One of the best way of marketing yourself

If you have an expertise and want the world to know about you start by GIVING IT AWAY.
Today and last week we ran VIP events in Manchester and London where we invited potential clients to see and hear what we do. I believe we are going to create lots of work as a result of holding these events.
"THE MORE YOU TELL , THE MORE YOU SELL."
Rather than spend time going to tell people what you can do and use all the various selling techniques( which most people find uncomfortable anyway) show your wares the way we did.
In our follow -up calls we won't need to sell anything as these prospects have seen us, heard us and can now make an informed value judgment if they want to acquire our services.And, of course if they weren't interested in the first place they wouldn't have come.It will be a case of the price and whether or not it fits in to their overall training plans.

A magical weekend for the Kintish family

No work but pure fun and pleasure with all my family, The star was our granddaughter,little Aimee

And there too were our 4 children who all came to stay with us in the Yorkshire Dales. We had fine weather for visits to Bolton Abbey and then on aother day to Skipton. Lots to eat, drink and much relaxation ready for the busy Autumn.

How much do you drink at business events?

Most people like socialising and partying, but struggle with the third, networking. However, all three types of events are virtually the same. At each, we meet people, some we know and some we don’t. We eat, we drink, we converse, we laugh, we start or continue to build relationships, we talk, we listen, and we have general social interaction. You can have fun, pleasure and excitement at both, so is there a difference? Yes, one important difference being the amount of alcohol you drink. Representing yourself and/or your organisation at a business-related event and getting intoxicated is unlikely to be good for business! And when next morning comes, how are you going to remember what was said by a potential prospect?!

Do the things you fear and the fear will disappear

When you walk into a room for business or social purposes how do you feel?
Do any of these strike a cord?

1 Where do I start in this room full of strangers?

2 How do I break the ice?

3 How do I create a good first impression?

4 How can I make myself interesting and exciting?

5 How do I keep the conversation going?

6 When do I move from the small talk to business?

7 How do I move on after a conversation?

8 How do I approach groups?

9 How can I ensure it won’t be a waste of time?

10 How will I manage rejection?

If this is you , you're normal. 99% of people have one or more of these fears

Do the things you fear and the fear will disappear

When you start accepting invitation, learn to network with confidence , all these fears will diappear

Borrowing form the bank? Here are your manager's secrets

When they lend money they think "CAMPARI & ICE"!
Now we all know bankers like a good lunch but this is an acronym as follows.

C haracter
A bility (How good are you at what you do?)
M eans (What's your overall financial situation?)
P urpose (of loan?)
A mount
R epayment
I insurance ( i.e. security)

And, from the banks' point of view?

I nterest (rate)
C harges
E xtras (What else can they interest us in?!)

Now you know.

Brilliant questions to ask at an interview

Nicloa of Kintish went to a BNI meeting today and heard the following

These are the questions that Kevin @ Yorkshire bank suggested we asked if we can not decide which person we should have for the job-

1 We have all had less than perfect results explain when this has happened to you?
2 Sometimes customers have unrealistic expectations of the product or service; explain when this has happened to you?
3 Give me an example of how you identify and set your direct performance goals?
4 Think about a good and bad decision you have made and tell me about them?
5 What kind of sales situation gave you the most difficulty, and tell me about a time you had to persuade a reluctant customer to buy your product?

What have you done today to sustain or grow your business?

Every day we lose clients. They die, they retire, they merge,they sell, they don't need your services any more. Oh and they become dissatisfied with your costs or services and go to the opposition.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY TO KEEP THE TANK FILLED?
Try this as an exercise.
Give yourself 1 point for gaining a referral or introduction
Give yourself 2 points for getting an appointment to do new or additional business
Give yourself 3 points for meeting a decision maker
Give yourself 4 points for gaining new business

EVERY DAY AIM FOR AT LEAST 4 POINTS.
If you don't get them your pipeline is likely to reduce meaning your client tank will reduce meaning.....

What modern day professional services companies do.

I presented a networking skills workshop to Halliwells plc today, a major UK law firm.
What is so unusual about that? Simply that my audience was made up of first year trainees, many of whom only started work last week. The modern day firm realise that bright capable young people can attract new business WHEN THEY ARE TRAINED TO DO IT PROPERLY.
Do you and your company need help? If so have a look here

Things kids say.....

Ann Davies my Business Development Director has recently been on a family holiday. On one particular day while she was relaxing by the pool, her 6 year old daughter, Morgan, shouted out "Mum, you don't earn as much money as Dad because all you do is sit at a computer all day while day works really hard fixing things for people". Ann's husband is a joiner. Ann thought this was hilarious that a child this young can have these thoughts! How naive!

Children can say the most funniest things. I'm sure there are lots of you out there that can add to the list!
All contributions gratefully accepted

Pain -v- pleasure. Are you unfit and / or overweight?

Pleasure and pain are usually thought of as contrasting pairs. They are opposites of each other because one is considered to be good and the other bad. They are a pair because they represent two extremes on the same scale. According to SPINOZA’S DEFINITIONS OF THE EMOTIONS (Ethics Part III) pleasure is defined as "a passive state wherein the mind passes to a greater perfection," and pain is "a passive state wherein the mind passes to a lesser perfection."

I swam 40 lengths today. How boring was that 40 minutes? Very. But I'm home now where my mind has passed to a greater perfection.For me the pleasure of keeping fit is greater than the pain of being bored for 40 minutes.
If you believe you are unfit or overwieght and hate the pain of this try exercise. YOU WILL GET FITTER AND YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT. You don't even need to spend any money. Just go for a brisk walk for 30 minutes daily and watch the results.
The PLEASURE of how you will feel will far outweigh PAIN (not real pain) of having to exercise for just 30 minutes. Try it.

In very simplisitic terms,every decision we make, to do or not do something, is based on
'Do I want less pain or more pleasure?"

How much you you want to be a more effective networker?

Ask yourself these questions?
Why do you want to be a better networker?
What is the difference you want to see?
Why is it important?
What is cost of not being good networker? PAIN?
What could the value be if current to desired state? MORE PLEASURE
How would you know? PLEASURE?

Key reasons you should join formal networking clubs

1 They are safe havens for even the most inexperienced networkers
2 You market yourself to a number of people all at once
3 It helps you with your presentations skills and overall self-confidence
4 When you attend regularly you build trust- leading to people recommending you. Recently my friend Andy Bounds (great presentation skills presenter and trainer) got introduced to 2 companies which have become large clients. This was as a result of being a member of the largest breakfast networking club BNI. The funny thing here is that most people in BNI are involved in small businesses.
But think, “EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY’S SOMEBODY”

Mistakes people make when attending formal networking clubs

1 People don’t turn up as often as they should. Your fellow members have short memories, if you're not there referral business will be offered elsewhere

2 People don’t give the session the ‘space’ it needs. Get there early and aim to leave space at the end. That's where the real business is done, in the informal sessions.

3 Don’t go only thinking ‘What’s in it for me?’ Start with ‘What’s in it for you?’
Have a 'giving' attitude. The more help, advice and referrals you give your fellow members, the more you will get back.

4 Don’t just talk to ‘your mates’. Aim to speak to new members and guests before the event. The more people you meet the more opportunities you will create

5 Don’t be impatient. Networking is about building relationships. Don't expect business to regularly come to you for at least 6 months. It takes time for people to know, like and trust you.

6 You can’t build meaningful relationships at the actual meetings. Plan to meet fellow members on a one -to- one basis when you do that do you get a greater insight into their business an vice-versa. That way you will know how you can help and be helped.

7 Don’t be boring. When you present for your 1 minute make it interesting. Tell anecdotes, mention the different services you offer, even tell personal stories. People buy you before they will buy your services

8 Don’t have a narrow mind to connections. Remember the people round the table may not be your immediate target audience but they all know 200+ others. Everybody is somebody's somebody.

Reticular activating sytems + working the room

Focusing on two or three key business or personalissues does something else for your behaviour.
It triggers your Reticular Activating System.
Your brain is assaulted by thousands of messages each second. Everything you see, hear, smell, feel and touch is a message entering your brain. The Reticular Activating System filters through all these messages and decides which ones will get page one treatment - that is, arouse the brain.
One of the things we've learned from working with entrepreneurs is that you tend to pay attention to the things which are important to you at the time. If your currently dominant thoughts are about creating a new brochure, you'll start seeing other brochures. You'll hear conversations about brochures. You'll pick up ideas relating to brochures and even notice colors that would be attractive for the new brochure.
In other words, the Reticular Activating System will pass through anything even remotely related to the important issue - the brochure. From a practical point of view, this means that, if you want to solve a problem or achieve a goal, keep it at the top of your mind. Think about it, talk about it, write about it and imagine it completed. This is one of the reasons why affirmations work so well and why it is important to review your goals frequently.
If you focus on improving a specific key indicator of your business success, your Reticular Activating System will pass through sights, sounds, people and ideas even remotely related to that point of focus. In other words, if you measure it visibly, frequently and attentively, it will likely improve.
New Car?
When you bought that new modelof car you thought 'I'm going to be one of a few people with this . I thought that when I got my prized BMW. But now I have it it seems everyone in the world has one. All of a sudden I notice Beemers, before they were of no interest to me
WORKING THE ROOM
What has this got to do with working the room?
Read the blog on another day

Would you rather listen than read? This is fantastic

If you are lazy like me and would rather listen than read an Adobe document (PDF) click to 'view' on the top menu and you will see a line "Read out aloud". Click on there and just listen to the words...you lazy people.

We don't learn until we're really ready

Barny, my friend, said this last week and it got me thinking.There has to be a reason to want to learn. That's why kids often waste so much time at school. Who wants to learn geography or history? It needs a good teacher, a really good teacher to mmotivate.
And that's why I listen to self -help or learning audio CD's for a second and third time. I miss so much becuase of my selective listening. I listen to something for a 3rd time and think 'I nevre heard that before'. The reason being I wasn't ready to learn that bit on those first 2 occasions.
People who come on my seminars and workshops more than once for the same reason.They say that's new stuff. I quietly smile...inside

"There's no such thing as bad children, just bad parents"

I heard this today on an audio CD entitled "What to say and how to say it" by John Costigan.It is a CD about gaining more sales with lots of practical phrases when going through the conversations. The phrase above started a chapter in which he said "There's no such thing as a bad customer, just a bad sales person." Worth an investment if you want more business

Like ducks on a pond

This is such a pleasant time of year. Telephones aren't ringing, appointment calendars have gaps and there is time to reflect and enjoy life. It's so easy to coast through these lazy Summer weeks, letting time pass until things perk up. Why rush?
But under the surface, things are happening. It's a question of realizing at what level. Many companies and organizations use this time to plan and prepare for the coming season. Leaders are busy, using this time of year to plan ahead.

Managers and executives are already busy solidifying options for the balance of the year. They have the time and are open to new ideas. These important people are even more receptive to your suggestions during this period.

This week's tip:
---------------
Different networks have differing cycles. Synchronizing your activities with the needs of your different networks allows you to stay ahead of the relationship curve to supply value and deliver services when they have the most impact.
So who should you contact this week to ask about Fall product or service needs?

The above came from Michael J Hughes a Canadian networking guru. Well worth subscribing for his great newsletter

A day without accountants, solicitors or surveyors

My usual audience of the professionals was missing today. Instead I worked with business development professionals from the Principal Hotels Group. They have 6 hotels and I stayed at 3 of them. Top class buildings, top class service.
As an ex-accountant I'm always a littel wary talking to these full time 'sales people' about getting more business. But, hey, they gave me top marks and said they learnt lots.
Interested in talking to us about running an in house workshop for you? View here for details