Archive for Networking

Business networking – don’t just gather names

by Andrea J. Stenberg
April 4th, 2013

Gathering a stack of business cards at a networking meeting isn’t the way to grow your business. It’s a way to add more clutter to your office.

business cards pileSeriously – having a superficial conversation then grabbing their card does you no good.

If you are one of the rare people who actually does something with the cards you collect you’re still not likely to get results. If you email this person it’s SPAM. They won’t remember you and didn’t ask for the contact. In fact, your message may hit their SPAM filter.

You could send snail mail – an actual letter. Better than an email but seriously, what kind of impact will it have if you know nothing about this person and they don’t remember you?

You could Read More→

Categories Networking
Comments (6)

Don’t Assume People Know What You Do

by Andrea J. Stenberg
April 5th, 2011

I’ve heard time and again that you can’t assume people remember what you do. It’s one of the cornerstones of BNI and any other networking group you belong to. You

Don't Assume!

need to show up to give people a chance to know, like and trust you. And you need to keep showing up so they remember you.

I had this point driven home to me last week. On Tuesday I posted an update on LinkedIn, including a link to free ebook on internet marketing I created with some JV partners. About an hour later I received an email from a colleague asking if I do training on internet marketing and social media.

My first thought was Read More→

Categories Like and Trust Factor, LinkedIn, Networking, social media
Comments (3)

How to Have Off-Line Conversations with Your Online Connections

by Andrea J. Stenberg
December 1st, 2010

Yesterday I wrote about why you need to take your online connections off-line. Today I’ll tell you how.

Build relationships with your online connections by getting on the phone

When you met somebody online and you’ve had some sort of an ongoing conversation, someone you think you might have a connection with, approach them about having an off-line conversation.

You can send them a private message on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, or send them an e-mail asking for a phone conversation.

Don’t make this a sales call! Really – I’m serious! Stress that this will be a “getting to know you” conversation. And mean it. Suggest a couple of dates and times and give them a time limit for the call – I suggest 30 minutes.

When the appointed time comes, ask a series of open ended questions that will allow you to get to know this person and their business. Of course you’ll want to give them the same information about yourself.

Types of questions to ask: Read More→

Categories Facebook, LinkedIn, Networking, social media
Comments (1)

Social Media Marketing Means Talking To More People Not Less

by Andrea J. Stenberg
November 30th, 2010

One of the biggest mistakes people make with social media marketing – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – is they think it means they don’t have to talk to people. They think if they’re posting to Twitter, updating their status on Facebook or posting videos to YouTube that’s it for social media marketing.You need to talk to more people when you use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter for marketing

But making posts without any real connection to real people isn’t really marketing. The truth is everyone is doing that. There are 500 million people on Facebook, and while a significantly smaller number are businesses, everyone is doing the same thing. They’re all busy posting away and hoping that it will get them business.

But the real secret of social media marketing is that these online networking tools only allow you to get on people’s radar. It’s very rare that somebody who follows you on Twitter comes along and buys something. There has to be a step in the middle.

And that step is a real conversation.

You have to either get face-to-face with prospects or at the very least get them on the phone. The big difference with social media marketing is these are not cold calls. These are people you had conversations with, they’ve gotten to know you, and now the two of you are ready to take your business relationship to the next level.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think you should start Read More→

Categories Facebook, LinkedIn, social media
Comments (2)

Boomers are not one-size-fits-all

by Andrea J. Stenberg
November 8th, 2010

The Blogging Boomers Carnival

One of my biggest pet peeves is how when talking about baby boomers most people (particularly the media) focus on retirement. And yet the baby boomer generation covers a much larger demographic. At a conference last week, one of the speakers pointed out that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are baby boomers!Boomers are a diverse group

The younger segment of boomers are in their 40s and 50s. Many will be working for another 15 years or longer. And yes, we are all wondering about paying for retirement.

But some of us are also paying for children’s university. Some of us are paying our own tuition as we return to school ourselves. Others are running businesses, striving for promotions and enjoying the success we’ve achieved so far while striving for yet more.

That is why I love being part of the Blogging Boomers Carnival. We represent a wide swath of the baby boomer generation. The diversity of our blogs and the topics we cover shows you can’t pigeon-hole boomers. There is no “typical” boomer. And we like it that way.

Here’s a sampling of the diversity of what the Blogging Boomers Carnival has to offer. Please visit these sites, read the articles and if you are so moved, join the conversation by leaving a comment.

Going to a networking event? What do you wear to look business-like but still fashionable? Get some suggestions from The Glam Gals at Fabulous after 40!

SoBabyBoomer tells us that procedural mistakes in the handling of mortgage documents have clouded titles establishing ownership of the homes, a problem that could plague both buyers and sellers for years.  The key question is: Do you know who holds the title to your house?

How do you work with your own intuition? It can be an essential tool, especially when you’re going through some tough life changes!

DIY bacon? Why not? It’s easy and it’s just one of the many easy to make food items the Accidental Locavore will show you how to make “out of the box”.

Over at Contemporary Retirement, Ann has a 2 minute video that could heal your heart.

LifeTwo.com discusses the Psychology Today article that declares ”Many middle-aged men go through midlife crisis, but it’s not because they are middle-aged but because their wives are.”

The Boomer Chronicles asks, “What’s waiting for you at home tonight?”

And finally, Twitter is an amazing tool for connecting with people and sharing information. And it’s one of the easier social networking tools to automate but should you? I take another look at the automated direct message in Twitter and discuss whether or not you should do it.

Enjoy!

Andrea J. Stenberg

Categories BloggingBoomers Carnival
Comments (4)
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