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What's a Good Follow Up System?
by CEO on January 6th, 2016 Follow up. Follow-up. Follow-up! You can get away with an awful lot if you just do consistent follow-up. I’m always amazed at the lack of it. We seem to live in a world where the promise is more important that the actual behavior. However |
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Network Ahead
by CEO on January 4th, 2016 What’s it really mean to net-work? Is it just going to social events? Is it just handing out your business card? As we enter the New Year, I’d like to dive into the idea… So, what is networking? Networking is the process of meeting and creating a relationship with possible prospects. However, networking is only a part of your marketing mix. To be effective networking must work in tandem with a couple of other things. If you only go to social events and pass out business cards, networking isn’t really effective by itself. |
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Networking Road Map
by Raeus Jae Cannon on August 27th, 2015 When we take a road trip, many of us get out a map. Maps have a lot of interesting things on them: small roads, interstates, small towns, large cities, attractions, parks, points of interest, etc. Marketing our business is similar to that map. There are many ways to market a business: advertising, direct mail, internet, word of mouth, trade shows, printed materials, etc. Each of these, fall into one of two categories: passive or active. Most business people choose to use passive marketing because it's easier and requires what appears to be less time representing our business in the market place. Networking is active because it directly brings in prospects, but it does require our time and consistent effort. |
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Name Badges: Right vs Left
by CEO on April 9th, 2015 Where Do You Wear A Name Badge? I've heard the argument: "The name badge goes on the right side where you "Follow the arms of the handshake" - Right? This common belief stems from a study that “someone” did. However, no one seems to know who conducted the study or where it was done. Supposedly, this study concluded that while shaking a person’s hand, people’s eyes follow the line of sight along the arms and thus the name badge should be placed at the end of that line of sight – the upper right chest (just below the shoulder). But that just doesn't make sense if you... |
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Net In ProGRESS
by CEO on July 17th, 2014 Net In Progress One of the questions I’m asked most often is “Where should I network?” The simple answer: “Network where you have the best chance of meeting your prospect.” Get involved with at least three of the following types of groups. You may already be involved in one or two and not recognize the group as a networking opportunity. |
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Please, Use My Name . . .
by CEO on January 28th, 2014 One of the core values of REO is to offer quality connections. Many people believe a good referral is when they’re given a person’s name and number with permission to use the referrer’s name. For example: Sue gives John the name and number of a woman in need of home repair after the recent storms; and Sue says: “It’s okay to use my name when you call her”. John now has one more contact than he had before… That’s good, right? Wrong! Below, I relay a recent experience and why just giving someone a name and number is merely a lead, not a true referral – and how it can damage your networking reputation. |
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Are We Having Fun Yet?
by CEO on February 4th, 2014 Almost daily I sit down with small business owners and coach them on how to develop the networking side of their business. Our time is usually spent talking about how to make the most of their time in REO. Things like: • how to make better referral requests • how to present an effective showcase • what professions to target |
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Creating Miracles
by CEO on March 20th, 2014 I was recently working with a small business owner that was struggling to find more business. He had come to me to teach him a little about networking and making connections. He’d attended several events and many people had referred him to me. After we talked a while, I made several suggestions. Every single suggestion I made was quickly met with some aspect “No, that won’t work!” That’s fine…his choice. My choice: I fired him. |
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A Networking "Hit & Run"
by CEO on April 25th, 2014 While driving, being a victim of a ‘Hit & Run’ would not be a good thing. It’s not a good thing in networking either. What’s a Networking ‘Hit & Run’? You can always spot them entering any networking event. The ‘Hit & Run’ networker is well armed with all their marketing materials: business cards, brochures, sometimes even contracts! Their hands are full. They scan the room looking for their first victim – YOU! They hit you with their pitch and materials then run before they have to engage in your side of the conversation. |
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3 Simple Steps to Great Follow Up
by CEO on May 9th, 2014 You’ve attended the event and you’ve collected several business cards. Now what? I’m amazed at how many intelligent, well meaning business professionals attend networking events to find business yet they have NO follow up system. They appear to be there to add to their ever growing business card collection. Hint: Business cards are worthless! They don’t grow in value by collecting or keeping them. With that said, let’s talk about how to follow up with people you’ve met at a business event. |
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Reach Out and Touch . . .
by CEO on June 10th, 2014 In my last blog I talked about ‘touches’ – studies have shown that it takes at least 10 touches to close a deal. So, what does that mean? Recently, I did a workshop on follow up and found that most of the attendees thought that reaching out to touch a prospect or client meant only two things: 1) Calling them 2) Meeting with them In actuality most sales professionals are probably doing more than they think. However, you probably don’t have a repeatable system – so how do you know? And since there’s no system, you have to come up with a ‘new system’ for every single prospect. That’s stressful! |
