Monday, January 29, 2007

When you go to Peterborough, you must stay here

I went to stay in this small hotel called the Queensgate. Reda, the general manager, sat in the bar making me feel I was at home.
Busines travel is very lonely.
He has even offered to get me to my business meeting by getting one of his team drive me there.
Now that is customer care!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

“And the car repair man is part of the team.”

Giles Long, the Paralympics double gold medal swimmer said this in his talk recently. See below. He was explaining without his parents, his coach, the man who kept the pool clean, the physio and even the man who kept his car on the road, he couldn’t focus on what he had to do – win medals at swimming events.
I am the luckiest man in the world. I have a great support team around me so I can concentrate on doing what I am expected to do – train and present in networking skills. My team get lots of the work, organise my travel, the finances, ensure the client has everything ready for when I turn up In fact everything is done for me . My old coach Chris barrow used to say “Frank Sinatra never moved pianos.” That’s me; I just turn up and do it.
So many times when I ask people what they do, they say “Oh I’m just a ….” Even if I don’t know them I scold them for using the word ‘just’. They are part of the team and as long as they do the job they are very important.
Here’s my team…I can’t manage without them

Going to Malta

Wow , am I going to be famous in M A L T A !

Kintish did some good networking.

I recently attended an IoD breakfast to listen to a fascinating speaker called Giles Long. More about Giles here. In fact the truth of the matter was I never actually went listen to the speaker, I rarely do.
I go to network. So as we say on our seminars get there early and try and dawdle at the end. Often the speaker just interrupts the main purpose for being there. That’s my thinking anyway. Hearing a good speaker, as I did on this occasion, was a bonus!
I met a person on his own…the speaker…early on so got to know him a little. I got chatting with a few people I didn’t know and without being rude brought in others to the group who were on their own. You become very popular when you think’ host’ and not guest.
I only approached ‘open’ groups and met a lady which could be the start of a mutually beneficial business relationship.
I reconnected with Jack and we are following up.
I was even able to interest 2 people in joining the Professional Speakers Association of which I am national treasurer.
A well-spent 2 hours I felt

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Watch out at your local DIY store...

I'm not usually one for posting warnings about potential scams but I had
>a close miss today. I walked into B&Q and some old guy dressed in orange
>asked me if I wanted decking. Fortunately, I got the first punch in and
>that was the end of that. Those less suspecting might not be so lucky.
>
>>Be careful out there....

7 important guidelines when you join networking clubs


1 Turn up! People forget you when you're not there.
2 Have a giving mentality. Work hard for your fellow members. Networking is about WIIFY (What's in it for you) rather than WIIFM (What's in it for me).
3 Get there early and try and 'loiter'afterwards. At the formal networking part of the meetings you can't really build relationships or talk serious business.
4 "What do you do?" answer this in a clear, interesting and price way. peopl really want to know what you can do for them. What I am is a presenter, what I do is help people who find networking a challenge, just how easy it is.
5 Meet on a one -to-one basis at either your or their business premises. In fact over the period of, say 12 months, aim to have a 'home' and 'away' fixture.
6 When you spot an opportunity to introduce Jack to Jill, make it easy for them by calling Jill to ask Jack they will see Jill. Explain why you think the meeting would be good for both sides.
7 When you are given a lead , always always follow up. Whether anything comes of it or not always say thank you in the appropriate manner

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Bosses and Leaders

A boss drivers.

A leader coaches.

A boss depends on authority.

A leader on good will.

A boss inspires fear.

A leader inspires enthusiasm.

A boss says, “I”.

A leader says, “We”.

A boss fixes blame.

A leader fixes problems.

A boss knows.

A leader shows.

A boss says, “Go”.

A leader says, “Let’s go!”

“Do you add value or cost?”

This was a question asked by my friend John Barnacott of the Training Department at my networking club, the MBBC, last Friday.
A great question when we go into marketing, selling and promotion of our services. When we believe we can add value to other businesses, we should have no fears about following up potential opportunities. After you hear some one has a challenge or problem they can’t resolve it is your duty to attempt to offer your services and products to alleviate the issue. As long as you don’t pester, keep at it. As long as the value your client or customer receives is greater than your charge then a great piece of business has been done that day…for both parties.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Birds of a feather...



We all know the quote. This phrase is so relevant to networking. When we meet strangers we are naturally nervous and sometimes a little defensive.yet when we discover our kids go to the same school, we support the same football team or we both collect stamps from Timbuktoo rapport is built extremely quickly.
Small talk is the foundation of the building of relationships. When you do the small talk but spend a little longer being interested than interesting you often spot the something in common. clues for topics of small talk are here in the picture.

It's official, Kintish is a world authority

When you view here you read all about it in The Times

Monday, January 15, 2007

When people like you....


they only see the best in you.Building rapport takes 90 seconds, when doing it properly says Nicholas boothman in his great book
How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less

Learn to network ....in MALTA!

Kintish is presenting in Malta
This will be held
16 February 2007
Westin Dragonara, Malta
It looks fantastic and the cost of the seminar is only about £100...much less than UK prices!
More information here

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Note to the legal professionals

"In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment."
Charles Darwin


Are you ready for the new era?

This era was heralded by the Clementi Report which will soon be established in legislation.

This is a genuine revolution in the way in which legal services can be delivered. The bar, solicitors and all others who are interested in multi-disciplinary practices will have to review their business models and their approach to their clients.

Do not be left behind in the inevitable changes that will occur. Not every change is for the good but every change requires careful consideration and a measured response.

Behaving like an ostrich will do neither you nor your clients any good at all and you must have your development and marketing plans in place well before the new legislation becomes operative. Hitting the ground running has never been more important.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Don't increase your printing bill unnecessarily

You speak to someone at an event, you chat to someone on a plane, you meet someone at great Aunt lena's 86th birthday.you chat for 5 minutes and 32 seconds and they hand you their business card and say, "If ever you're looking for an expert on XXX do give me a call."
Would you ever? I wouldn't. Building trust takes time, you have to be patient. a very dangerous activity is recommending one person to another when you aren't sure of both of them.




BUT when you are it is a win/win/win situation.The person you refer is a winner, the person you have introduced him to is and you definately are.

a pure selling opportunity ( for me!)


This is the cover to our 1 hour DVD showing you the wrongs and rights of working a room.
When you view here you get more details.

What do you do?

This question is asked every time we attend an event (business and social). And you know what? People are only superficially interested in your answer. What they really want to know is, “can this person be of any use to me?”
The answers I sometimes hear people give makes me think they must hate their career or job.
I have just worked with a law firm and we role played the question. She pretended to be someone alone at an event and I approached and asked the question.
This sparky young lawyer said, “I’m a lawyer…but please don’t walk off!”
It was funny, made me and the other delegates laugh. Lawyers and accountants seem to have a problem answering that question with any degree of enthusiasm whatsoever.
Are they ashamed of what they do? I don’t think so. It’s just that the PR about their professions has got to them!
So what’s the answer to this problem? Try
“What I am is a lawyer but what I do is help my clients when…..



When the accountant says, "I help my clients grow their busines or save tax" the picture you paint in your mind at that instance changes very quickly from grey to colour!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Management and motivation

It is said, “You can’t manage people, only projects. You lead people.
Jim Collins, the management guru who wrote a brilliant book “Good to Great” (for entrepreneurs…it’s a MUST READ) once said
“Spending time trying to motivate and manage people is a complete waste of time. What you want to do is find people who are self-motivated.”

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

What's your attitude like to marketing and business development?


If it's your business you ought to be doing something every day to raise your visibility both with existing clients and / or potential new ones.
If you are an employee you ought to be doing something every day to raise your visibility both with existing clients and / or potential new ones and or other poeple in other departments in your company.
In today's fast-moving world we get forgotten so quickly. People need to keep being reminded that you exist, continue to be in business or working at your job and you are avilable to help solve their particular issues.
STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS IS VISIBILITY

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Get your hunting / farming balance activity right

I recently heard a top motivational speaker , Denis Waitely being interviewed. His website say
Denis Waitley is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and productivity consultants in the world today.
His clients and audiences include Fortune 500 top executives and multi-national corporations; small business owners and entrepreneurs; Superbowl and Olympic champions; astronauts and U. S. Armed Forces; world leaders and foreign governments; Educators and youth groups.

He must be good.I picked up one particluar piece which will help my business this year. When asked by the interviewer, my friend Peter Thomson, what he might have done differntly after looking back at his illustious career he said, and I paraphrase,"I would have spent more time with existing clients and not kept simply looking form the next new contact. I feel I could have offered the existing ones far more value had I gone down that road."
One are for improvement in our business this year is to revisit all the clients we have worked with since starting to offer new and imrpoved services to HELP THEM GAIN more clients and business.
Business development is about adding value to your clients not just pushing services and products. Every time we do some work with our clients, if they don't gain more value than the fee we charge- I'd rather not take the fee1 And I mean that.
so reassess.
More farming,



less hunting.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

How can you be more successful?


In the 6 years I have been in business I believe these are the traits you need
1 Self-belief. Believe you're a good person who has something valuable to offer
2 Having an abundant, giving mentality. Give without remembering, receive without forgetting.
3 Be proactive. Don't wait, take charge, make the first move.
4 Build a reputation for being a reliable person. Do what you say you're going to do. Do it when you say you're going to do it.
5 Be visible. Market yourself and your business every day. People forget quickly. If you have something you believe others need and want, ensure they know you're still around and in business.
6 Be enthusiastic and show enthusiasm in whatever you do. If you're not, why should others want to buy you or from you?
7 Become a life-long learner. Attend conferences, read books,listen to CD's. Our world is changing rapidly...keep up or you'll be left behind offering out-of-date services , products and views.
8 Last but I think the most important. Be persistent and resilient. 'No' generally means 'not yet'. Things change which means today's 'no' can be tomorrow's 'yes'.If you don't follow up and keep in touch you will be forgetten. Cope with and manage rejection.It's not you who is being rejected ( if it's business!), it's only the offer of your services.

Friday, January 05, 2007

People love talking about themselves

When I train and advise people on networking skills i say, "let the other person do most of the talking. be a good listener, encourage others to talk about themselves." In fact you generally don't have to encourage becuase people love talking about themselves.



I have just spent 3 hours with some great people who are working with us in planning to get to the next level in our business.
Scarry really when you actually stop and think about the 'now and the future'. BUT I did love talking about myself and the business!
So, if you find attending events a challenge,take the focus of yourself, ask good questions , listen carefully and you will spot potential opportunities.
All you have to do then is follow up!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Why do people recommend you?

People recommend you because they like you and trust you - the 2 fundementals of any reationships.
People like you when you build rapport with them. You find things in common and they perceive you as a 'nice' person.They see you as friendly, as a giver, as someone whose comapany they are happy to be in. Being an epathetic lister can take you a long way in the building of rapport.
Trust takes time to build. Here you need to be reliable- do what you say you will, when you say you will. Commit to your promise. Committment is doing what you say you will long after the mood has taken you.You get recommended when you and the work you do is trusted.
Over-delivering and under-promising is the key. Exceeed your clients' expectaions and people will refer you to others.
A reactive but the cheapest way of business development.
AND never forget to thank your referrers in the appropriate manner. Hand-written cards are the best way.

“We get what’s in their head to come out of their mouth”

My friend Mark Fitzmaurice of Dale Carnegie North of England says that what his management training company does.
I thought 'hey what a great phrase'. That's what Kintish does when helping people walk into a room full of strangers and get them to talk!

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Know the secret of Macdonalds early success?

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Quote from Ray Croc – founder and chairman of McDonalds

Just be nice to people

I recently got a phone call from an event management company on behalf of a large law firm. The lady in question had never heard of me, and when I asked her why she had phoned, she told me she had been recommended. When I asked her who recommended me she told me it was a very well known fellow professional speaker. This person and I had never met to the best of my knowledge…and memory.

Not only have I not met this person, but I don’t ever remember him listening to me speak. Whether I get the job or not is irrelevant but what I did decide to do was phone this gentleman and thank him. When I asked him what prompted him to recommend me, bearing in mind, a) we had never met, and b) he had never heard me, he said he knew of my reputation, but that two years ago at a conference I had sat next to his business manager. At that moment I thought ‘so what?’ but he then went on to tell me that I had been really nice to this guy and given him lots of tips and techniques about networking and that he had never forgotten me!

What does one learn from this…just be nice to everyone.

Who was this gentleman recommending me? No other than the famous Robin Seiger! Here is his website and his details if ever you need to book him as a world class top speaker.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Networking on New Year's Eve

Did you attend an event where most of the people were strangers? I did...I didn't even know my hosts! No,I wasn't gate-crashing.I and my wife stayed with relations, they were invited, we tagged along...after an invitation.

Socialising -v- business
I can talk to anyone,any time, anywhere but I must say it's so much easier attending a business event where I don't know people.There, everyone starts off on the same platform, i.e. looking to spot their 'ahaa moments'.Everyone is in business and most people are nervous.
Now don't get me wrong I had a great time on December 31st but after the 'What do you do?' and how long have you lived here ( They were all ex-pats) it got harder. It got even harder when I realised everyone had retired but me and they were all members of the same social network. Everyone was very welcoming and we had a great laugh but I did have to work hard at having a nice time with these strangers.
Good to be out of my comfort zone for a change!