The American Club
Level 14, 131 Macquarie Street
Sydney
ce:
FREE
Keywords:
social networking drinks
Organization:
Business Networking Academy
We invite you to join us for drinks to celebrate the month that was and to catch up on all your news! Feel free to invite friends and colleagues too.
RSVP on Linkedin – that way we all know who we will be socialising with. Please also add to your diary now as we know you get lots of emails so won’t send a reminder:)
Remember there are no games, no awkward moments, just great conversations overlooking a great view, sipping cocktails.
Drop by between 5.30-7.30pm to Level 14, 131 Macquarie Street Sydney
The event is FREE to attend
Contribute $5 each and we will get platters of nibbles to share. Drinks have been heavily discounted for the function with International beers $6, Wine by the glass $7 + all cocktails $10!
July had a great Buzz! Thanks to all that attended.
At the Oxford Art Factory on Tuesday, 11th October.
Registrations will open soon, but for now please save the date in your diaries.
They want to hear from you
Right now they’re taking presentation proposals. You can talk about anything you like, as long as it’s interesting and you can tell in 20 slides and 5 minutes.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AMCHAM) has started its Early Bird Sales for the 02 November 2011 Business Briefing Session with Transport Minister, the Hon Gladys Berejiklian MP.
Use our Networking Tips to Increase Your Visibility, Credibility – and Profitability.
Work Your Networking Muscles – And They Will Get You Work in Return
Our Networking Tips:
Arrive early – and leave late
Work the room – spot the connectors, open groups and “lost” people. Don’t barge into closed groups deep in conversation
Sit next to or talk to someone you don’t know
Bring a lot of business cards, and any marketing materials. If you think you are taking enough, take 20% more
Act like the host and not the guest – welcome new people, be warm and open
Book a meeting at your meeting, if you get the opportunity
Listen – givers do gain, hard sellers that talk only about themselves are perceived as rude and pushy
Have focus and an objective – what are you networking for?
Be visible, build trust – and reap the rewards. Trust takes time to develop: network regularily
Follow up, Follow Up, Follow Up after your networking event
These networking tips are of course not all there is to successful, profitable and fun networking. But with practice these first steps will get you a long way in establishing a good network and building trust – essential to getting referrals, making lasting connections and growing your business.
Nothing is worse than a long, drawn-out meeting that feels like a trip to the dentist. The last place you want to find yourself is leading a snooze fest or a presentation that has people checking their watches every other minute. To be an effective salesperson, it’s important to master your presentation skills and learn to engage your audience effectively with highly targeted information that gets results in the shortest period of time.
1. Be prepared. Always be ready for the people you’re meeting. Never make anyone wait for you.
2. Sell the jockey before the horse. Every sale begins with your first impression. Demeanor matters. Be likeable, down-to-earth, and confident. Attract people with your enthusiasm, energy, and passion.
3. Say it in 30 seconds or less. Get to the point. Your prospects and potential partners have other things to do, so get them to say yes as quickly as possible. The more you say, the more you’re giving people to consider. Make it easy for them: Say what needs to be said, and not a single word more.
4. Fit the pitch to the person. Create the right presentation, not “your” presentation. Do research before any pitch to customize applicable portions and ensure that you have all of the necessary and correct information as it pertains to the person sitting across the table—or on the other side of the Internet.
5. Show, don’t tell. Whenever possible, keep your presentations interactive. Demonstrate your product or service firsthand to show off your results rather than just talk about them.
6. Make it visual. Don’t kill people with excessive text. Keep slides or videos simple and clean. Focus on creating visually appealing presentations using photos, videos, audio, and graphics with minimal body text.
7. The best presentations are conversations. Talk with prospects; never lecture them, put forth mandates, or tout ultimatums. Engage and interact with the people in the room. Always encourage discussion and questions as you go.
8. Speak plainly. You’re speaking to people, not robots. Don’t use jargon or clichés to make your points. Eliminate terms such as these from your vocabulary: innovative or innovate, out of the box, Web 2.0, next generation, original, and world’s greatest. Use the tools on gobbledygook.grader.com to keep your pitches in check and jargon-free.
9. Back up or shut up. You are asking someone else to invest his or her time and money into your product or service. Show them that you deserve it by supporting your expertise with relevant experience and real results. Avoid hypothetical arguments or unsubstantiated claims. If you can’t do or promise something, then find another way to sell your services until you can.
10. Know what you are talking about. Don’t say things to try to look smart or claim anything that sounds too good to be true to close a sale. Less is not only more—it also keeps you out of trouble. Remember, you’re accountable for every word that comes from your company. The smartest thing to do when you don’t know something is to admit that you don’t know—then figure it out within 24 hours and get back to the individual with an answer.
How many regular or one-off networking functions have you been to this year?
And how many of those have led to referrals, leads – and additional sales?
Connecting, building trust and relationships with other professionals, industry contacts and other referral sources – not to mention direct potential clients – is the backbone of any business. Especially sole traders and small to medium businesses.
Making it Worth Your While – Return on Investment
To get the best return for your time spent business networking, you have to create a few new habits and bolster your existing networking strengths. It is important to be able to get your “elevator pitch” – a succinct, easy to remember description of what you and your business stand for – down pat. It can vary with the person you talk to, of course. But be clear about your identity, about the voice and vision of your company.
Here are the tongue-in-cheek named “Ten Commandments” aka 10 Top Tips to successful networking.
Armed with them, you will be ready to go, and get amongst it in the networking jungle!
“The Ten Commandments of Networking” *
Thou shalt drop the “what is in it for me?”.
Thou shalt listen.
Thou shalt build a relationship.
Thou shalt give the first referral.
Thou shalt not tell others of the referral you require; thou shalt “show them” with a story.
Thou shalt be specific of the type of referral.
Thou shalt reciprocate when appropriate.
Thou shalt participate in the network executive, functions, and network time.
Thou shalt thank the person who gave a referral.
Thou shalt follow up on the referral within 24 hours.
Information overload can be a problem with so many of us connected via multiple networks on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and (not to forget) in the real world.
LinkedIn has introduced a new search tool that makes it easy to find, save and make use of information that is important to you and me – the users and networkers.
Get relevant insights through the professional lens on what people are sharing and tweeting. Check out the short video below.
The Influence Project is open to anyone and everyone. All registered participants will have their picture appear in the November issue of Fast Company as part of an amazing photo spread. The more influence demonstrated by a participant, the bigger their picture will be. Even those with smaller social networks can learn something about their influence by participating.
Contributors may discover that they are more influential than they think. Influence is not only about having the most friends or followers. It’s about being able to affect the behavior of those you interact with, to get others in your social network to act on a suggestion or recommendation. That’s what The Influence Project will measure.
The competition for 2010’s “Most Influential People” ends August 15 at midnight EST. Fast Company has created a blog dedicated to the project at www.fastcompany.com/influenceproject, where coverage will continue through the publication of Fast Company’s November 2010 issue.
I just had a conversation with a friend of mine who is changing careers and starting his own business.
We chatted about layouts & copywriting for websites, and social media. I was singing the praise of blogs and LinkedIn (and Twitter and facebook, but we’ll leave those for another time) and the many ways of meaningfully connecting websites with social media. I talked excitedly about he possibilities of writing in a professional yet personal way to bring your business and value to your audience – and generally displayed my inner communications nerd -, when I heard a big silence spread at the other end of the line.
Assumption is a dangerous thing, they say. Luckily, sometimes it’s just impolite. Phew!
My friend was new to social media for business, and especially a”LinkedIn virgin”. He, understandably, felt a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities and confused by the mechanics. So we ran through the gist of set up and options – and I think I created a fellow LinkedIn devotee. And all in half an hour. It’s easy to get started and quite a bit addictive to keep going and growing.
Try for yourself: Read here about the essentials that will get you a long way, and here for a few further bits of how to utilise LinkedIn for your business. Drop me a line via the comments box below. I am looking forward to hearing about your experiences. You can connect with me via my LinkedIn profile here. Let’s get connected….
