BNI Riverside

While listening to Rachael Bermingham speak this week – she is Australia’s most successful female author – I was confronted with this thought.

You see the audience had been asked to introduce themselves for 30 seconds earlier in the programme and Rachael was listening.

She then challenged us about how we described ourselves.

One of the main thoughts in Rachael’s presentation was that, despite what we thought we did, we were all problem solvers.

So my question to everyone reading this is “what problem do you solve?”

The best way to build existing customer loyalty and to attract new customers is to be a problem solver. And you are in a perfect position to do just that – solve problems.

You don’t know all the reasons why ideas won’t work.
You are not locked into old paradigms.
You are not emotionally attached to solutions.

When you become a problem solver for other people you start to become indispensable.

So when next someone asks you what you do, how will you describe yourself?

The Referral Master®

There are numerous myths about networking! Here are just a few….

• Attend as many events as possible – more is better.
• Get as many business cards as possible – 20 or 30 is excellent.
• Exchanging cards will get you business so take plenty.

Yet all of these (and many other myths) overlook one vital aspect. Networking is about people and people like to feel valued.

Fast pace and quantity may work well with “speed dating” but it certainly does not work with networking.

Networking is about making a connection, something you don’t normally do in 60 seconds.

So it amazes me when people say “networking isn’t working for me”. Very often the thing that isn’t working is the person doing it.

To make your net works you need to do the following:-

1. Set a goal for each networking meeting – I suggest a maximum of 5 good connections.
2. Have a follow-up plan…. and do it. Plans without execution are just vacant words.
3. Turn those “networking connections” into “real relationships” by investing time and remembering each one is a person, not a number.

For more tips on making your Net Work, go to my website – there is a wealth of useful material to help you grow and develop your network.

The Referral Master®

When new members join my networking group one of the questions we ask is “how are you different from your competition” and it is amazing how many people give you answers like “we provide great customer service”.

I am sure that if we asked their competition they would say exactly the same thing. So where is the difference?
In today’s marketplace giving your customer things like “great customer service” just doesn’t cut it anymore. In fact, if you think about it, that is what the customer paid for!

So how do you go about “standing out from the crowd”?

In New York City the Naked Cowboy certainly understands this concept. What amazing brand recognition he has created simply by doing something no one else had done. In an often “bland world”, he stands out from the crowd for all sorts of reasons and has gone on to create a worldwide business.

So here are some tips on creating an image that is DIFFERENT from the competition:-

• ask others for ideas – form a think tank or mastermind group just for you – in 2005 mine resulted in the idea of International Networking Week
• be outrageous – bland never stands out and fear of what people might think will defeat you – imagine the Well Dressed Cowboy V The Naked Cowboy
• get a mentor/coach – they will give you new ideas and reasons not to reject ideas outright – that will ensure you stay the same

A guideline for all ideas could well be “has someone done this before in exactly the same way”? If not then try it!

The Referral Master®

I was asked recently what value I brought to a meeting and the question caused me to think about the topic of the value of meetings.

You may remember the brilliant John Cleese video “Meetings Bloody Meetings” where Cleese and his team send up the concept of the Monday morning meeting in a medium sized business. Hilarious as it is (and if you haven’t seen it get hold of a copy), it highlights the way people waste valuable time in meetings.

From agendas that are nothing more than a list of topics, to waiting for people who are late, to turning up totally unprepared, the list of time wasters at meetings is endless.

Given that everyone who attends a meeting has an investment in it (your time has a $ value) then it behooves us all to look at what value we bring to meetings so that others get a good ROI on their investment. Considering that a 3 hour meeting at $100 per hour (for your time) should give you back at least $110 of value.

Here are some tips that may help:-

1. Always ask the initiator what the purpose of a meeting is and how they will know whether it has achieved it’s aim/s.
2. If it is a one-on-one meeting, ask the initiator what 3 things they would like to get out of the meeting.
3. Always come with at least 3 questions and take notes on the answers so you can revisit them again if necessary.

Great meetings are short, interesting and focused!

The Referral Master®

Optimum Recoveries provides high quality receivables management solutions designed to bring greater financial returns to our clients in commercial markets including:

• Credit health checks & action plans for improved cash flow
• Information services for customer insight & risk management
• Debt recovery & litigation services

So whether you are looking to outsource your receivables portfolio, or seeking advice on how to better manage these systems internally, Optimum Recoveries can help.

We provide financial planning services and advice to individuals, corporations, small and medium sized businesses and charitable organisations.

Infocus specialises in providing advice to individuals in the areas of wealth creation, debt reduction, mortgage management, retirement planning, superannuation and personal insurances (life insurance, income protection, etc). For most of us the reality is that these areas are managed by separate individuals with little or no communication between them, resulting in gaps within your financial plan.

In re-reading a summary of Jay Abraham’s “Strategy of Preeminence” I was struck by his first lesson – that of the need for business people to be leaders in the eyes of their clients.

And by leaders he does not mean dictatorial style; he means people who know and understand their clients and are confident enough to speak their mind and say directly and honestly what they feel is right for the client. No beating around the bush in the hope that something you say the client will agree with.

Jay Abraham is the world leader in marketing advice. So when he speaks I listen.

So how do our clients see you?

Are you the leader they rely on for honest advice when challenges arise? Do you tell them what you think needs to be done even when you know your advice may not be palatable? Or do you say what you know the client wants to hear?

My website is designed by Admission. They call themselves a Digital Marketing Agency. The reason I continue to use them is simple – they are leaders. They research the market in which I operate and give me fearless advice, much of which I would never have thought of. And they don’t concern themselves whether I will like the advice or not because they are leaders in their field.

So here are three key things to do for your clients so you stand out as a leader:-

1. Don’t dump information on them unless you tell them what to do with it and why you are giving it.
2. Make them your centre of attention by getting to understand their challenges at an emotional level, not just a rational one.
3. Present solutions, not strategies. Your clients are looking for leaders who are bold enough to tell them what to do with credibility and authority.

So what things are you doing to ensure your clients see you as a leader?

The Referral Master®

Apart from pulling beer wagons and making glue, horses aren’t much fun, especially the ones that don’t run as fast as they should. Bloody Daffodil! Where were you?!

I’ve never won anything on the Melbourne Cup. It’s always a fun day for sure, except for the last five seconds of the race when you realise the betting slips in your hand are not worth the paper they are printed on. Personally, I put this down to backing the wrong animal.

The SKÅL Melbourne Cup Lunch has a slightly different approach. They race mud crabs. Sure, you don’t have some of the sensory highlights that come with the track experience—the pounding of hooves as the horses thunder past the finish line, the sweat on their rippling muscles, the sickly smell of spew on your shoes. There’s nothing like it, but mud crabs have something you don’t get with horses—winning!

The BNI Riverside table placed bets on two rounds of crab races. The first one, ‘Nuthin Leica Lobster’, didn’t go so well—in fact I thought it may have been dead, but in the second race ‘Chilli’ slowly bolted out of the ring elbowing a worthy competitor on the way past. (Do crabs even have elbows?)

Our team, along with head coach and motivator Oliver, was very pleased with the effort. All the training and hard work paid off. And, as is customary with mud crab races, the competitors were unceremoniously cooked up and served up for lunch.

And so, with 125 bucks in our pocket, a head full of booze and a gut full of fresh mud crab we staggered off into the setting sun to find another bar in which to bask in the glory of our Melbourne Cup win.

Videos

1. The photo finish. Technically the body of the crab must be over the line to win.
2. The post-race interview. The crab was well-spoken. Not sure what Oliver had to say – something about croissants, we think.

Click ‘read more …’ to view videos
read more…

I regularly get requests to be electronically connected with other people via My Website, Plaxo, Ecademy and LinkedIn. In addition people regularly ask for the same at networking functions.

The response from one request recently blew me away. He essentially said the following:-

• thanks for agreeing to be connected
• was I interested in us helping each other
• what was my ideal referral

His name is Rick Peterson and his website is Integrated Business Advisors – check it out.

Do you think this approach might work for both Rick and I if we seek to help each other?

So here are my suggestions on how you might better capitalise on “connection requests”.

1. Thank them and respond with a prepared email – let me know if you would like a copy of mine
2. Ask that famous question “how can I help you?” and then go on to suggest ways that they might be of assistance to you
3. Send them something FREE as a thankyou for the request – I often send a card

When someone asks to be connected to us they have opened the door to developing that connection. So, rather than just clicking “yes” to the request, go ahead and step right through that door into a world of possibilities.

….. The Referral Master®

A recent newsletter caused me to ponder how open many small to medium business people are to change to be creative.

The newsletter quoted the example of a menswear store in New York who adapted the US car campaign of “cash for clunkers” by saying that anyone who bought in their old suit would get $100 off any new suit AND the old suit would be donated to charity.

So my question this week is what are you doing to stand out from the crowd of competitors?

How creative are you at marketing your product or service so that you are seen to be different?

Here are some tips that may be useful:-

1. Read what businesses are doing in industries that are different to yours and see where you might adapt and use in your industry.
2. Ask your network for creative ideas on marketing your business – they will see things you don’t.
3. Have an open mind as to what might work even when your initial reaction is to reject an idea.

As for me I am offering a $50 Gift Account on Send Out Cards for everyone who phones and asks about the 1 condition of that offer – 0420 319 035.

….. The Referral Master®