Here is an interesting article from Van Smick one of our ActionCoach Business Coaches - What do you think?

The keys to getting the most out of your networking time are (1) having a goal and (2) knowing how to effectively “work the room”.

Have a Goal

Before you go to any networking meeting determine what you want to achieve by attending. Are you simply going to socialize or are you looking to move your business forward? A typical goal I’ve heard is to talk with 5 people or get 10 business cards. Those are fine as long as you follow-up with the conversations or cards to actually get the person into your sales cycle. An alternative goal which may be more effective is to set 3 - 5 follow-up meetings. The key to accomplishing any of these goals is having a system by which to work the room.

Working the Room

The biggest mistake you can make at a networking event is to aimlessly wander around chatting with whomever you meet. In order to really move your business forward, look at a networking event as a sales call where you need to quickly determine who the real prospects are and then use a systematic way of determining their level of interest and move them into your sales process.

Using this mindset, when you approach someone at a networking meeting you want to ask “What do you do?” first if possible. This makes the other person feel good, because you asked about them first before talking about yourself, it allows you to learn about the other person and their challenges and it allows you to determine whether this person is a valid prospect.

The second biggest mistake people make at networking meetings is to talk too much about themselves before they know if the listener is even interested. You probably have experienced the “60- to 90-second monolog infomercial” some people automatically give whenever they are asked “What do you do?” A better approach is to use a system of revealing small amounts of information about yourself and then checking to see if the listener wants to know more. This will avoid overwhelming someone you have just met and it will prevent you from wasting time with someone who is not interested in whatever you do or sell. I call this the Rule of 3’s. Here is how this system works:

You have 3-seconds

When asked “What do you do?” assume you have 3 seconds to answer and earn the right to go onto the next level of revelation. You need to find 6-10 words which will tell what you do AND do it in a way that the listener wants to hear more. Your goal is for the listener to say “How do you do that?” or “Tell me more”. If the listener does say that, then you have earned the right to a 30 second infomercial. Some examples of the 3 second pitch include:

•I provide painless chiropractic relief
•I turn technology into an asset rather than a liability
•I coach businesses to be massively more profitable
You now have 30-seconds

If the listener indicates he/she wants to hear more, you need to have a great 30-second infomercial. It should be based on what makes your business unique from all others. It must tell who your customers are and how you improve their lives. The goal of the 30-second infomercial is to get permission for a 3-minute conversation. You can find examples of great 30-second infomercials in the Rule of 3’s article on my website.

You’ve got 3-minutes

If the listener wants to continue the discussion, your goal is to use what you already learned about the listener and his/her business to show how you can help him/her. Share how your product or service can help them solve a problem they are experiencing. However, since you are at a networking meeting, you’ll want to stop the conversation at some point so both of you can meet other people at the meeting. If you feel this person is a good prospect, you can suggest a follow-on meeting.

One way of broaching this idea is to say: “We’re both here to network with multiple people but I would love to continue our conversation. Would you be interested in grabbing a cup of coffee later this week so we can continue this discussion?” If they agree, suggest meeting at some neutral location (coffee shop) or at their office, not yours - to make the next step not be too much of a commitment.

One Final Note - Always Follow-up!

Networking events are the most productive sales prospecting opportunities most business owners will attend. Another mistake people can make is to collect a bunch of business cards and then NEVER follow-up. That is a complete waste of your time and the time of the people you met. So if you are going to attend networking events make certain you have a system to follow-up with everyone you meet - even if they are not a viable prospect. A quick email or card saying how nice it was to have met them is sufficient for those who are not viable prospects. If you use the Rule of 3’s system outlined above you will leave the meeting with a number of follow-up meetings scheduled for the next week. By Van Smick - Business Coach

What stops us from executing our plan and achieving our goals? After personally working with dozens of businesses, there seems to be a few very consistent trends…

1) Business owners like “doing” the work!  They started their business because they like the trade they chose whether that be plumbing, computer programing or administering health care.  The trap for business owners is that they will subconsciously find ways to get back to “doing” the work rather than managing the work.

2) Fighting fires is exciting!  A smooth running business is boring and typically, business owners like excitement - it’s almost like they are adrenalin junkies subconsciously looking for ways to keep their life exciting so they have to “put out the fires”.

3) Employees are challenging!  Many times owners want to off load (delegate) some of the functions of the business.  The problem is that they hire the wrong people to delegate to.  Without a sufficiently skilled, trained and motivated team, the owner perpetuates the belief that employees are challenging….the challenges created take focus away from goal achievement!

So, what’s the solution?  I contend that it is discipline!  Discipline to actually implement the plan and adjust the plan.  Discipline to hold yourself and your team accountable for results NOT activity!  Discipline to stay focused on the end goal and the life that it will produce.

The new year always bring hope and excitement that the new year will be better than the last.  This couldn’t be more true for 2010! We all want the economy and our businesses to improve.  But here is your key for success - don’t tie the 2 together.  You must focus your efforts and attention on the things you can control and change - the economy is NOT within your control.  You will set yourself up for what could be a disappointing year if you focus on the economy since you are helpless to influence it.  So what should you do….

Focus on 2 areas - 1) Implementing the strategies that will get you to your business goals 2) The mindset that you need to maintain in order to actually implement the strategies to get to your goal.

Make 2010 the best year ever - Focus and discipline!

Every business owner I ever talk with tells me that they need more customers! So immediately, they start to advertise…they advertise and advertise some more with no success!  Then they come to the conclusion that advertising doesn’t work - sound familiar?  Well, that is because they are missing some simple yet fundamental principles that are best illustrated in my Great White Shark fishing analogy.  My analogy might sound very simple but it works every time you find yourself wanting more customers.  Here is how it goes…

If someone were to ask you to go fishing for a Great White Shark in Big Bear Lake tomorrow morning, you would think that they had lost my mind.  The reason is that you KNOW that there are NO Great White Sharks in Big Bear Lake - 100% positive.  Why?

The answer is that you know a bit about Great White Sharks (your target) and you know that they like salt water not fresh water. So you are pretty confident that you will NEVER be able to catch a Great White Shark in Big Bear Lake even though you have not checked every square meter of the lake.

So, rather than fishing in Big Bear Lake, you take the boat off the coast of LA in the Pacific Ocean - salt water!  You put a nice juicy worm on a hook (your offer) and throw the line in the water - right?  Wrong!!!  Why?

Again, you know a bit more about the Great White Shark and you know that they don’t like worms but prefer a big bloody hunk of dead fish in a bunch of bloody water.

So, now we get it right - we fish for our target (Great White Shark) with the offer (bloody hunk of dead fish) in the right environment (salt water) off the coast of LA and we sit there all day and wonder why we didn’t catch a Great White Shark.  Why didn’t we catch one?

The answer is the key to effective marketing - Matching the target with the offer in an environment where the target is found in the highest concentration possible.  So, if we REALLY wanted to catch a Great White, we would have to go where they are found in the highest concentration - like the Great Barrier Reef.  Now we have created the situation where we have the highest probability of successful fishing!

Are you matching your target with an appealing offer in a place where they can be found in the highest concentration?