Really Getting to Know You

It's always fun to meet with networking friends, because I usually walk away with a new idea.

This week was no different when I had coffee with Certified Networker Sharon Czarny, owner of Czarny Insurance Agency. Sharon wanted to meet with me to talked over an idea. I hope our conversation helped her because she shared a really great networking exercise with me.

It seems that David Marrufo who is the Educational Coordinator of her BNI chapter, is really creative. Not too long ago, he had every member write something about themselves that others might not know. Each slip of paper was folded and then he collected them and put them into a paper bag. He then went around the room again and having each member draw a slip. His instructions were that each member had to find out who was connected to the information they had in hand. That in itself is a great networking exercise, but here's the twist David added. The members had to count the number of guesses or people they went through to get to the right person. Whatever that number was, they had to schedule that many one-to-one meetings with members. Sharon said that she had 8 meetings set as a result of this exercise.

I love it. BNI's success is based on members really getting to know each other, so that they feel comfortable referring each other. David's creativity will help that to happen for their chapter members.

Thanks Sharon for sharing!

Out of Control

I have been so busy meeting with people that I have not been very good at sending thank you notes and emails. Nor am I able to remember who I have sent them to.

I shared this dilemma with my Master Mind group on Friday and they agreed that a thank you is always appreciated, even if it is late or a duplicate.

My question is, what system do you use when you are so busy all week that you don't always have time to send those notes immediately. Do you just make a list of people to thank or do you go back through you calendar to jog your memory. I badly need a system and maybe it is as simple as a list.

Help me out. I am in a little bit of chaos!

Do You Dump?

Okay, how was Black Friday? For those of you not in the US, that is the dubious name given to the shopping day after Thanksgiving. I think it refers to what the merchants hope they will be "in" at day's end (as opposed to red ink meaning a loss.) I am not a Black Friday shopper -- so I can't tell you anything about it.

What I do want to talk about is the garbage dump.

No, I am not talking about the town dump, where the scraps of dinner might be thrown. No, not that. What I am talking about the the practice of giving a new networking acquaintance every marketing piece you have about your company in one fell swoop.

Now, let's think about why it is not such a good idea.

First of all, from a marketing point of view, if you give it all at once, you have no reason to go back.

Second, with a thick folder of information, you may overwhelm this new acquaintance to not read any of it -- that is, overwhelming them to inaction.

Third, most people don't have time to sit for many minutes just with your stuff. They will quickly pick out what they need and throw the rest away.

Fourth, doing the garbage dump says that you don't care about the needs of this specific person, that "one size fits all." Don't I feel special????

This week at a networking event, a guest brought such a folder. There were 24 sheets of paper and five, glossy, four-color magazines inside this folder. This person happened to be an advertising representative for a local newspaper. Finally, I found the rate sheet and threw the rest away. Then I opened the rate sheet and it was so complicated that I could not figure it out. That, also, was pitched.

So here's the deal. If you want to attract me, make it simple, short, efficient and non-wasteful. Otherwise, you'll be filed in the trash can.

While I don't totally understand the DISC personality measurement technique, my friend Deanna Tucci Schmitt, Executive Director of BNI Western Pennsylvania, would say that my reaction is probably because I am a high D. So I guess there might be people out there who represent other letters in the DISC theory that would read all that stuff. But it's your job to figure out who those people are and are not!

Do you like it when networking acquaintances give you the dump?

Let Me Tell You About Me

Yesterday, I walked into Panera. I was twenty minutes early to meet a client, but was prepared with a book, Be the Elephant:Build a Bigger, Better Business, that I've been trying to read in bits and pieces. At the counter just as I was getting my cup of coffee, I was approached by someone who said, "Debby, hey, how are you?"

This person (who shall remain nameless) was a former member of a networking group that I used to belong to. He proceeded to tell me how well he was doing.

As I walked to the coffee urns to fill my cup, he followed, continuing his monologue.

After filling my cup, I thought that he'd probably leave as we were right near the door, but oh no, he said, "Well, why don't we sit down so I can tell you some more (about me)?"

Twenty minutes later, just before my client was to arrive, he left. But not before he finally said, "Oh, are you still doing the same thing?" (sales coaching). I explained that for the past five years I had been concentrating on Certified Networker, a course that helps people with word-of-mouth marketing.

What came out of his mouth next has given me the chuckles ever since!

His comment was, "Well, I use networking all the time, everyday. I make an effort to meet people and each person I meet, I tell them all about what I'm doing. I get the word out that way."

No lie. That's what he said.

Oh yeah, I forget his final salvo. As he slid out of the booth, he said, "So if you run into anybody who could use my services, please send them my way."

Many of you know that my goal is to change the way business is done in Ohio -- or further with this blog! I know that if I can get all business people to first think and then say, "How can I help you?" (and mean it) that it will help the economy of our region.

That is the idealist in me. I do realize that there will be some people who will not convert to this philosophy. Too bad!

What was the worst (or best) demonstration of someone's networking skills that you've witnessed recently?

Helping Each Other

Sometimes we think the only way we can help other business friends is to send business their way. That thinking is nice, but way too narrow!

Wednesday, my friend, Angie Weid and I met at Panera on Dussel to work on our BNI commercials together. Angie is our chapter VP and had expressed how difficult it is to do all the VP stuff and ALSO have a good commercial. I had experienced the same difficulties several years ago when I was president of a chapter.

As a result of that conversation, Angie gave the best, most memorable commercial yesterday. You see, Angie is an engineer, a rocket scientist. She has several patents to her name. Her business is organizing. Up till recently she has focused on the Senior Citizen market helping them when they move from one living arrangement to another.

Serendipity has helped her to see a different type of client to address.

Recently a business owner hired her to clean out the desk of a former employee. This desk was a mess and had been for several months. Using her technical skills, she figured out what was important to save and what she could get rid of. She also created an organized system for all the software disks that were in a jumble in the drawer.

Fast forward to Thursday's BNI meeting. Angie stood, and showed a plaque she had received for one of her patents. She told about some of the stuff she knows (ceramic strength, aluminum something, etc) and explained how this knowledge can help her to clean out the desks of people who work in technical trades. She even asked for a specific referral to the Ford Maumee Stamping Plant, which will be closing in the future and is laying off people. This is the perfect spot for her to make a difference. She can clean out and organize the information these people are leaving behind.

I'm sure Angie could have come up with this idea for her commercial all by herself, but taking the time to do it is sometimes the challenge. Having an appointment to work together helped both of us to think about our commercials in advance.

Thanks, Angie!

What has someone done for you lately?

Camp CEO, Part III

Last weekend at Camp CEO, (by the way, CEO stands for Career Exploration Opportunity) the 16 women who knew they would be mentoring 16 young women got a big SURPRISE when they arrived on Saturday morning. (Read Part I and Part II)

You see the girls had arrived at Camp Libby on Friday night. They learned the new cup stacking game that is sweeping the nation called Speed Stacks. There was even a recent world championship held.

The SURPRISE the women found out about Saturday morning, was that they were going to be mentored first, by the girls teaching us to play the game. There were some of us who knocked more cups on the floor than others, but we had a good time. The young woman I was paired with for the weekend, Tara Patel, was encouraging and kept telling me how good I was doing, even when I wasn't. THANKS TARA!

Once we learned the game, then we had to relearn as a team, with each of us only using one hand. That takes coordination. I think because of being left handed that Tara and I did have a little advantage. The picture at the left shows CPA, Darlene Robinson with her teammate, Alyssa Baz.

At the timed team competition Sunday morning, we managed to come in 4th. Not bad, but we had hoped for first.

Networking has some similarities to all this. Sometimes it can be a little awkward learning all the proper ins and outs of the "game," but if we have someone helping us, the learning curve is not so steep. Also, if we partner with a friend at an event, introducing people to each other, we may win more in our team effort than if we'd just gone it alone.

Have you tried Speed Stacks yet?

Training is Profitable

Yesterday, my friend, Dave Bodner who is a financial planner with Seymour & Associates, Mass Mutual here in Toledo, OH, introduced me to a new member of the Seymour team. Brian wanted to find out more about the networking education that Certified Networker course might provide.

During the conversation, Brian gave the classic example of how in his own estimation, he's not doing so well with his networking. His very best friend, who he spends a lot of time with, said to Brian just recently, "What do you really do anyway? I know that you are a financial planner, but what does that mean? I know that you work only with people with a lot of money, so I know you can't help me, but who do you work with????"

Brian said those questions were the wake-up call. Here was a BEST FRIEND who probably wanted to help but didn't know how to.

I'm guessing that Brian will jump into one of the Certified Networker classes fairly soon so that he can learn how to educate his best friend and others who also might want to help. That lesson is a cornerstone of having successful referral relationships.

If you asked your best friend (or your mom) to describe to you what you actually do, could they do it beyond just a general description?