What can 11.4% do for you?

I had the fortune of hearing Mark Kelly, Captain of the last Endeavor space flight and husband to Congress-woman Gabriel Gifford, speak today at a national conference. Watching his opening video was inspirational to say the least.

The biggest item I took away from Captain Kelly’s speech was how life can change in an instance, and how it is the smallest of adjustments to our plans that can make all the difference.

Captain Kelly shared story after story of the risks his career holds. From having missiles fired at his Navy bomber to piloting a spacecraft with 7.5 million pounds of thrust behind it, risk has been part of his life. He talked at length how he had decided early on that he and his NASA team would avoid making small mistakes. It was his opinion that it is the small mistakes and the “unknown unknowns” that could be the most costly.

An example he gave was based around re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. As many of you know, spaceship Columbia disintegrated during it’s re-entry attempt in 2003. According to Captain Kelly it was a small mistake that caused this. At any given time a shuttle will be traveling at around 17,500 mph. When re-entering the atmosphere they slow the shuttle down to 17,300 mph. This is a 11.4% reduction in speed. Any variation off this and your shuttle doesn’t make it.

Many professionals focus on the big items that can cost their companies. Usually we know what they are. Things like losing our largest client or failing to fulfill a contract and thus being sued can have a tremendous impact on our success. Follow Captain Kelly’s advice, and become an expert at anticipating the “unknown unknowns”.

Build relationships, increase your business, do it over lunch!

“Social networking isn’t a waste”…do you agree?

I recently received an email from a business associate that started out like this…

“Just another validation that Social Networking isn’t a waste”. This associate claims to regular use LinkedIn to invite other professionals to meeting she plans on attending. To her, this has “keep me on the radar”.

One such professional that she has connected with in the past was using LinkedIn messaging to ask for an introduction to a company. My associate commented that “Although she was seeking business, since we were willing to give her a chance it looks like she’s willing to do the same”. By being the first one willing to help another professional she was now receiving benefits from that activity. Call it karma, or call it a good networking strategy.

In networking there are takers and givers. Takers are the people that want referrals from you before they are willing to reciprocate. Often times they just take and you never hear from them again. Givers understand that if they are able to refer someone business, good things will happen. As a giver, you should understand and embrace this idea.

So tell me, is social networking a waste of time?

Develop your network, increase your business, do it at lunch!

Startup lessons: using other’s API

It is interesting sometimes how similar subjects seem to surface from multiple avenues at the same time.

Just yesterday one of my partners in GoGrabLunch.com emailed me an article about Pinterest, and how their rise to social media stardom had been fraught with struggles until they began utilizing social sign-ons through Facebook. Then, this morning, I read Fred Wilson’s article title “Can you Build a Network on Top of Another Network?”. Wilson’s thoughts are that you can, and sometimes should do so, however at that point he felt you really don’t have your own network.

The culmination of both conversations got me thinking back to the early days of GoGrabLunch.com and our decision to remain independent of other sites.

Without question I can tell you that had we used social sign-ons through sites like Facebook and LinkedIn our site would be much, much further along in terms of registered members. After all, by doing so you make the registration process quicker and you are able to use status updates to broadcast to potential members. So, in terms of membership numbers not using other APIs was a mistake.

Where I think we did go right with our strategy is that our independence protected us in two ways. First, it allowed us to avoid worrying about being shut down by someone else. LinkedIn has recently announced that in the near future Twitter access from their site will be limited. Prior to buying them, Twitter shut down all access for Tweetdeck for a period of time. When you connect yourself wholly to another platform you risk being closed down by their decisions. Second, like Fred Wilson mentions, I feel we truly have our own network of members. Not merely access to members of another site.

Only time will tell what was the right decision.

Build your network, increase your business, do it over lunch!

To sell…you have to know

In a recent client meeting the topic of sales was being discussed. In the past few months this client has been evaluating sell-through ratios for one of their products that has been lagging. Industry standard is around 40% and this client has at best seen 20%.

After many previous meetings the client has found what they consider to be a breakthrough. By analyzing individual salesperson results with the product, and asking detailed questions from the more successful ones in the group, the client uncovered a common thread.

The most successful salesmen were those that knew their product’s features and benefits the best. Or put another way, to sell they had to know.

Business networking is no different. In order to identify and then connect with other professionals it is important to understand who they are looking to connect with in the first place. Know what it is they want, and then sell them on why you fit that description.

In order to have a high degree of success in developing reciprocal, mutually profitable referral relationships you have to know and understand the other professional. Understand their expectations for your relationship, what each of you brings to the table, and what types of prospects they are looking.

Build your network, increase your business, do it over lunch!

WOO!

We all know that others form an impression of you as a professional within the first few seconds of meeting. But how long after spending significant time with you does that impression last? How long is your Window Of Opportunity?

Often times there is talk of forming referral relationships, but then the relationship falters. One of the best ways to make sure that a new contact becomes a long term referral partner is to gain some early momentum together. This can be done in a variety of ways.

1) Stay in touch

I know this sounds rudimentary. But you would be surprised how often I connect with someone over lunch only to never hear from them again. Even after I send multiple follow-ups via phone, email, or video.

Staying top of mind with other professionals is tough these days with all the noise we all encounter. Develop a systematic approach to staying in touch with new contacts and you will see a nice return on your efforts.

2) Be first

One way I have been able to quickly cultivate new contacts into referral relationships is by looking for ways to be first to refer new business or contacts. In the weeks following making a new connection I make it a habit of trying to connect them with either other professionals they would have synergy with or even potential business prospects.

Showing that you are willing to take the first step goes a long way to building the relationship.

Build your network, increase your business, do it over lunch!

How can I exceed your expectations?

I love to learn from other people. Whether it’s from books, CDs, DVDs, or in person. Knowledge and the process of becoming more skilled at a subject is exciting to me.

When it comes to having a sales process I pride myself on having my system down. But today I learned a new phrase that I plan to incorporate into my “pitch”.

“How can I exceed your expectations?”

What I love about this phrase is that it helps accomplish multiple things. First, it helps you uncover what the prospect’s objectives are. If your prospect’s answer is price, then you know where you have to win in order to get the sale. Secondly, it is a great jumping off point for doing what I call “getting all the cards on the table”. If the answer is something unreasonable, then you at least have the ability to stop the conversation right then and there. Lastly, it shows that you are committed to great service (you best uphold that end).

Build your network, increase your business, do it over lunch!

How I grew my company by $16,000,000 in one year #fb #in

Today I was asked why I created GoGrabLunch.com. My reasoning was that I believed so strongly that networking, done correctly, can have a profound impact on the success of your career and business. So, I wanted people to have the opportunity to meet other professionals that could help them grow, both personally and professionally.

In fact, I can undoubtedly say that I would not be where I am today in the finance industry if it were not for my networking skills. Not only have I personally benefited, but so has the financial institution I work for.

Before I get going, let me say that our recent success is not because of me. I am just a cog in the wheel, and the real praise goes to the rest of the staff. However, our growth in 2011 can be partially attributed to some of things I brought to the table.

When I tell other professionals that our financial institution grew by 16MM in one year, they usually want to know how we did it. Sadly, there is no secret formula. It was more of a philosophical change in the way we thought. I believe that senior management was able to show a vision of where we were going to the rest of the staff, and then keep that momentum going by keeping the important things top of mind.

So, what does this have to do with networking? Well, within one particular department that I am responsible for we had tremendous growth compared to past years. What did we do differently? We got out in front of the community. We networked.

The beauty of our growth is that it almost exclusively can from referrals. I was so tied up for the better part of the year learning my new responsibilities and working with my team to “re-organize” a few items, that I didn’t have time to prospect. The good news is that I didn’t have to. My contacts keep me busy.

What’s your problem then? Business to slow for your liking? Stop hiding behind your computer and get in your prospect’s face!.

Build your network, increase your business, do it over lunch!

Before networking sites were cool! #fb #in

South by Southwest (SxSW) has just wrapped up and some interesting trends are coming out of it. One particular trend that relates to networking, and therefore what we do at GoGrabLunch.com, is that quite a few smartphone apps are beginning to gain traction in the person to person space.

Of particular note are Highlight and Sonar. Both of these apps use GPS coupled with Facebook and FourSquare (respectively) to notify you of nearby connects you should meet.

I can see the value here but some of my concerns appear to be true for others. First, is the issue of privacy. By tapping into other services, Facebook in particular has had issues, you are opening your privacy wide open. Some feedback from SxSW is wondering if such a service is “creepy”. Second, there is a randomness to the connection. While our service helps you plan out your connections, apps such as these require proximity to connect. Certainly this might work well at conventions and seminars, but how much time do you really have through these apps to determine if someone is a good contact to make? Just because they “friends” of your “friends” doesn’t mean they will make a good connection for you.

Another item coming to light is the strain these apps put on your smartphone battery. In one report I read that batteries were dying in less than 3 hours.

What is nice to see is how the networking space is evolving. Much like most industries, I don’t believe that any one service has it all figured out just yet. Hopefully, in time the market will tell services like ours what they want.

Build your network, increase your business, do it over lunch!

It’s business, not personal…right? #fb #in

It’s called small talk for a reason. Because, talking about anything other than business should be a small part of your conversations. But learning more about other people is a necessary part of the business networking process. It’s a part of the trust building process as well.

This past week at a GoGrabLunch.com appointment I found myself in more small talk than normal. Our conversation was all about one another’s business for the first half hour. But as things progressed we realized that our lives had many parallels, and that our interests were very similar. And I realized that this made the conversation even more enjoyable.

So, the question is…how much personal talk is too much?

I believe it’s an easy answer. First, how willing is the other party willing to talk about their personal lives? Second, have you talked enough business to have a good understanding of what each other does and how you can help one another’s business grow?

As long as you have these two questions covered, then I say have all the small talk you want. After all, the more you know about a person the easier it is to understand what drives them.

Build your network, grow your business, do it over lunch!.

P.S. I do recommend staying away from political and religious subject matter.

Another AA acronym

A few weeks ago I blogged about how many networkers should be attending AA. In this instance, I meant that many networkers have activity avoidance syndrome.

Today I want to talk about another AA acronym.  And this time it is something (actually two things) you should have when networking.  Attitude and Activity.

Attitude

Many times I talk about having the right attitude when networking.  That of being open to helping others and believing that good karma will return your way.  But did you know that having what I call a “country club mentality” is also a good thing?  This is not a holier than thou mentality.  What I mean by a “country club mentality” is holding the belief that other networkers can benefit from getting to know you.  In fact, that they should want to network with you.  It’s not about conceit, but rather confidence that you can help their business grow.

Activity

What’s the one skill you should be using daily to help your business grow?  That’s right – networking.  Stop working in your business and get busy working on your business.  Want to increase the amount of business you are doing?  Increase your exposure.  Plan and simple, you need to be active daily.  Just make sure it’s quality activity.

Build your network, increase your business, do it over lunch!