What is PRE?
Ryan J. Cauthorn, membership chair of the Philadelphia Center City Chapter of PRE & CEO of Ryan J. Cauthorn. Inc. discusses the power of networking and referral generation. Ryan believes that relationship building and positive networking are two of the most effective ways of prospecting customers and finding individuals who can help your business grow. Networking is a vital skill that all entrepreneurs must have.
Learn more about Ryan J. Cauthorn and the Benefits of Vacation at www.RyanJCauthorn.com
Networking – It’s All In The Follow-Up!
Last month I was at my weekly networking meeting with Professional Referral Exchange and met someone nice who also had something I was interested in, great rates on a business credit card.
We exchanged business cards with the promise of talking further during the week. Sure enough, the week went by and I never followed up. Neither did she…
So what happened? From my perspective, my need to change from my current provider to hers was not strong enough to take action. Other, more urgent activities jumped into my schedule. However, if she had called I would have continued building the relationship, looked at her offering, and maybe even bought her product. I needed her to follow up with me because after as little as one week, she was not top of mind. And let’s face it, this was her sale to lose.
How often do we make the mistake of making a great connection at a networking event, only to never speak to that person again? If you have the “thing” that someone is interested in, than it’s on you to initiate the follow up.
Here are a few tips to help you with the skill of following up:
- Maintain an organized business contact system. This could be a computerized database, index cards, a rolodex or another system that works for you. The key is to be organized. I admit it, when I wanted to reach out to this credit card contact again, I could not readily locate her business card.
- Look for opportunities to share information that is relevant to your contacts. Sending out an article, quote, or book that you have read is a great way to stay in touch and be of value to your new (and old) contact.
- Manage your time well. There are only 24 hours in a day so rather than manage your time, it’s best to manage your energy and priorities. If you are interested in learning how to do this I can send you a great article by Tony Schwartz.
- Look at following up as nurturing the relationship rather than “closing the deal.” People want to do business with people they know, like and trust. This does not happen overnight – it takes time to build the relationship. The structure of PRE is a great example of building relationships. We meet every week! We even go out socially an additional night per month. From our consistent relationship building efforts we get results in our businesses.
I challenge you to practice these four tips at your next networking event and I’m confident you will build positive momentum in your business. Feel free to post your successes with this on the blog.
Christine “Chris” Coward helps leaders in business and non-profit organizations leverage their strengths to improve their performance.
Chris’ services include Executive Coaching, Team Building and Facilitation. Individuals and groups that work with Chris report that they gain more clarity, increase their confidence and get more done. You can learn about about Chris by visiting her website: www.chriscoward.com
Local Hero Laid to Rest
One of the Navy Seals from Seal Team 6 was a man from Philadelphia. Additionally he was also a friend of one of our members here at Philly PRE.
In honor of Petty Officer First Class Michael Strange we here at PRE would like you to know about a benefit that has been started in his name. “Benefit for a Hero” will be held on August 27th from 6-9pm at McNoodles. Details can be found on the benefit’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144345968983382.
From that page:
Please come out on Saturday August 27th to celebrate the life of a hero, our friend Mike Strange. Mike was a Navy Seal who was part of the horrible tragedy in which we lost 31 military personnel. So please come out in his honor and celebrate the life of a great human being. The cost will be 40$ which includes domestic bottled or draft beer, well drinks, and food from 6pm until 11pm. We will also have 50/50s and t-shirts honoring Mike for sale. If you can not make it and still would like to make a donation in any form (money, something to raffle, etc) or knows any companies or other people who would like to donate please message any of the administrators and we will set it up.Thank you for all of the support in this difficult time.
Thank you for your support of our troops and please thank Michael Strange, for he gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Where Does Networking End?
This is an article I wrote for my my own blog (www.MichaelAlbany.com) a few months ago and It is still true so I thought I would post it here too.
Where Does Networking End? The short answer: it doesn’t.
I went to and ASMP event last night and met with a number of models, photographers and representatives. For some of the people I spoke with it was just the beginning of our relationships, with others it was a continuation. I spoke with a number of people and with most, I probably won’t do direct business.
In speaking with other photographers I was able to help them find the types of models they want or need for projects they are involved in. With others I was able to introduce them to some of the representatives there and put people together. Sometime in the future I hope that they will do the same for me, introduce me to the people I want or need to meet to complete my projects. Networking.
So when does the networking end? Never. Networking is a continuous process where you meet people, introduce people to others and generally just help others. That is the beauty of it, it is giving. In the spirit of the season giving is always a good thing. By giving, some day that karma will come back to you and you will be introduced to the people you need to meet.
Many people think that networking is just doing their pitch and hoping to land a deal or at least generate interest in their product or service. That is sales not networking.
The idea of networking is to take the time to help others. In time as you build your network you become connected, by degrees, to others that know of you and your business and therefore can ‘advertise’ for you. The process builds upon itself and you start to generate a buzz about you and your abilities. But how?
If you go to networking events expecting to land a deal or get direct leads the chances are you will get a reputation as a person who pushes and sells themselves. In networking the idea is to build a web of connections that will become a larger net that can be cast out into the world and eventually be drawn together and capturing those leads. These nets as they are, are made by reputation.
To grow your reputation, I have found that it is best to be helpful to others. To give selflessly by introducing people to others than can mutually benefit builds my reputation as a person that is helpful, respectful and generally easy to work with. That is a reputation that I want to precede me when I meet potential clients after the events I attend.
The drawback, as it were, is that I don’t often get direct prospects at events like last night. I do however invest in the long term and I may get a result in a month or a year, or even longer. But the word is out there and others know that I am there to help. They know that when it comes to photographers I am one that is helpful, responsive, and willing to do what it takes to help others achieve their goals. That is what my business is based on too. I want to help you achieve your goals. My specialty is to do it through imagery.