Transcript Business Networking Workshop

BUSINESS NETWORKING
in today’s environment
Introductions
• David Ruckno – Referral Network Group
• Ron Baker – S.C.O.R.E.
• Cathy Havens – Chamber of Commerce
• Diana Bourgeois – Magic Marketing USA
Referral Network Marketing
FIVE MAIN ADVANTAGES
1. Throw boomerangs, not sticks
2. Industry Exclusivity
3. Establish closer relationships
4. Sharing of ideas
5. It's like acquiring a large sales team
Business Networking
SCORE
Carolina Low Country Chapter
SCORE Business Counseling
The Carolina Lowcountry SCORE chapter offers free, confidential business counseling to
small business clients in Beaufort, Colleton, Jasper and Hampton counties. Our local
offices are located in Bluffton, Hilton Head and Beaufort.
SCORE is sponsored by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and we have a
partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. We work with new and existing business
as well as non-profit organizations.
Nationwide we have more than 10,000 volunteers, with 40 counselors locally.
Contact us at our website, www.scorehiltonhead.com .
Grow Your Business With Business Networking
More new business is generated by networking than by any other
marketing activity.
It’s a fact – 70% on average of new business is gained through referrals
or relationship marketing, and not only that, it is one of the most costeffective ways of building your business.
Today’s Discussion Topics
Face-to-Face Networking, Online Networking
Business Networking Opportunities
 Friends, Family and Neighbors
 Alumni Networking – School, Military, Corporation
 Community Groups
 Business/Trade Associations
 Business Conferences, Trade Shows
 Guest Speaker at Workshops, Seminars
More new business is generated by word of mouth
(networking) than by other marketing activity.
Business Networking Opportunities
 Chamber of Commerce
 Customer Events You Sponsor
 Faith and Charity
 Networking Groups
 Network Event Services
 Online Business Networking
 Use A Blog
More new business is generated by word of mouth (networking)
than by other marketing activity.
Business Networking Opportunities
 Use Faith And Charity
 Good Place To Start - Charity Navigator.
 Use Alumni Networking
 Join Classmates.com, Reunion.com, or Gradfinder.com
 Join Military.com
What better way to build a genuine relationship than through working
together for a church or charitable organization. Look for groups geared to
business people.
Make sure you can find and be found by your old buddies by joining alumni
associations.
Business Networking Opportunities
 Networking Event Services
 Join Meetup, Net Party, or VentureStreet
 Join Networking for Professionals
These services have made a business of bringing together business people
for mixers. Give their events a try and see if they pull the kind of people you
want to meet.
With some of these services, you can organize your own events.
Business Networking Opportunities
 Online Business Networking
 Join Ryze, LinkedIn, EntreMate, Ecademy, Soflow, or openBC.
 Score’s Small Business Community, www.scorecommunity.org
Register yourself on these sites, invite your contacts to register, they’ll invite
their contacts to register – and everybody’s connections build far faster than
they ever could in the real world.
Business Networking Tips
 Build Relationships – Sell Yourself, Not Your Products
 Listen Actively – Be A Listener First, Then A Talker
 Get To Know Your Networking Contacts
 Gain Trust and Confidence
 Ask Open Ended Questions
 Understand Needs – Then Tell People About Your Products
Business networking, a deliberate campaign to connect with people
who can connect you with more business.
Business Networking Tips
 Pick Groups That Match Your Goals
 Hold volunteer Positions In Organizations
 Become Known As A Resource For Others
 Understand What You Do, Why You Do It, And For Whom
 Be Ready To Answer “What Can I Do For You?”
Business networking, a deliberate campaign to connect with people
who can connect you with more business.
Business Networking Tips
 Simply Introducing Yourself Is Not Networking
 Follow-up To Establish A Business Relationship
 Follow Through Quickly On Referrals
 Call Those You Meet, Arrange Follow-on Discussions
 Add Successful People To Your Network, Learn From Them
Business networking, a deliberate campaign to connect with people
who can connect you with more business.
Business Networking Tips
 Elevator Speech – What You Do
 High Quality Business Cards
SCORE Elevator Speech
The Carolina Lowcountry SCORE chapter offers free, confidential business counseling to
small business clients in Beaufort, Colleton, Jasper and Hampton counties. Our local
offices are located in Bluffton, Hilton Head and Beaufort.
SCORE is sponsored by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and we have a
partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. We work with new and existing business
as well as non-profit organizations.
Nationwide we have more than 10,000 volunteers, with 40 counselors locally.
Contact us at our website, www.scorehiltonhead.com .
SCORE Business Networking
 SCORE Business Roundtables
 SCORE Small Business Community
 www.scorecommunity.org
Workshop: Business Networking
SCORE
Carolina Low Country Chapter
*
Events Focused
Networking
Cathy Havens, Special Events and
Project Manager
*NETWORK WITH A PURPOSE
*
*LOOK YOUR BEST
*
*DEVELOP A
DISTINCTIVE SIGNATURE
*“WORK YOUR NAMETAG”
*
*DEVELOP AN UNFORGETTABLE
GREETING
*
*OVERCOME YOUR SHYNESS
*
*EAT BEFORE THE
EVENT
*KNOW WHAT TO DO
WITH BUSINESS
CARDS
*THE BIGGEST
FAILURE
*
Social Media:
(R)evolution of Marketing and Networking
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
The Big Questions:
Why Social Media?
What does Facebook mean to my business?
Who cares about Twitter?
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
What is the 4th largest country in the world?
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Answer: Statistics Do Not Lie!
*Nielsen Online shows that: Social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity
ahead of personal email.
* 93 percent of U.S. consumers subscribe to email marketing messages.
* 42 percent of U.S. online consumers use Facebook at least once a day and, of these, 69 percent
are a fan of one or more companies.
* Nearly half (43 percent) of all online consumers are either fans or followers of at least one brand
on Twitter or Facebook.
* 68 percent of daily Twitter users follow at least one brand.
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Blogging: The Time-Share of Social Media
Blogging is all about distilling information and materials to your audience in a way that allows them
to directly interact. Companies actually share time with customers building relationships.
* Universal McCann reports 77% of all active internet users regularly read blogs
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Facebook: Where the World Turns
Facebook has become the center of the social media universe for both customers and companies due to its
robust interface the engages people within the Facebook universe without the need to leave.
* If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia.
* More than 1.5 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook…daily.
Ways to connect with customers / businesses on Facebook:
Tags
Videos
Invite tab
Information
Keywords
Schedule Events
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Twitter: Communication in 140 Characters or Less!
Twitter is taking over the world with short and sweet updates designed for GenY. With the up-andcoming, real-time world, Twitter is allowing users to Tweet updates, pictures, articles, and links.
Ways to find target customers and businesses on Twitter:
#hash tags
Trends
Keywords
@ or DM
Lists
Promote your events
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
LinkedIn: Where the Big Kids Play!
Linkedin is a direct result of the professional community reaching out to other professionals to
promote like minded goals and develop valuable connections.
* 12.44 million – number of unique visitors in June, 2009 Trend Analysis
* 49% – percent of site made up of “decision makers”
Ways to find connections in Linkedin:
Join Groups
Strong Profile w keywords
Invite others to your group
Add your blog / twitter posts
Schedule / Promote your events
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
YouTube: Your World in Video!
YouTube is popular among companies and customer because it allows companies to distribute
informational videos to a large population and gain followers through subject identification. In
short, everyone on the planet is a video reporter.
* The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
* In 2010, YouTube exceeded 2 billion views a day.
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Email: The Marketing That Keeps Dripping
Drip marketing through email allows companies to continually reach out to their communities to
provide updates, offers, and information. When combined with social media, email marketing
reaches out to customers who opt-in to provide constant contact.
* A new study released today by ExactTarget found 58 percent of U.S. online consumers begin their
day interacting with companies on email, compared to 20 percent who start their day on search
engines and 11 percent on Facebook.
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Question: Why Social Media?
* Years to reach a million users: Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook
added 100 million users in less than 9 months
* By 2010, Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers and 96% have joined a social network
Three Greatest Myths about Social Media:
1-It works quickly. FALSE! You have to give it time to connect. Social media is an actual connection between you
and the person on the other side.
2-It does not cost anything….just time. FALSE! Time is money! Many people spend hours a day on social media
without getting anything out of it.
3-Social media can not be measured. FALSE! When done correctly, you gain brand exposure, customer
input/output, and increase your advertising reach while decreasing cost.
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com
Parting Words…
Put your social media information on EVERYTHING! In your office, business cards,
brochures, emails…everywhere!
Be careful of what you put on social media! Personal stuff should stay AWAY from
professional stuff.
You need to have a business page that is apart from your personal social media
accounts.
Magic Marketing USA
|
[email protected]
|
www. magicmarketingusa.com