To be effective with your business networking-lead generation activities, you must look and act professionally at all times.  After many years as a leader in a business-to-business networking organization, I’ve seen my share of people who do not or act professionally.  Here are a few of my pointers on how everyone can increase their professional presence at your next networking event:

• Dress for Success– to be considered professional, you must dress like you mean business!
• Come Prepared – Bring plenty of business cards, a pen, and paper.
• Be on time – Would you be late to a prospect’s or client’s office.? Absolutely not!  Show up on time and be present.  Show up early so that you can have adequate time to visit with everyone.
• Engage – Look people in the eye when greeting and speaking to others.
• Always give a firm handshake.
  • Ladies, shake a man’s hand like you mean it.
  • Gentlemen, shake a lady’s hand like you would another man.  Do not give a soft or limp handshake.
• Cell-Phone Etiquette – Leave it in your car.  Or…turn off before you enter the premises.
  • DO NOT TEXT WHILE IN THE MEETING…It’s rude and you are not engaging with the other participants.
  • Remember you are being judged by others as to your level of professionalism.
  • Besides, you would never, ever go into a prospect’s or client’s office and pull out your phone as you sit down.
• Client/Privileged Information – Be respectful of your prospects, clients and your company.
  • Even though you might not be in an industry that is legally binding to keep confidences of your clients, keep in mind that anything that you say about your existing clients, prospects or your own company could be overheard by a competitor and cause irreparable consequences.
• Have a Plan – Make sure that you have a plan for your networking activities.  Don’t attend meetings without first creating an agenda for the event.

Excerpt from Peggy’s book, “5 Keys to Effective Business Networking” © 2014.

For over 30 years, I have grown my business exclusively with “warm” referrals, never cold calling.  I work with individuals and sales team to coach them how to grow their business effectively.  To hire Peggy for your next sales meeting, contact her at 214-725-7626.

Peggy P. Edge © 2018

LinkedIn® is one of the most powerful marketing tools that you have in your sales toolbox.  Use LinkedIn to get recognized as an expert in your industry; research companies and their key management teams; and to connect for former colleagues and vendors.

Here are a few of Peggy’s Pointers to help you get the most out of LinkedIn:

• Connect ASAP
  • As with any networking activity, be prudent to follow-up with a prospective connection within 24-72 hours.
  • Things happen and sometimes we get behind the 8-ball. If there has been a time-lag since you met the prospective connection, be bold and remind your contact how, where and when you met.
• Personalize your connection request
  • Create an invitation that is uniquely tailored. Interview your potential connection through a customized email.
• Request to connect
  • Only send a request 1 time. Keep in mind if your prospect doesn’t respond immediately, they may not be an active user of LinkedIn.  The system will remind them there is a request to connect.
  • For example, I met several keynote speakers/trainers at an event in January.  Afterward, I reached out to all of them to add to my professional circle.  Several responded immediately, however, there were 3 who didn’t respond until last month.  I chalked that up to the fact they travel extensively and simply didn’t have the time to reply promptly.
• Content is King
  • Limit your posts to 1-2 times/week and only 1 time/day. If you bombard your connections with blog posts or ads, you could be setting yourself up to be blocked.
• Personal contact policy
  • Some people like to connect via direct email vs through LI messaging.
• Notification Updates
  • LinkedIn notifies you of your connections’ updates of a new job, an anniversary, and a birthday. Keep in touch with your connections by writing a personalized congratulatory note.
  • Recently I created a letter to send to all of my LI contacts whom I haven’t had contact within several years.  This letter was geared to inform my contacts about new product/service offerings that I am currently marketing   The response was great.  Several people reached back to me with a request for more information.
• Groups
  • LinkedIn allows each person to be a member of up to 100 different groups.
  • Even though you can be a member of 100 groups, select 3-5 key groups to join and be active with content and engagement to them on a regular base.
  • I recommend that you select groups within your industry as well as prospective industries of which you expect to market to.
    • Since I am a packaging specialist, I am a member of several packaging groups.  In addition, I am a coach/consultant therefore I also belong to groups that specialize in coaches.
• Endorsements
  • LinkedIn allows up to 50 skill endorsements per person. Only endorse someone for the skills that you are aware they possess.
  • To receive endorsements, it’s okay to contact 6-8 of your connections asking them for a specific endorsement. Send an endorsement request especially if you have recently gained new skills via training and/or project experience.
  • Keep your request to a minimum of 1-2/month.
• Recommendations
  • The best way to receive a recommendation of your work/skill-set is to give one to someone else.
  • Be specific in your recommendation request otherwise you may receive a standard blah response. Don’t be afraid to send a rough draft with details of which you want to be recommended.
  • If you have recommendations that are not completely flattering to you, remove them from your profile.
  • Only request 1-2 recommendations per month.
  • Be sure to send a thank-you note, preferably a hand-written one.
• Update Function
  • Before you make any changes to your LI profile, be sure to go to your Privacy and Settings and turn-off your broadcast update function until you have completed changes.

I work with individuals to update their LinkedIn profiles and help make it functional as a marketing tool.

Peggy P. Edge © 2018

www.peggyedge.com

   LinkedIn®(LI) is marketing tool that can help you get recognized as an expert in your industry.  It is an extremely powerful marketing tool of which we can all benefit.  I am a coach and teacher on how to create an effective LI profile.  Recently I provided a presentation on LI to my networking chapter which is made up of 16 members.  I was amazed by previewing all of our members’ profiles as to how many have incomplete profiles.

The thing I’ve learned about LinkedIn® over the years is that most people think of this program as a tool for head hunters and recruiters.  This is true but if used to its fullest, LI can be a tool to find clients, to find untapped opportunities, and to be recognized as an expert in your industry.

For example, a couple of years ago, I received an opportunity to present a workshop at an event where the planner found me on LinkedIn® when she searched for a “business networking expert.”  My name came up first on that list because I have that term listed as my Headline (title).

Peggy’s Pointers on LinkedIn®:

• Create all of your descriptive points in a word processor before you copy to LI.
• The most important section of your LI profile is to create your Summary and include a career objective and a statement about who you are and what you do.
• In addition, make sure that your Work Experience is complete on every company that you have listed.  Be very descriptive of the company and what product/service it provides; a statement about your job description; and a statement about any additional job responsibilities, including learned skill-set you have acquired.
• Go through your entire profile and add information in each of the categories.  For example, even if you didn’t graduate from college but attended, include the information under the education category.
• Draft a list of all of your expertise…leadership, software proficiency, publications, etc.  Include your skills in bullet form at the bottom of the Summary.
• Engage with your connections regularly.  For example, under Notifications at the top of the Home page, will periodically list birthdays, work anniversaries, job changes/promotions.  Drop each one of your connections a short note just let them know you are thinking about them.  This is a great way to renew acquaintances of folks you haven’t seen or touched base with in a long time.
• In the Interest section, you can follow Influencers, Companies, Groups, Schools.  Follow those people and companies that are of interest to you is a good way to know what is going on with each of them.

Finally, do not be bashful about your accomplishments and/or skill set.  You never know when you just might have particular expertise that a prospective employer needs for their next project or job.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2017

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Peggy Campagna, Peggy Edge, Debra Sanford – Great time on Saturday, April 22nd with the ladies of WOVI – Women of Visionary Influence, celebrating their 15 years as a dynamic organization.

When was the last time that you negotiated a raise or promotion?  Do you get a little weak in the knees at the thought of asking your boss for a raise?

Recently a friend of mine was lamenting to me that she needed to get a part-time job to supplement her income because she had not received a raise in over 3 years.  She explained that she had been instrumental in getting a raise for 15 of her employees but not one for herself.

I said, “Well, we need to change that.”

As we worked together over several weeks, we came up with a firm plan for her to get in front of her boss and boldly ask for that long overdue raise.

Here are a few negotiating pointers that you can use to ask for your next raise:

• Research the salary range of your current position in the area of which you live.  Go to: www.salary.com for reliable information.
  • Decide exactly what dollar figure raise that you expect to receive.
  • If your company traditionally only grants a percentage cost-of-living raise, you must decide if this is reasonable based upon your research.

• Update your resume and LinkedIn profile to include:
  • Continuing education classes – those for credit or industry/expertise education.
    • Include any certifications that you hold.
  • If you are working on a degree or certification, list that with the expected completion date.
  • Projects of which you have been involved.
  • Committees that you have participated.
  • Include all of your external business accomplishments – civic, networking, education, etc.
  • Have you been awarded industry honors?  Include those.
  • What new skills have you learned or attained since your last evaluation?
  • Include any publications, including White Papers you have produced, even if you are the co-author.
  • Are you a volunteer with any community or civic organizations. Include these under Community Service, especially if you hold or have held a position as the leadership team.

• Make a list of all of your accomplishments since the last time you received a raise or had your an annual evaluation.
  • Don’t forget to include industry and community accolades of which you have been honored.
  • How many people do you supervise?
  • Have you been instrumental in creating work improvements objectives for your department and/or for the entire company?
• Make a list of proposed updates, changes or work initiatives that you have determined you can generate.
  • For every recommendation, write a justification to match.
  • If you have a coach or close friend, use them as a sounding board to role-play with them to work through all of your proposals.
  • If you have worked for your boss for over a year, you should be accustomed to what his/her response will be.
  • Think through the possible responses that you will get based upon his/her reactions and be prepared to defend your points.

• List key skill-sets that you have expertise including:
  • team leadership.
  • upper management skills.
  • computer expertise – list programs that you are particularly adept.

• Above all, never go into an annual review without being armed with your written list of what you have accomplished and how you plan to be instrumental in growing the organization in the coming year.

After coaching my friend though these tips, she not only received a raise but also was promoted to Vice President of the company!

You too can be successful in negotiating a raise and/or promotion.  Just remember, everything is negotiable.  Be bold and be prepared to receive a “Yes” answer!

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2017

Peggy is a Certified Professional Coach who works with individuals to set career goals and objectives.  Her focus is to guide her clients to a win-win.

How many times have you attended a networking function only to find that everyone there gives virtually the same 30-Second Commercial?  It goes something like this…

“Hi, my name is Lucy Jane Jones and I am an Account Representative for Jones Sales Associates.”  Uh, I sell Wonderful Widgets.  If you have a need of a Wonderful Widget, we give $10.00 discount if you mention my name at checkout.  Hmmm, our office is just down the street on the next corner in the bright shiny high-rise on the left.  Omm, you can call me anytime and I’ll be glad to demonstrate our Widget to you or your office manager.  Lucy Jones with Jones Sales Associates, home of the Wonderful Widget.”

Please, just shoot me!

An effective 30-second commercial absolutely must be:

• Engaging
• Creative
• Educational
• Memorable
• Paint a verbal picture for the audience

Nothing is engaging, creative, educational, and memorable or paints a verbal picture about the script above.

To engage your audience, most of us are like 5-year old children.  If you are talking to them, the easiest way to connect with them is to:

• Ask a question
  • Lucy could have started her commercial with:
    • Let’s see a show of hands. How many of you have seen the Wonder Widget that just hit the market about a month ago?
  • Now in a room of 25-30 people, you would think that 1-2% of the attendees have seen an advertisement run on local television for this new product.

To be creative, Lucy could include a statement that includes the corporate tagline for this new product on the market as her opening statement.

To be educational, Ms. Jones could declare 1-2 key pointers of what the Wonderful Widget will do for you.

To be memorable, bring a sample of the Wonderful Widget for a show-n-tell to her audience.

Finally, to paint a verbal picture, Lucy could enhance her commercial by describing in brief, concise terms, what are the various features of her product.

Now to pull all of these elements together, Ms. Jones will also need to include three elements so that her audience can determine how they can be of assistance to her in the marketplace.

These three elements include:

• The WHO
• The WHAT
• The WHY

WHO – Who are your prospective clients?

• Who are your prospective clients?
• What level of management are they?
• What industries are you looking to penetrate?

WHAT – What product and/or service do you offer?

• Concentrate on talking about only one product or service at a time.
• If you have more than one product/service, create different commercials for each.

WHY – Why do people need this product/service?

• You are describing your Value Proposition to the prospective client.
• What problem or pain-point does your product address or solve?

You might use the following form to help you craft an effective commercial:

I work with (who)______________________________________________

I provide (what)_______________________________________________

So that or because (Value Proposition)_____________________________

Your Name and Company_______________________________________

You might ask, why do I say my name and company last?  Shouldn’t I say those things first?

No, because your name or company does not engage the audience.  Remember you have to grab their attention with the first few things that you say.

Other things you can do to improve your 30-Second Commercial is to:

• Start your commercial with a question that helps them to think.
• Make a statement about something that pertains to your industry or product offerings.
• Tell a very brief story about how you have helped a client solve a problem. This is particularly effective if you are in a service industry rather than marketing a product.

If you will combine all of the points on crafting your 30-Second Commercial, your audience will be more apt to help you with referrals.

Finally, after you have tweaked your new commercial, try it out on a colleague.  When you are confident that you have whittled it down as lean as you can get, use a timer and practice-practice-practice.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2016

Business Networking–what is it?

Is Business Networking about attending a meeting,  gathering  business cards, calling those contacts to sell them?  Absolutely not!

Many of us are sitting at our desks today trying to figure out where we are going in 2017 and how we will get there with our business.  

Let’s explore a few key points that you can work on to get started for the year.

It is: Being Passionate about Giving First.

• Zig Ziglar wrote in Closing the Sale:  “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
• Most people have the idea that networking is all about getting referrals and sales.
• However, networking is all about giving first.

It is: Building and Developing Synergy Partners.

• A synergy partner is someone who is taught how to promote you and your business to others in the marketplace.
• To build and develop an effective synergy partner, get together with your connections for a sit-down 1-1 to explain and teach them who your best prospects are, what product and service your offer and why someone would want or need your expertise.

It is: Sharing your Expertise and Talents.

• We all have unique expertise.  Don’t be afraid to share that with others.  Sharing your expertise and talents goes back to your ability to give first.
• Always be willing to give first.

It is: Being a Resource and Connector of people.

• Be willing to share your connections with others.  When you give of yourself, then there is always the opportunity for someone to give back to you.

It is: Your EDGE over your Competition!

• The marketplace is flooded with individuals who have the same products and services to offer.  Many times, the only thing that you will have that distinguishes you over your competition is your connections.

Therefore, to be effective in your networking activities if you give first; build and develop your synergy partners; share your expertise and talents; be a resource and connector of people, then, you will have earned THE EDGE over your competition!

_________________________________

Edge Consultants provide 1-1 personal, group coaching and in-house sales training to corporations.  If you or your sales team would be interested in an in-house and hands-on training on how to maximize these 5 key pointers, call me at 214-725-7626  or check out my website at:  https://www.peggyedge.com/my-edge/speaking/ for more details.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2016

Face-to-face networking has been the primary way for sales executives to connect with potential buyers for many years.  Some of us are still a little slow to embrace social media to it’s fullest as a means to grow our business.

I will be the first to admit that I’m still a neophyte at networking but I work on it every day. Folks, social media is here to stay and we might as well roll up our sleeves, cinch up our belt and get savvy at one more way to make connections so that we are able to seize opportunities.

To improve your overall lead generation effectiveness, here are a few tips on how to improve with social media:

• Make sure that all of your social media profiles say the same thing.
• Give yourself a title that is descriptive of what you do. For example, I do several things–Business Networking Expert, Speaker, Author, and Industrial Packaging Specialist. List what you do as your Title, not the position that you hold within your company.
• Create a Summary of who you are and what products or services provided. Again, make sure they are consistent over all of your media.
• Write a short statement, one paragraph, about each job that you have held.
• Toot your own horn by including all Awards and Honors that you have accumulated over the years. People truly read this stuff when they are checking you out.
• List all continuing education or self-improvement coursework that you have taken.
• Connect periodically with your tribe to let them know you are still alive and kicking.
• Write short, to-the-point, articles or 1-2 sentence posts on your social media.
• Comment on posts by others. This will draw more attention to you and what you are up to.
• Join groups in your industry or in industries that you want to penetrate as clients

Other places where you can connect with me include: Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/PeggyEdgeFanPage; Twitter: ttps://twitter.com/PeggyEdge

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2015

I have been a member of the National Speakers Association for three years.  Back in the summer, I was honored with the 2016 President’s Award of the National Speakers Association of North Texas.

If you have an interest in becoming a public speaker, you might check out the NSA organization.  It is a great learning experience to jump-start you into the professional speaking industry.

www.nsaspeaker.org (National’s website)

www.speaker.org  (North Texas Chapter of NSA)

Networking: Your results are directly proportional to the effort you put in–have a plan.

Networking is work.  Really!  If you expect to reap maximum benefits from attending and joining a networking organization, it requires more than just showing up, passing out as many business cards as possible and collecting cards from fellow attendees.

To be effective, you must start with a strategic networking plan which boils down to being a part of your overall marketing-sales plan for the year.

To develop your networking roadmap, first you will need to evaluate what you overall objective will be.  A few questions that will help you determine your expected outcome includes:

• What is my reason for networking? Write down as many criteria that you can identify.
  • Make synergy partner connections?
  • Find more qualified prospects?
  • A need to find educational opportunities?
• What groups fit my ideal networking profile?
  • Are the members of the same professional level or higher up than I am?
  • Do the industries represented fit my need for a prospective client base?
• Are the membership maintenance requirements conducive to my schedule?
  • What will be expected of me as an active member?
  • What alternatives are available if I am unable to be in attendance?
• What do I have to bring to the table?
  • Will my leadership talents, mentoring expertise be of use to the leadership team or other members.
  • Will I have leadership opportunities?
• What is the overall Return on Investment (ROI) for membership in the group?
  • What are the hard costs of membership? Dues: national/local, meals, etc.
  • What will it cost me in time commitment? Time to get back and forth to the meetings, length of the meetings, time to participate in any additional extracurricular activities associated with membership of the organization.
  • Are there any hidden hard or soft costs associated with involvement as a member?

These are only a few questions that you should be asking yourself as you evaluate the usefulness of a prospective networking group.

Once you have identified not only the details and expectations of joining a networking group but also all of the hard and soft costs of membership, then you are ready to start shopping around to see if there is a local group that fits your requirements.

Next, attend numerous groups as well as several meetings of each group before you make a final decision to join.  Interview several of the members to see what their ROI has been.  Offer to buy the leadership a cup of coffee to explore how you would fit into the organization.

Finally, when you have conducted all of your research, then you will be ready to make an informed decision as to which group is a good fit for you.  After you have made your final decision, re-evaluate your ROI every quarter to make sure you are still meeting the original objectives of your networking plan.

Peggy P. Edge © 2016