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When social media came around, did you get excited thinking “Yeah, finally, an easier, free way to market”?

And since that time, do you think differently?

I ask because most small business owners I know are NOT getting clients and prospects from their online social media marketing efforts. If they are getting them, it’s very few and far between.

The reason for that, I believe, is that what people are being told to do online from so-called social media experts (on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter primarily) is NOT what’s going to generate the quality leads that you’re looking for in your small business.

I believe that using the key networking strategies that are effective at in-person events in your online efforts is what needs to happen.

Think about it this way; when you go to an in-person networking event in your local town or out of town, what do you do when you walk up to a new person you haven’t met yet?

You greet them and ask them their name, what they do and possibly ask them other questions too as they come up. Hopefully you do not just talk about yourself.

But what you most likely do not do is throw your business card or a flyer in their face and walk away from them right? That would be rude and really awkward.

So, think about what you’re doing on social media sites now. You’re throwing flyers in the faces of your friends and followers, many of whom you really have no idea who they are. You’re posting updates about your upcoming events, program, services, special offers and you’re linking to pages on your website designed to sell them or get them to opt in. Yet you have no idea who these people are most of the time, nor are you acting like you care.

Now posting stuff like this is important, don’t get me wrong. However what’s more important, especially when you first get to know someone, follow them or add them as a friend is that you find out who they are, what they do or if or how you can serve them or vice versa right? Wouldn’t that make sense to do first?

Yet doing that, especially one by one, takes too much time you’re probably thinking. You’re right, it can. However, if it is the one main way you’re going to find and convert ideal prospects on social media then wouldn’t it make sense that you spend a good amount of time doing this? It’s still free.

For an example, if you need new clients ASAP, you can pretty quickly find an in-person networking meeting or event to attend within the week where you can go to seek them out and build the relationship faster. You can do the same thing on Facebook and LinkedIn and a few other sites and forums too. But you’re not doing the right things to build relationships online; you’re blasting in their faces instead of having conversations.

I recommend you think about having more quality conversations while on your social media sites so you can maximize your time. Doing this is going to require that you strategize a little more with what you’re doing instead of just hap-hazzardly throw stuff out there and hope it works.

You may also need a plan on what to do, how many people to connect with, how to connect with them and also what to say to them when you do connect. And if you’re not that marketing or networking savvy in the first place then this could all be foreign to you and possibly a bit overwhelming. The key is to have a clear system on what to do then you can even delegate some of this so you know it will get done and not by you if you want.

Face it—social networking is not a new concept; it’s ancient. Human beings are social creatures and in-person contact cannot be replaced in its entirety by online social networking. I’ve thought about this before, and today I read an article in Fast Company on the topic. Skype is certainly closer to in-person networking than any of the three big social media platforms—Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—yet in-person networking has many benefits. Here are three:

First, you can go beyond the 7% limitation point of what is typically ascribed to verbal communication cues since you can see the person (body language and eye contact) and hear their voice.

Second, since there are better and greater social cues, there is more potential for trust and relationship connection, which leads to more integrity, sharing of ideas, and establishing the “likeability” factor, as written of by Tim Sanders.

Third, it’s just plain more fun.

All three of these are likely to increase the viability, productivity, and bottom-line financials of your business. It’s also good for your health, since human contact and relationship are associated with happiness and well-being. With all of these benefits, why is networking dreaded by many and why does it create such havoc in some people’s heads?

The inner critic goes crazy if you listen to the stories of some people in business; stories such as getting knots in their stomach at the thought of going to networking events or not even being able to get out of their car to go inside to the meeting. Why is this? I can speak from personal experience. While I tended in past years to push on and go to the meetings, it was often a burden, and totally and unnecessarily so.

As a child, I was very social and a natural leader. Yet, due to not understanding how my mind worked at all in those days, as well as social conditioning, I tended to drift toward competition and lack consciousness as I grew older. It was, and is, all a matter of perception. As a culture, as we “grow up” we tend toward connecting who we are with what we do. We buy into the lie of zero-sum gain and survival of the fittest.

We tend to believe that humility equals self-deprecation and, somehow, that beating ourselves up is noble. We reject ourselves and then unwittingly often project that self-loathing onto other people because our psyches can’t deal with the storyline about our lives that we’ve ignorantly created. Yes, you read that correctly: created. Science shows there is no totally objective reality.

We are assigning meaning to our lives constantly. And generally, if the theme is based in fear, the story is not one that encourages the development of our true, greater potential. This often shows up within the context of our relationships, of course. If we don’t have healthy self-acceptance and confidence, it impacts our business and personal life in a very big way—whether or not we enjoy networking.

As I have “retrained my brain” and “made friends” with feelings, I have been able to create new, more empowering storylines about what I can be, do, and have. The answer to many of humanity’s challenges today in the workplace and in the world at large is learning how to become more self-aware and self-accepting. We can only treat others as we really, truly, and subconsciously treat ourselves.

Some people’s negative self-talk is outright cruel. People would not tolerate being spoken to by others the way they speak to themselves in their own minds. It’s time to stop that if you want to thrive in business. Stop hiding out behind the computer screen and mix it up. Connect with others, and come from a place in which you are more than enough. We all have a unique gift or talent to contribute to our times.

This article was written by Dr. Valencia Ray. To get more great advice from Diva Toolbox Media Diva Dr. Valencia Ray, visit her website at: http://www.ValenciaRay.com

Trade shows can be a winning strategy to attract new clients or they can be a huge waste of time, energy and resources if all that happens is you build a eye catching display and say “hi” to people as they walk by. Do not waste this great opportunity to build your business. When formulating your trade show strategy for success use the following tips to make your connections count.

Look Like a Million Bucks

You want to always look your best when working a trade show. Looking professional makes people more receptive to speaking with you. Make sure you look the part of the successful firm representative. Press your suit, get a haircut and make sure your shoes are comfortable and polished. Where light colors, dark blue and black are more intimidating, go with the lighter colors in your closet for this event.

Get Out In Front

Put together a great display to really catch the attention of trade show attendees. Be sure to position the display tables in a way that allows you to easily enter into the pedestrian isle. Do not put a table across the front of your booth, since this puts a barrier between you and passersby. Keep your booth neat and uncluttered. Put out only a few materials at a time.

Show Your Smile

Show your teeth to everyone and make eye contact as people come near your both. This conveys warmth and makes it easy for people to approach you. Go out of your way to be friendly, energetic, approachable, and connect with all the trade show attendees.

Success Starts with a Great Opening

Rehearse your opening statement. Say something that gets people to stop in their tracks and spend some time at booth. Ask a question. “Are you familiar with (name of your firm)?” is a good one. If someone says “yes” ask what their experience has been, tell them about any services or products they are not aware of.

Offer a Show Special

Offering a show special and prominently displaying information about it can entice people to your booth. Show specials also create a sense of urgency to get people to make a buying decision right away. You can also introduce a new product or service and offer a show special for attendees to take advantage of this new offering.

Gather the Important Info

Make it easy for people to enter the drawing by dropping their card into a bowl. This creates excitement and ensures people will stop at the booth. If people do not have a card, provide a form people can fill out. Make sure people write all their information, address, phone, and especially email address. Gathering the contact information of attendees is one of the primary objectives of participating in trade shows.

People Love Giveaways

If all your materials look like sales materials, they will probably end up in the trash before the tradeshow attendees leave the convention hall. Give everyone coupons and innovative premiums with your logo. These keep the your name in front of someone long after the trade show has passed. Make sure to bring plenty of whatever advertising specialty you choose, Postnotes®, calculators and notebooks. You do not want to run out of goodies.

Your Fortune Is in the Follow Up

Within two days after the tradeshow send out a thank you email or letter with an additional special offer. Within two days is key otherwise they will not even remember you. If you wait two weeks or two months the tradeshow attendees will not even remember meeting and speaking with you.

Trade shows can take a lot of time and energy. When done well they can attract many new clients and expand the services used by current clients. Follow the ideas above and get the most out of your next trade show adventure.

Established Associates and New Associates often differ in their opinions about networking. The “old-timers” usually say that networking is one of their most important sources of business, while the “newcomers” sometimes complain that they’re putting a lot effort into networking and not seeing much return.

What’s going on here?

It’s Not Just About Business Cards Anymore

Let’s define the kind of networking that builds business. It’s not just circulating through a room exchanging business cards! A broader view of networking is creating a pool of contacts from which you can draw clients, referrals, resources, ideas, and information. Your business network can, and should, include colleagues, a wide range of business people, and personal friends, as well as customers and prospects.

Branching Out

Meeting people at organized events is one of the easiest ways to build an extensive network. The key is to attend the right kinds of events. Don’t spend all your time networking within your industry. Be sure that some of the events you attend are also attended by potential recruits and customers, and by other professionals who may be able to refer business to you.

Here are some popular choices for networking events: Chamber of Commerce mixers, workshops, and award ceremonies; service clubs such as Rotary and Kiwanis; trade and professional association meetings where customers, recruits, or potential referral sources gather; lectures, conferences, and fundraisers hosted by educational institutions, community organizations, and affinity groups; social, cultural, and sporting events that include receptions or other mix-and-mingle time.

Don’t forget about the private gatherings specifically organized for the purpose of meeting new people, either.

Join the Club

The way to get the most value from a group is to become a member of it. You will have more success if you go back to the same groups over and over than if you keep going to new groups all the time. Find two or three that seem to have the right mix of people, and keep going back.

Follow Up, Then Follow Up Some More

Follow up with the people you meet immediately. If you don’t, you’ve just wasted your time in meeting them. Call potential recruits or customers and reintroduce yourself. Describe what you’re offering, determine their level of interest, and invite them to take the next step by attending a presentation or party, or viewing your catalog. When you meet people in a position to lead you to more prospects or refer business in the future, call them to suggest coffee or lunch, or offer to stop by. In either case, after making contact, put them in your calendar to follow up with again in a month or two.

It is simply untrue that prospects will “call when they are ready.” The truth is, if people have met you only once, they probably don’t even remember you, and it’s even less likely that they will remember where they put your card.

The Keyword is Relationships

If networking that builds business sounds like hard work, you’re right—forming relationships takes time and effort. But those relationships are the core of networking.
Your network should include people whom you truly enjoy interacting with, because if you’re doing it right, you’ll be spending a lot of time with them.

Being able to build successful relationships is what effective networking is all about. It’s what separates successful Associates from those who don’t make it. Networking doesn’t always pay off immediately. You need to put in the effort now, and trust that you will see results later. The Associates who followed that rule when THEY were new are now the successful “old-timers” who can testify that networking really does work.

Your Partner in Living a Purpose Inspired Life,

Louri Boilard is a Contributor to Diva Toolbox, visitor her website at www.youngevity4life.com

Established Associates and New Associates often differ in their opinions about networking. The “old-timers” usually say that networking is one of their most important sources of business, while the “newcomers” sometimes complain that they’re putting a lot effort into networking and not seeing much return.

What’s going on here?

It’s Not Just About Business Cards Anymore

Let’s define the kind of networking that builds business. It’s not just circulating through a room exchanging business cards! A broader view of networking is creating a pool of contacts from which you can draw clients, referrals, resources, ideas, and information. Your business network can, and should, include colleagues, a wide range of business people, and personal friends, as well as customers and prospects.

Branching Out

Meeting people at organized events is one of the easiest ways to build an extensive network. The key is to attend the right kinds of events. Don’t spend all your time networking within your industry. Be sure that some of the events you attend are also attended by potential recruits and customers, and by other professionals who may be able to refer business to you.

Here are some popular choices for networking events: Chamber of Commerce mixers, workshops, and award ceremonies; service clubs such as Rotary and Kiwanis; trade and professional association meetings where customers, recruits, or potential referral sources gather; lectures, conferences, and fundraisers hosted by educational institutions, community organizations, and affinity groups; social, cultural, and sporting events that include receptions or other mix-and-mingle time.

Don’t forget about the private gatherings specifically organized for the purpose of meeting new people, either.

Join the Club

The way to get the most value from a group is to become a member of it. You will have more success if you go back to the same groups over and over than if you keep going to new groups all the time. Find two or three that seem to have the right mix of people, and keep going back.

Follow Up, Then Follow Up Some More

Follow up with the people you meet immediately. If you don’t, you’ve just wasted your time in meeting them. Call potential recruits or customers and reintroduce yourself. Describe what you’re offering, determine their level of interest, and invite them to take the next step by attending a presentation or party, or viewing your catalog. When you meet people in a position to lead you to more prospects or refer business in the future, call them to suggest coffee or lunch, or offer to stop by. In either case, after making contact, put them in your calendar to follow up with again in a month or two.

It is simply untrue that prospects will “call when they are ready.” The truth is, if people have met you only once, they probably don’t even remember you, and it’s even less likely that they will remember where they put your card.

The Keyword is Relationships

If networking that builds business sounds like hard work, you’re right—forming relationships takes time and effort. But those relationships are the core of networking.
Your network should include people whom you truly enjoy interacting with, because if you’re doing it right, you’ll be spending a lot of time with them.

Being able to build successful relationships is what effective networking is all about. It’s what separates successful Associates from those who don’t make it. Networking doesn’t always pay off immediately. You need to put in the effort now, and trust that you will see results later. The Associates who followed that rule when THEY were new are now the successful “old-timers” who can testify that networking really does work.

Your Partner in Living a Purpose Inspired Life,

Louri Boilard is a Contributor to Diva Toolbox, visitor her website at www.youngevity4life.com

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