I spoke at a  luncheon recently about networking and one young lady posed an interesting question that I would like to take the time to address here.

“I know that I need to network, but can you tell me which groups would be a waste of time.”  I am sure there was more conversation around that question than I am posting here, but that was the gist of the question.

My response to her was, “All networking without a strategy is a waste of time. It is not a matter of the organization being a waste of time, it is the strategy that you use within the organization  that makes it effective.”

BNI is structured systems intended to create success for it’s members but many people will leave the organization saying “It” did not work for them.  An organization cannot work for you, you have to work the organization.

What is your strategy?  Why you are networking?  Are you prospecting, looking for people to buy your products or services?  For instance, if your clients are dentist and you want to find more dentist, then most likely you are not going to find them at a chamber event.  You will need to do some research to find your target market!

Are you looking for referral sources,  other professionals who work with Dentist?   Who are these  professionals  and where do they hang out?    When you find the 6-8 people who work with the same client type that you do in a non-competitive way, your networking becomes far more effective,  more strategic.

When you have the people who can help you build your business you can then network for them.  Go to events as a team and work the room for each other instead of yourself.   Maybe it is not that you need to network more, but you need to network more effectively.  It is more about you and your strategy than it is about the organization you are joining.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

The world becomes a smaller and friendlier place when you network well. As a professional speaker I find there are times that I am gone for long periods from my home and office. When I am home it is only for a day or two to pick up a clean suite and catch another plane. When I get back for the next 2-3 days I feel like I have road head, tired and unable to fully focus and concentrate,such is the way today. That being said, I wouldn’t change a thing! I meet the most amazing people when I am traveling and networking. Last week in California I had the opportunity to share the stage with Dr. Ivan Misner, father of modern networking and Lindsay Adams, President of the International Speakers Association. Later I got great feedback from both of them on how good my presentation was, as well as how I might improve it for the next time. This is the kind of coaching and feedback you can’t pay for!

I had dinner with Lindsay & Debra Adams form Australia and Phil & Michelle Bedford from Dubai where I learned about some of the local customs and laws as well as the weather and best times to visit their countries. Both were more than willing to make connections, give feedback and share contacts should I need them.

In Florida, and the NACM National Conference I met a team from the UK who are looking to expand their business into the US. We had a wonderful discussion about the differences between business in the U.S. and business in the U.K. and how we might be able to help one another. Later I met Danielle Austin, a national expert on Export Letters of Credit for companies who are sending their goods overseas. We had a great dinner together since we were both there alone as presenters and learned how much Danielle loves what she does and how good she is at it.

In Canada, I met John Sawyer, President of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, and the Mayor of Oakville. Paula Hope a trainer and speaker put on a fantastic event that I was able to present at, she and her team went above and beyond the call of duty. While there I met Christel Wintelsl, BNI Director and National Franchise Owner for Canada again. I was able to spend time and build a great relationship with Christel and Paula which adds great value to my network.

So, why do I tell you all this and why do you care? Simple, networking is a 24 hour a day activity, anywhere you go. I could have chosen to hide out and work in my room at each of these events but I chose to network, to meet new people, to find ways to connect and build the relationships.

Networking is not just about going to events and meetings, it is about connecting with people exactly where they are and asking “How can I help you.” Good Networking is about listening to what others are saying, and not being the authority in the room. Good networking is about leaving your ego at the door and be willing to be present in the moment with the people around you. Good networking is a wonderful way to build not only your business, but your life.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

I had the opportunity to be at a BNI networking meeting this afternoon.  Each person went around the room and did a great job asking for referrals.  They were very clear about who they wanted to be connected to and very little rambling that I often hear when I listen to people ask for referrals.  But I was appalled at how many people were talking while others were asking for referrals.  Is it that hard to listen for 30 minutes?  Have we created an entire society of people who have Attention Deficit Disorder?

Listening is key to good networking, but it seems more and more people are either distracted by their IPhones, or have something so important to say to those around them that they cannot give one moments attention to those around them.

Stop talking, start listening and you might find that you can help others or at the very least, learn something new.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

This is a Question that I got on Linkedin, I thought it was very appropriate for this blog.

 In my coaching practice, clients (especially new entrepreneurs) often tell me they don’t want to nail down a specific target market because “everyone is a potential client” and/or they feel like they are missing out on business opportunities in other markets.

Have you nailed down one target market? If so, how did you go about making your choice? Did your target market choose you? How long after starting your business did it take for you to choose your target market?    Do you target more than one market? How do you balance your marketing?  Do you even believe that choosing a target market is essential to your marketing success? If not, please tell us why.

This is one of the toughest questions that I tackle with my students in the Referral Dynamics Program.  Generally business people think with a scarcity mindset, always afraid that they are going to miss out on some business regardless of the quality of the business.

For instance if I am an Insurance agent who writes insurance on anyone who has a business, then I am always running around trying to find anyone!  From the small one person business who has very little money to the multi-million dollar business.  It’s like shooting in the air and hoping that a bird will fly over.

On the other hand if I am the insurance agent who is an expert in working with Attorney Firms who have one or more partners in the Central Indiana area, I know exactly where to spend my time and my money marketing.  IF a CPA Firm calls my office and ask me to write a policy for them would I say NO?  Heck no, I would do business with them.

Declaring a target market does not mean that you cannot or may not do business with anyone else, it just means that you will have a target to aim your message to and spend your money on.  When the time comes to recruit Referral Partners they will be easy to find and easy to train.

It allows you to develop yourself as an expert so that your target market seeks you out instead of you searching for them.  It allows your customers to create a buzz about you!  Take a moment and ask yourself the following questions……..

1.  Who do I like to work with?

2.  What makes me the most money?

3.  What market do you have the greatest experiece in?

4.  Is there a market less served?

Building yourself a strong target market will allow you to work less and make more money!

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

I thought you might enjoy the following Q&A that I provided to a national publication writing about how small business owners can succeed in a recession.

1. What tips can you provide for organizations looking to maximize their marketing budgets?
Focus, focus, focus. The biggest problem right now is that people are spreading their marketing efforts too thin. It is much better to call one warm prospect than to send a cold mailing to 1,000 people from a database. Focus your efforts on the most profitable and likely prospects.

2. What brand building techniques do you recommend during a recession?
In a bad economy, people only pay for things that solve immediate, serious needs. Take a look at your marketing messages and determine whether they address such a need. Think in terms of Emergency Care vs. Prevention. Long-term marketing messages simply aren’t selling right now, so you need to dig deep into the “pain” your customers feel and tell them how you can help.

3. Are there marketing activities you have increased as a result of the recession? If yes, can you provide an example?
I’m offering more workshops and short-term projects that deal with specific problems (per the above answer – long term strategy just isn’t as attractive right now).

4. Are there specific campaign examples or strategies that have worked particularly well despite the recession?
My marketing business has actually grown in the past six months, and my pipeline is full. I think it’s because I saw the consumer mentality changing and applied what I said in numbers 1 and 2 to my own company.

Job dissatisfaction? Having trouble paying your rent? School graduation? Some events triggering a career decision may be in your control – like school graduation. But others, like layoffs or disability, are not. Either way, you can make progress towards choosing a career that meets your needs by looking at what motivates you.

First, make sure you do the suggested exercises in our article, “Learn More About Yourself.”

Second, think about how your career needs fit into respected psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. This diagram of the hierarchy, courtesy of Wikipedia, may help you prioritize and put your career criteria in perspective.

To give you some ideas, I applied career choice to Maslow’s hierarchy, from the bottom up:

Physiological: physical and mental ability to do the job, income helps you meet your physical needs (food, water, shelter)
Safety: positive job outlook and security, doing what is morally comfortable
Belonging: being part of a team, professional network, community
Esteem: pride in your work, your career, and confidence in your abilities
Self-Actualization: reaching your potential and maximizing your life experience

See how your matching career options fit with Maslow’s 5 categories of needs. While no career is perfect, your final career choice should meet your needs in all these areas.

This blog post was graciously submitted to BizzyWomen by The Career Key Blog, run by Juliet Wehr Jones, J.D.  The Career Key™ gives you expert help with your career search and career choices — career change, career planning, job skills, and choosing a college major. Our career assessment helps you find a career by matching your personality with careers and providing you complete and accurate information about each career you choose to explore.

I am not a Techie but I do love technology and more than that, I love to network.  When I can combine the two together I am really happy.  Twitter has allowed me to do that!  One of the keys to nurturing your network is to stay in communication.  Communication also allows you to develop relationships that you can add to your network.  Twitter allows me to  maintain visibility and create credibility with my network.  Recently it has allowed me to create some profitability.

Here are some tips for those of you who want to use Twitter in your networking strategy.  These are a few things that you should know, beyond that have fun.

Important Things to Remember When Using Twitter

• Be Authentic- Be you
• Read Others Profiles and Tweets
• Find Local People to Follow – Use Search for your town or city
• Follow those who follow you – after you read their profile
• Send a Personal Direct Message (DM)  to those who follow you
• Do more than post your Blog or your website to the tweet stream
• Retweet Others- Retweeting is key, when you read a good tweet, RT
• Try to keep your follow/followers about even
• Read and Comment on others Tweets/Blogs
• Recommend others to follow
• Keep it positive
• Engage and again be Authentic
• Go to some Local Tweetups & meet the people you have been tweeting with.
• Follow your Network Members, you are able to communicate more frequently with them.
• Lean more by following links that your followers will often provide.

Most of all, have fun, don’t become addicted, but be consistent in your tweets. You will find that you are starting to build relationships with some of the people you do not know and enriching those that you do.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

I went to a networking event last week, and it was really a very good event, lots of vendors, lots of people in attendance and a great deal of networking going on.  But the one thing that I found very interesting was the very large table going down the center of one of the rooms.  On this table were hundreds of stacks of business cards and people were going around the table picking cards up from each of the stacks.  As I watched this go on, I had to ask myself; “What are they going to do with all of those cards that they are gathering?”

We become annoyed when people cold call us, we gripe, we complain and we sneer at the people calling us, but we put our cards out there for the taking.  Doesn’t laying your cards out on a table just cry out to others that you are open to be solicited? I know, I know, you thought that by having your business cards out there they were going to sell something for you,  not to you, right?

The next most common complaint that I hear from people everyday is the amount of Spam Email that they get.  Don’t you think that when you are laying your business cards out on a table for people to just pick up randomly you are asking to be put on a mailing list.

Here are 4 things that I do not recommend that you do with your business cards

1.  Don’t lay them out on a table so that others can just randomly pick them up.  There is no value in having a lot of people who have never met you, had a conversation with you or shaken your hand taking a bunch of your cards.

2.  Don’t put your cards on a bulletin board in the grocery store.  Let me ask you a question, have you ever made an appointment with a financial planner who’s card you pulled off of a bulletin board?  If you are the Financial Planner is this the level of clientele that you are really looking for?

3.  Don’t give your card to people who have not asked for it.  I go to networking event on occasion and I am amazed at how many people give me their business cards without ever having a conversation or little conversation with me.  Make sure that people ask for the card before you start handing them out.

4.  Don’t go around the room and lay one of your business cards all the way around the table.  I often see people lay their cards stuck in an ink pen with their logo around the tables of a networking event.  They want to make sure that everyone has their card.

Your business card is an extension of you and your business, it is the one thing that you leave behind that allows me to follow  up with you.  But, it does not sell anything and it does not create a relationship with me, that requires that you and I get face to face.

If you want to just randomly hand your cards out at least you should get something for it, so you can drop them into fish bowls and win free meals, free gym memberships, makeovers or a free financial reviews.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

This post is a part of PRofessional Development Week. This special week, originally to last from March 2 to March 6, will be extended. Here is one PRofessional extra.

This is a guest post by Dave Baker, a student at St. John Fisher College. Dave is a PRSSA chapter president and has previously served as vice president of client communications at PRIMA Connections (SJFC’s student-run firm).

This week I received some great advice and I felt it needed to be passed along. I have been seeking some help on which career path to choose among the many that are available to the future PR practitioner. My new mentor handed me a brochure for an upcoming seminar.

Now, I am no stranger to seminars. I attend them whenever I can, but this time it was sort of different. I asked her who was speaking and she hadn’t bothered to look yet. I asked what the topic was and again she didn’t know. Not only did she not know but also she didn’t completely care. “It isn’t about the topic or the speaker, it’s about who you can meet and that’s why you need to go. And while you are there, you should see about joining.” By the way, the speaker received high praise, as did the topic once her point was made.

I never thought of it this way. Sure, the speaker matters, when you have the job, as does the content but I don’t have anything yet and that was her point. Early in your career, you join as much as you can and attend whatever possible just so you can meet people. It’s always been about who you know and what better way to find friends, mentors, internships and even the inside track on the job hunt than to get out there and talk to the people who make this happen.

This discussion made me think about the events I have attended through PRSSA and other organizations and I realized I have been going about my seminar selection all wrong. I looked at what I would like and see what I can get out of it. I realize that this isn’t a great strategy for networking at all. I should look at the event and determine who is going to be at there and decide if that is the group I want to get to know. The social media marketing measurement group is a world apart from the non-profit fundraising one but attending both would provide me with the least amount of crossover and the most contacts.

Like I was saying, I have gotten a lot out of what I have seen so far and as I am about to graduate I think this is the best time to pass along the tips I have taken away…

1. Get there early. The best contacts are made before the food is served, as many people can’t invest the afternoon in socializing after the speaker is done.
2. Bring a friend. Any experience you see as a good one is worth sharing. Plus, two people can work a room easier than one.
3. Meet the people working the registration table. It is so nice to walk in to a room full of strangers and see that familiar face behind the registration desk. Not only can they expedite getting you in the room they can also be a great resource to connect you with a stranger.
4. Get on the mailing list. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to rearrange your life if you are among the early invitees and you can pay online adding that “I’m a regular attendee” air about you.
5. Meet the speaker. You just paid $25 for lunch that was probably chicken French and you sat through a presentation that every professional in the room saw as valuable. Maybe you should think about meeting this person that was identified as a valuable resource by the sponsoring organization.

The bottom line about attending any event is ROI. What is your return on the money you spent and time you invested in attending. What everyone fails to realize is in this case ROI is what we make it. No one is going to hand you the perfect job just for showing up or introduce you to a wonderful employer if they nothing good to say about you.

Put yourself out there at these events and reap the rewards of your efforts. It only takes one good contact to make an event a success but you have to take that first step.

Rachel M. Esterline works as an account executive for Central Michigan Life, the nationally award-winning school newspaper at Central Michigan University. She is as an account executive for PR Central, CMU’s student-run public relations firm and as a public relations executive with the Student Government Association. Additionally, Rachel serves on the executive board of the Public Relations Student Society of America at CMU and has completed a seven-month internship with her university’s public relations and marketing department. Rachel will graduate in May 2010 with a degree in public relations with minors in journalism and communication.

Blogging is easy. Blogging does not generate traffic easily. You need effort for that. If you want people to view your blog, you will have to work to establish attention. I have put together some tips about generating traffic to your blog. So, let’s explore some tips on promoting your blog.

Link your blog to all your profiles on the web. Add your link to your website, your signature line, forums, and any correspondence you may have. You also want to add this link to your profile pages on SUN, Stumble, Ryze, MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, AIM, Twitter, Facebook, Squido and anywhere else you have a profile established. If you have profiles on Classmates or on an alumni directory, add a link to your profile on these sites. Blogging is all about linking. Don’t miss an opportunity to promote your blog.

Drop comments. Post comments to other blogs as early as you can. People always see the first 5 posts. Sometimes they do not stick around to view post 152. Post often to get your name out there and into view. If people keep reading informative responses, they will click on your link because you’ve gotten them curious. Leave comments on other blogs in your target market or interest areas. It’s always good for networking and for marketing your own blog and business. Other bloggers and viewers will then click onto your link to view your blog. This is what you want.

Check your blog stats and see who is visiting your blog. Google Alerts is just one program you can use to receive updates on when your business is mentioned online.

Submit your blogs. Submit them to such venues as a Blog Carnival. This is a great resource that many people forget or just don’t know about. There are many and the subjects are varied.

Get your blog onto a directory. Technorati springs to mind. It seems that everyone knows about their company directory right now. However, there are more companies out there. Here are a few to consider: BlogHub, BlogHer, and BlogCatalog.

Again, these are just a few tips that I’ve come across. There are many ways to promote your blog. You just need to remember that you need to work to gain the traffic. You cannot just write a blog without promoting it.

So, how do you promote your blog? Did I miss anything? Let CMJ Office know.

Colleen Degnan Johnson
CMJ Office