started in the group.

    2. Ask Questions – Once you’ve been properly introduced, start asking questions to get the discussions going in the group. This is a good way to get to know each other as well as to get to know your audience. When people answer your question, be sure to comment back and thank them and add to the discussion.

    3. Answer Questions – When other people ask questions that you have an answer to, be sure that you answer the questions honestly and openly, without any intent to sell them anything. Give of yourself freely and you will end up with a large return on investment.

    4. Comment on Stories – When other people introduce themselves or tell a story, be sure to comment on them. If the community often posts informative articles, be sure to comment on those too and to point them out to others in the group for reading.

    5. Create a Good Signature Line – Most groups allow you to have some type of signature line that has a link back to your website. Be sure to provide a specialized link just for that group that offers specials for group members.

    6. Fill Out Your Profile Completely – Additionally, most online communities have a profile area. Be sure to upload a nice headshot, and to fill out the entire profile. That way when someone wants to learn more about you they can easily do so.

    7. Invite New People – When you know that the group would be a good fit for someone you meet elsewhere, share the group with them. Bringing in new people to the community keeps the community alive and fresh.

    8. Be a Resource to Others – Never be afraid to be an open book resource within your area of expertise. If you want to be known as an expert, show that expertise within your answers to others.

    9. Start a Subgroup – Once you’ve become well known and people start coming to you more, see if you can start a subgroup inside the group. Ask for permission before doing that, but it might be of help to the group owner if you don’t own the group.

    If you make it your goal to do everything on this list over a period of time, you’ll notice something amazing happening. You’ll notice that you’ve built real relationships with the people in the group, and that they are referring you to potential clients and you are potentially referring some of them to clients too. It’s a two-way street when you are part of a community. The fact that it is online doesn’t mean it’s not real.

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    Networking with Members

    When you join a membership group, the whole point is to network with members, and the whole point of doing that is to build relationships. People like to buy from people that they trust, and the way to build trust is to network with people enough that they can get a good idea of what type of person you are. Even if you’re an introvert, you can network with members successfully.

    * It’s All about Them – Just like your “about me” page is really written with your audience in mind, and all about them, so is networking with members. It’s about them, not you. This can actually take a lot of pressure off your nerves when attending membership meetings.

    * Don’t Sell Anything – Networking meetings are about building relationships, not about selling. Yes, your ultimate goal is to get more clients and referrals. But to do that, focus on just making connections and getting to know people.

    * Make a Good Impression – Don’t show up at meetings in your jammies even if you work from home in them. Instead, dress in a professional way depending on the type of membership you joined. If the typical dress at the meeting is a business suit then you need to wear one. If it’s more dressed down, that’s great; but always present a clean, professional appearance that will please your ideal customer.

    * Have Business Cards Ready – It might seem old-fashioned, but the business card is still available and a popular way to share information when networking. You need to have cards with you at all times because you never know when you’ll meet someone who needs the information you have. Don’t fling your card at people, but when an opening comes up – such as they ask, or you ask for theirs – then you can trade cards.

    * Practice Your Elevator Speech – Some people claim the elevator speech is too old-fashioned and “canned.” However, if you don’t practice talking about what it is that you do, framed in the language of benefit to your audience, you will be lost and so will your audience.

    * Be Ready to Answer Questions – Not only should you know your niche well, but you should know how your audience likes to hear about your niche. In this way, when they ask questions you can always frame the answers in terms of benefits for them. Remember, you don’t “do data entry” – you save time for your customer by doing those tasks that they don’t want to do.

    * Make Out of Meeting Dates – This means that you want to continue building the relationship outside of the meetings. This is a great way to take the networking to the next level. Arrange luncheons to learn more about the person and their business, and move forward. You are going to want to refer others too, so getting to know them is imperative.

    * Go to Meetings Regularly – Once you join, it’s important to be an active member. Joining and getting on a list isn’t going to help. Participating, showing up, and being an active member will do wonders for you.

    It’s important to remember that networking with members is all about building relationships. It’s not just about going to a meeting, sitting there while everyone else talks, and “doing your time” then going home. You need to get out of your comfort zone and truly network. But, simply by making it more about them than you, you’ll be able to do it well.

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    How to Make the Most of Your Membership

    When you join a membership it’s imperative to find a way to make the most of your membership. When you spend money on something, you need to do so with a business mindset of how much your return on investment will be, and how you will ensure that you do get that ROI you believed you would get.

    * Join the Right Membership – Joining just any membership is not going to work to help you expand your business or your knowledge. You need to be choosy about which memberships you join based on the results that you want.

    * Read the Materials Provided – Every membership provides some sort of welcome material, plus a newsletter of some kind. Make sure that you read all the information, because you never know when an opportunity will occur that you want to take advantage of.

    * Take Advantage of Any Opportunities – Often members and the group will have opportunities that enable you to show what you can do. Even if you have to do some things free or for a discount, it can help you get the word out. Go to educational events; even if you know the information, you never know what can happen.

    * Volunteer – When you join a group you need to be willing to volunteer your time toward the efforts of the group. This is why it’s imperative that it’s the right membership so that their goals align with your own values and goals. Take the time to join in with the group and do your time as leader, or host, or take part in the charity work that the membership does.

    * Get Involved – Outside of volunteering, when you show up at a meeting, offer your thoughts and opinions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get involved, because there are likely other people who are thinking about the same things you bring up.

    * Go to Every Meeting – Of course things happen, but it’s important to make the time to go to the meetings because that’s where the relationship building happens. Sure, it’s nice to get a link back to your website as a member, but without the relationships to back it up, it’s not going to do very much good.

    * Get Prepared before You Go – You want to appear professional at every meeting and interaction with the members of the group. This is how they will judge you in terms of wanting to work with you or recommend you to someone else. Keep in mind that even if the members who show up aren’t the right clients for you, they may know the right clients for you. Set a good impression from day one.

    * Give Out Marketing Materials – Get a professional business card made, and even a brochure if it’s relevant to your business. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, you might want some examples of how awesome you are in your brochure.

    Memberships are wonderful ways to network with potential new clients and get referrals to new clients, as well as a great way to learn new skills. But, you must choose the right membership to join, and make an effort as an active member to reach your goals.

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    How to Choose the Right Membership to Join

    One way to move your business to the next level is to join inner circles, mastermind groups, and other types of memberships. These groups help you make contact with people who may want to use your services or buy your products. Or they might simply offer a “water cooler” type environment to help you socially and educationally.

    It can be difficult to know which memberships you should join. Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction.

    * Know Why You Are Joining the Membership – There are a variety of reasons why you may want to join a membership. Sometimes that reason is to find new clients, and sometimes that reason is to expand your network of colleagues. This is something often done by people who work from home and also who work at jobs such as an association of bookkeepers or a networking group that comprises only one member from each industry. Which kind you want to join is something you need to be clear about.

    * Ensure That the Group’s Mission Aligns with Your Values – Check out the membership materials to ensure that the group’s mission fits in with your own ideas and values. There are many mastermind groups and memberships that will not, but there are some that will be right on the mark. Being in a group that’s on the mark is going to be more beneficial to you because you’re going to be proud to be part of the group.

    * Make Certain That They Are Active Memberships – If you can get a trial membership, that’s a good way to check it out before joining. You want to make sure that the members are active and that they are really doing things. There are many memberships where people just join to get on a list, but that’s not going to serve you very well. Make sure you’re involved with a membership that is active.

    * Determine What the Member Perks Are – Every group and membership has some sort of benefits and perks for joining. For some it’s educational opportunities, for others it’s a social type benefit such as weekly luncheons. There are even some that offer less expensive liability insurance or health insurance, depending on the state you’re in and the rules. Check out the benefits and perks as you narrow down your choices.

    * Make Sure It’s in Your Budget – When it comes to your business, joining a membership is tax deductable as a business expense. However, you want to make sure that you get a return on your investment. Think about the cost of the membership, what benefits you should get out of it, and whether or not that helps your business and bottom line.

    * Talk to Current Members – Interviewing members is a great idea because you can find out what they think about the membership. Ask them the right questions, such as what they have got out of the membership this year in terms of return on investment. Ask them how involved they are.

    * Talk to Past Members – If you can talk to people who used to be members and aren’t any longer, then that’s really great. Ask them why they left; it might be due to being too busy to be involved or some other reason, and the membership may still be wonderful.

    * Consider Whether You Will Truly Participate – There is no real point in joining a membership if you’re not going to participate, because only in participation will you get the benefit of the membership. Joining in and volunteering is how you’ll prove your trustworthiness and abilities.

    A membership is a wonderful way to gain knowledge, make connections, and boost your business. But, you have to choose the right type of membership for your goal, plus remember that you must dive in and participate to get the results that you want to get.

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