Original source article here

The 20 Most Important Questions In Business


Companies fail for a host of reasons. Bad luck plays a role, sure, but disaster usually strikes because of a more fundamental flaw--in the original idea, the strategy, the execution or all of the above.

When it comes to building a business, even Warren Buffett would agree that no one can spot every opportunity or anticipate every threat. There are simply too many variables. And in an increasingly competitive global economy, those variables are changing faster than ever before.

What entrepreneurs can do is ask the core set of tough questions that govern the fate of any enterprise. Armed with those answers, they stand the best chance of beating some fairly dire odds: Studies estimate that just two-thirds of all start-ups survive the first two years, and less than half make it to the fourth.

In Pictures: The 20 Most Important Questions In Business

Make no mistake: Digging for those answers is a grueling exercise--one that takes serious intellectual and emotional honesty. With any hope, the process begins long before money's been spent, products are built and customers are lost.

The real challenge, though, is to keep digging as the business grows. New opportunities and threats emerge, and yesterday's answers may not--and probably won't--suffice. Relentlessly asking the tough questions is how behemoths like Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ), Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) and General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ) stay on top.

With that in mind, we present the 20 most important questions entrepreneurs need to answer--and keep answering--to build their businesses. Some highlights:

1. What is your value proposition?

This is the single most important question of the bunch. If you can't explain--in three, jargon-free sentences or less--why customers need your product, you do not have a value proposition. Without a need, there is no incentive for customers to pay. And without sales, you have no business. Period.

2. Does your product address a viable market?

Entrepreneurs are passionate to a fault. Many fall in love with an idea before confirming that there's any viable market for it, let alone one large enough to attract investment capital. If a market doesn't yet exist--the toxic term of art here is "white space"--they assume they can create one. (Hint: There may be a reason for all that white space.)

3. What differentiates your product from the competitors'?

Few companies can rely on--let alone afford--clever marketing schemes to separate themselves from the competition. Yes, Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ) made people believe they wanted $4 caffeinated concoctions, and Louis Vuitton lulled people into shelling out $1,500 for denim handbags, but those are the exceptions that prove the rule. If you want to win in business, you need to offer something tangibly valuable that the competition doesn't. Examples: rock-bottom prices (Wal-Mart); ingenious product design (Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people )); extreme convenience (Fed Ex (nyse: FDX - news - people )).

4. How big is the threat of new entrants?

If you're smart enough to spy a profitable business opportunity, you can bet competition isn't far behind. Some barriers to entry--patented technology, a storied brand--are more fortified than others, but eventually someone will find a way to do what you do faster, cheaper and maybe even better. If not a direct competitor, then a substitute technology might take a chunk out of your hide. (Think what digital film did to Kodak.) The trick: building a loyal following before that happens.

5. How much start-up capital do you need?

Any early stage investor or small business consultant will tell you that most businesses fail because they were undercapitalized. The lesson: Figure out how much you think you need, and then add plenty of extra cushion.

6. How much cash do you need to survive the early years?

It doesn't matter how much money your business might make down the road if you can't get out of your garage. Plenty of business plans boast hockey-stick-style financial projections but run out of cash before the good times kick in. (Remember all those busted dot-com companies from the tech boom?) Three words: Mind the cash.

7. How will you finance the business?

You have a few choices: Aunt Sally, credit cards (dangerous), angel investors, and if you're really onto something, venture capital. Forget bank loans (at least until the cash is flowing in a positive direction). As for selling shares to the public, what with all the regulatory hurdles, you might find the price of that exposure a tad steep. If you can bootstrap your business, do it; raising money is difficult and distracting. If you plan on stumping for capital, consider how much equity and control you're willing to give up. (The more you need the money, the stiffer the terms will get, so ask for it sooner than later.) Finally, always remember to match the timing of cash inflows from your assets and the outflows to cover liabilities. A mismatch can sting.

8. What are your strengths?

Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) writes powerful search algorithms; Steinway works wonders with wood; Cisco (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people ) sniffs out promising new technologies and buys them. Figure out what you're good at and stick to it. An obvious notion, perhaps, but plenty of zealous entrepreneurs lose their way--especially when the world seems so full of possibilities.

9. What are your weaknesses?

You may know how to design a widget, but not know a thing about running an efficient manufacturing plant. Apple designs and markets its nifty iPods and iPhones, but lets someone else slap them together. Countless Webpreneurs farm out the design of their sites and back-office payment systems. Wasting resources just to be mediocre is suicide. Stick to core competencies and find trusted partners to handle the rest.

10. How much power do your suppliers have?

Convincing customers to buy your products is tough enough without suppliers giving you a hard time. Basic rule of thumb: The fewer the number of suppliers, the more sway they have. Take the steel industry, which relies on a handful of companies for its iron feedstock. If two of those big guys should get together--as BHP Billton and Rio Tinto have been discussing--they would have significant pricing power, potentially crimping steel producers' margins. On the flipside, beware getting hooked on low-cost providers who don't keep an eye on quality. ("Lead-laced" Barbie, anyone?)

11. How much power do your buyers have?

Take a lesson from Delphi, the giant auto parts supplier stuck in Chapter 11 despite its $26 billion in annual sales: It's no fun to be in a business where a few big customers can demand price cuts with each passing year. Meanwhile, movie theaters--even while besieged by video-on-demand and other services--still manage to push higher prices on the disaggregated masses. The cost of a seat at a Regal Entertainment Group theater in lower Manhattan is now $12--up 20% in less than three years.

12. How should you sell your product?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to wooing customers. For two decades, Dell Computer bypassed retailers and sold directly to customers, with limited tech support. General Motors and Coca Cola rely on distributors to move their cars and cans. Clothing companies like Ralph Lauren work both internal and external channels. And thanks to daily, intensive sales training, privately held Lazy Days moves some $800 million worth of RVs out of one sprawling location near Tampa, Fla. Whatever sales method you choose, make sure it aligns with your overall business strategy.

13. How should you market your product?

Young companies have to get the word out, but they also can go broke doing it. A decade ago, America Online spent so much money flooding the planet with free trial software that it tried to mask the bleeding by capitalizing those expenses on its balance sheet. (Regulators later nixed that accounting treatment, wiping out millions in accounting profits.) What percentage of sales should go toward marketing? As with sales, there is no one rule of thumb. For more, check out Six Marketing Strategies Worth Paying For.

14. Does the business scale?

Bill Gates plowed piles of money into developing the first copy of Microsoft Office. The beauty: Each additional copy of that software program costs next to nothing to produce. That's called scale--and it's the difference between modest wealth and obscene riches. What models don't scale? Think service businesses, where the need for people grows along with revenues.

15. What are your financial projections?

You can't lead if you don't have a destination. Two critical milestones: 1) the point where more cash is coming into the business than going out in a given period, and 2) the point at which you finally recuperate your cumulative initial investment (including an adjustment for the time value of money). Financial projections should be reasonable. Paint too rosy a picture and seasoned investors will run; more to the point, you might run out of cash.

16. What price will consumers pay?

Get this answer wrong and you could leave bags of money on the table--or worse, send customers running into the arms of the competition. When Apple sliced the price of its iPhone by a third after only two months on the market, even loyal customers screamed, forcing chief Steve Jobs to apologize and offer a partial rebate. Consultants get paid handsomely to help companies arrive at the right price. For more affordable advice, check out "The Six-Step Guide To Pricing Your Product." Wannabe consultants should read "How To Price Your Consulting Services."

17. How do you protect your intellectual property?

Imagine slaving for years on a new cellphone battery that lasts more than two days, only to watch it reverse-engineered and patented by someone else. Before you ask anyone to crank out a few prototypes, file for a provisional patent. It protects your idea for a year while you work out the kinks. For more on intellectual-property protection, check out Protect Your Prototype and The Patented Path To Profits.

18. How do you keep the help happy?

What's Google worth without its super-geeks? Goldman Sachs without its number crunchers (and their golden Rolodexes)? The local bar without old Jim manning the tap? Not much, which is why attracting and retaining talent is critical to so many businesses. For starters, that means crafting the right benefits package. Starbucks sets a fairly high standard: Health benefits are available to any Starbucks employee who works at least 20 hours a week and has been with the company for more than 90 days.

19. How committed are you to making this happen?

About a year ago, Chuck Prince, recently resigned chief executive of Citigroup, addressed a group at New York University's Stern School of Business. An audience member asked what life looked like at the helm of such a colossal firm. Prince responded that, save for a few exceptions, every evening for the next five months was already accounted for. Fair warning: If you want to run the show, get ready to give everything--and then some.

20. What is your end game?

Running a business with an eye toward flipping it to a strategic buyer is a lot different than digging in for the long haul. (Will YouTube ever turn a profit? Who knows, but that's Google's problem now; the same goes for MySpace and News Corp.) Not sure whether you want to build the next great empire or just make a decent buck? Ask yourself the following eight questions.


More here...

Original source article here

Are You Maximizing Your Potential?


Professional sports teams recruit for it. Venture capitalists invest because of it. Companies develop succession plans based on it. What element do all three situations share?

It’s potential. From the Latin word potent or potens, meaning power, potential is defined by Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as “existing in possibility” and “capable of developing into actuality.” Are you maximizing your potential? Have you even stopped to consider what it is?

Our coaching and study of human potential has spawned some consistent findings and consequent themes regarding potential.

It is unique to each individual.

It encompasses each individual’s skills, talents, interests, values, beliefs, drive, commitment, work ethic, and anything else that makes him or her "tick."

It is only truly realized when an individual is honest about himself or herself, when an individual continues to learn and grow from life experiences and when an individual is passionate about what he or she is doing.

Since potential is such a vast topic we will explore it in subsequent newsletters. This edition encourages you to explore the first two critical components of potential. The intent is not to tell you what to do to maximize your potential, but to encourage you to explore the critical components of starting the process. Since exploring potential demands that we stretch our brain, we are going to go through this process simply by asking questions. Why this approach instead of the usual step-by-step approach?

Amy Hutchens, author of Brain Brilliant, reveals “The brain triggers on questions, not statements. Your subconscious mind responds to questions far better than it responds to statements or wishes. If you turn a statement, resolution, or goal into a question, you can trigger your brain to take action because the first thing it will naturally want to do is answer the question. By setting goals through the formation of questions you can incite your brain to take action toward reaching the goal and increase the likelihood that you will attain it.”

Since only you can determine your potential, maximizing it must begin with a self-examination process, not a dictatorial one.


What do you think your full potential is? If you examine your goals with what you think you are capable of then add what others see in you, what does that look like? What could it be beyond that? If money and time were not issues, what would you be doing personally or professionally right now?

One of the things we find through our coaching sessions is that few individuals actually take the time to think beyond the crisis of the moment or the goals for the year. Giving oneself permission to think, even fantasize about a topic like personal potential seems like a luxury, not a necessity as it should be. Add 20 years to your age right now and ask "Where do I want to be in 2023?"

Are you clear about your strengths? Have you assessed or re-assessed them recently? If so, are you leveraging them? How?
A client of ours recently experienced a career growth “ah ha.” While he could provide value to his team, to his company, and continue to meet the objectives set for his division, he failed to look at what he was really good at. His true strengths included an uncanny ability for strategic thinking and business development. A lifetime of training in the operations side of business kept him in positions that involved his technical skills. While he could continue to be successful in this realm, it would, at some point, become stagnating for him if he didn’t move to an area where he could leverage his strategic capabilities.


Are you aware of your blind spots, areas of development, derailers, or weaknesses? Use whatever terminology you want, but do you know what will get in the way of your next promotion, level of excellence or being your personal best?

The higher we climb in a company, the more savvy we become at negotiating the politics in our organization. The greater expertise we acquire in our chosen field, the more difficult it is to receive honest feedback.

The common experience is that those who work for us and even with us are more likely to take “the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes approach” rather than tell us what they really think. It is up to each of us to pursue leadership training, a coach, mentor, or experiences that help us examine traits or behaviors that can hinder our growth.

Do you know what you want? If so, are you on the right path to achieve it? Do you have the right resources in place to keep you on track and hold you accountable?

In the book What Makes Winners Win? by Charlie Jones, an interview with Pat Riley stated that “Earvin Magic Johnson developed the most important skill that any player, any person can develop. He knew exactly what he wanted. He knew that he wanted to be a basketball player, and he found role models. He modeled himself after these people and he dreamed about it all the time. He visualized himself being a great player.”

Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots stated “If you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there. But once you know, then it just takes hard work and perseverance.”

Sometimes we stay with a career just because the degree we received dictated a specific path. Other times timing and opportunity take over and we find ourselves moving from one thing to another because it seemed like the thing to do at the time. Neither of these approaches is wrong. But both of the quotes from Pat Riley and Robert Kraft, as well as our experiences with our coaching clients reveal that knowing what you truly want, then plotting a course to get there, provides the edge for maximizing potential.


How much time do you take to work on mastering your game, working on YOU and thinking out of the box?

Michael Gerber author of The E-Myth Revisited states that growth and potential will only be maximized if you “work 20% on your business, not in your business.” While this practice is critical for business growth, it holds true for personal growth as well.

How can you possibly maximize your potential if you stay in the “doing” and “execution” day in and day out?

Tiger Woods discloses one of his secrets. “The true essence of golf is capitalizing on opportunities and minimizing mistakes. It is a thinking man’s (or woman’s) game. Your creative mind should be your greatest weapon. While managing your game you should be constantly assessing situations, factoring in variables like changing course conditions and deciding on whether or not to play the percentages. It entails mental toughness, self–confidence, intimidation, gamesmanship, conquering inner demons, instant recall of past successes and being able to quickly purge failures. It’s the game within the game.”

What better advice for maximizing personal and professional potential!

More here...

Original source article here

Preparing Your Elevator Speech


By Dale Kurow

So, what's an elevator speech, and how do you get one?

What Is It?

An elevator speech is a short (15-30 second, 150 word) sound bite that succinctly and memorably introduces you. It spotlights your uniqueness. It focuses on the benefits you provide. And it is delivered effortlessly.

Elevator speeches are intended to prepare you for very brief, chance encounters in an elevator. But elevator speeches are not just for elevators! You should use it whenever you want to introduce yourself to a new contact. That could be in the supermarket, waiting in line at an ATM or when you get your morning latte.

So, who better than you to describe with passion, precision and persuasiveness what you do? A great elevator speech makes a lasting first impression, showcases your professionalism and allows you to position yourself.

And if you want to network successfully, you need an elevator speech!

How to Prepare an Elevator Speech, or What's My Line?

Now for a short course in preparing your elevator speech, or unique selling proposition.

First, and most important, think in terms of the benefits your clients or customers derive from your services

Trust me, no one is going to be riveted if you say:

"Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I'm a public relations executive with twenty years of experience."

Or:

"Hi, I'm Sally Hopeful, and I'm an executive recruiter.

Two big yawns.

What's In It for Me?

Do you recall that old radio station, WII-FM: What's In It For Me?!

If you remember that people are always more interested in how you can help them, you're on the right track. Keep that top of mind when composing your speech.

Here's how to improve the two examples mentioned above:

"Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I help inventors tell the world about their inventions."

"Hi, I'm Sally Hopeful. I partner with companies that need to find talented people to help their business growth and become more profitable."

Now, you've got my attention!

Let's use my elevator speech before and after as an example:

Here's my before version (and I wondered why people looked at me with a frozen smile!):

"Hi, I'm Dale Kurow, and I'm a career and executive coach. I hold a Master's Degree in Career Counseling and have been trained by a master level coach. (Who cares!) I've been an HR director for a multinational cosmetic company, run a PR agency and taught college-level business courses. (So what!) I believe that coaching can be the catalyst to change your life. (Are you asleep yet?)

See how that was all about me, me, me?

Now for the revised version:

"Hi, I'm Dale Kurow, and I help people become more successful at their work. For example, I've helped a client change jobs with a 40% salary increase, I've helped a client develop the skills to deal with a difficult boss, and I've helped a manager devise new ways to keep her staff motivated."

Here are a few more examples:

I know an Avon representative who says:

"I help women look beautiful."

Or a business coach that says:


"I help you get more clients than you know what to do with."

And here's my favorite, one that is used by an IRS agent:

"I'm a government fund-raiser."

Action Steps

So, here's what you need to do to craft your elevator speech.

First, write down the "deliverables" -- the services or features that you provide. Then, think in terms of the benefits that your clients or employer could derive from these services. You could use several successful client outcomes, as I did.

Once you've got that written, create an opening sentence that will grab the listener's attention, as our Avon representative did above. The best openers leave the listener wanting more information. And you do not have to include your title, especially if you think it has a negative connotation (an IRS agent, for example).

Finally, your elevator speech must roll off your tongue with ease. Practice your speech in front of the mirror and with friends. Record it on your answering machine, and listen to it. Do you sounds confident? Sincere? Is it engaging? Tweak accordingly. Then, take it on the road!

Copyright © 2002 Dale R. Kurow. All rights reserved. You may copy or distribute this article or any of its contents providing this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author are attached.

About the Author: Dale Kurow is a career and executive coach in private practice. She helps individuals find success and personal enrichment at their vocations and works with corporations to maximize the potential of valuable employees.

Contact Dale by e-mail at dkurow@nyc.rr.com or by telephone at (212) 787-6097. You can also sign-up for the FREE Career Essentials e-mail Newsletter at: http://www.dalekurow.com/enewsletter_signup.html Designed to transform the way you think about your career.


More here...

Original source article here

People Know People

By Russ Kovar

I recently entered the keyword "networking" into Google. In 0.13 seconds, it returned 21,600,000 entries. Amazing! What's even more amazing was when I entered the same search ten minutes later 200,000 additional entries were found. Countless articles and information are available about this subject. By reviewing the latest information, many of you are taking the first step towards learning more about networking tools and techniques.

Remember the old saying, "It's not what you know, but who you know." Not only does this hold true today, but there continues to be a growing emphasis on the importance of people connections. Business, job and people networking have become the norm, not the exception. Baby Boomers and Generation X professionals use networking in almost every aspect of their daily lives in order to gain greater success in today's competitive business environment.

Networking is a powerful tool that offers the promise of impacting our lives by opening endless people, company and information channels. It helps us establish new business contacts, locate and land challenging career positions and interact with people who have common interests and goals. As a young adult seeking my first job, it took a while to understand the very simple premise that people know people. Twenty-some years later, I realize the potential for using this new found tool for seeking advice, information, recommendations, referrals and support.

Not long ago, mention the word networking and most people either didn't understand what you meant, or those with a technical background thought of a computer network. Today, most people understand the term in a general sense, however do they really understand the process, benefits and dynamics that link people together?

Don't assume everyone understands what you mean by networking.

Lillian Bjorseth, author of "Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last," said most people fail at networking because they don't really understand what it is. "Networking is not a personal platform for you to tell people how wonderful you are," said Bjorseth. "It's a dynamic process that links people into mutually beneficial relationships." A key success factor for effective communication is establishing a common understanding of terms, goals and expectations. Once established, you are better positioned to target specific goals and objectives. Many job seekers know from experience that the average person assumes you are seeking only contacts that have job openings. Based on this assumption, it's easy for them to simply say, 'I don't know anyone who is hiring right now.' By educating new acquaintances first, you will not only avoid this problem, but open their minds to exploring a much broader group of resources.

Without getting into the "dos & don'ts"…a list of important things to keep in mind:
- Explain networking in simple terms including your goals and how it benefits all parties.
- Assure contacts that you understand they are busy and value their time.
- Provide an option to meet or have a phone conversation.
- Explain that your focus is to develop a two-way exchange of information that is mutually valuable:
- Ask about their job, company and latest challenges, hobbies, what they excel at and listen for ways that you can help them.
- Find ways to give back to your contacts through interesting and informative articles, referrals that might assist their business, scheduled events or even social or hobby information.
- Be a courteous communicator, and always express your appreciation for assistance.
- Good relationships take time to develop; they don't happen overnight.

Building a diverse network with an eye toward the future, including different business sectors, job responsibilities, cultures and geographic locations will provide a more comprehensive group of resources. Allow yourself time to establish relationships based upon trust, common values, interests and goals. Use your contacts effectively and recognize that each one is different and each group must be approached uniquely.

Types of Contacts

Your contacts will typically fit into three groups: (1) people you know, or warm contacts, (2) those referred to you by a business or personal contact or referral and (3) people you do not know, cold contacts. Warm contacts should not be taken for granted. Ongoing exchanges of information with warm contacts may be easy for you, but ask yourself if you are achieving your goals. Your closest friends, business associates and co-workers may provide ongoing support, advice and information, but may not necessarily be your strongest or best resources. Referrals can be introduced in person, by phone call or via e-mail. Remember that someone thought enough of you to provide a referral, so treat both individuals with professionalism and respect. Find a common thread when working with cold contacts to help you open the door or perk their interest. Use something you know about their company, a person they know, an association they belong to or an article you read that might apply to them. Don't under estimate the potential of anyone. You will be pleasantly surprised, if you make the effort to establish a relationship. Don't become so wrapped up in developing your own network, that you overlook the benefit of providing referrals to your contacts.

Persistence

Accepting rejection and maintaining a positive and persistent approach are key to your success. Not everyone will have the time, energy or desire to talk with you. Set a time table for yourself that includes follow up calls and e-mails. If you fail to receive a response by the end of your defined period, move on and concentrate on those people who are receptive to talking or meeting. Cultivating and developing good working relationships takes time, patience and the right touch of persistence. Each person has unique values, which, when combined with your overall group, form a strong alliance.

Research is a very important part of developing your network.

Gaining information about companies, people, products and trends all require research. Google, www.google.com is one of many excellent tools for fulfilling your research requirements. Many times you will find limited company information, but you will be able to identify names of the management team or decision makers. By entering a very simple search using Google, you can locate every occurrence of specific companies and potentially a broad range of information valuable to your research. First, identify the company website, example: Sears Roebuck & Company is www.sears.com. Enter the following search "@sears.com" into the Google search field. The information returned from this search will provide company information, articles, personal e-mail addresses of employees and many other sources of valuable information. One of the most valuable pieces of information you may find are employee e-mail addresses. Using the e-mail format, you can now e-mail decision makers and people who might be able to assist you within specific companies.

The influence of people who know people increases our ability to lend assistance to friends and colleagues, leverage the expansive community of resources available and help us become more successful. Every individual has their own style of working, socializing and getting through their daily life tasks. Develop a networking style that recognizes your individual strengths, weaknesses and purpose.


More here...

Original source article here

Power Networking


By By James A. Ziegler

With a high-school education and poor parents, I realized early on in my career that my personality was my biggest asset. There are many moments in people's lives that they identify as a "turning point" ...something that had a lasting effect on the direction of their life from that point forward. One of those "turning points" in my life was the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.

I realized that human relationships are a science that can be studied and quantified and improved. In later years, when I took the Carnegie Sales courses, once again that same light bulb went off. I realized that "Sales" is a precise and measurable science.

In "The Seven Habits of highly Effective People", Stephen Covey refers to a person's "circle of influence" as one of the most productive forces in their lives.

As a successful salesman, and later as a highly productive sales manager, it has always been my ability to network with other people and to generate new business through referral and introduction that gave me my biggest victories.

In business, sales and marketing, it is important that we get to the decision-makers. I am looking for that direct link to the top person, the one person who can overrule everyone else about whether or not they will buy what I am selling. What I am looking for are those people who can help me with a direct introduction to a decision-maker as opposed to a cold call to someone at a lower level in that organization. I believe in doing business from the top down.

In most business environments,the only way to get new business is to take it away from someone who already has the account. You have to defeat a working relationship between your client and someone who already has that business. But, when you meet with a decision-maker as an invited guest...a friend of a friend...the atmosphere is warm and your presentation is welcome. How many sales people have you known that spent all of their time chasing " mind deals"...sales that were never going to happen?

One of the first things you will need to learn is an original principle that I call "Gathering People". When first setting up your network, you need to define your circle of influence. Who do you know? It really doesn't matter who they are or what they do. I try to meet and get to know as many people as humanly possible in virtually every walk of life.

Once you have met anyone in your industry that might be of help to you and your business, never lose them. I am talking about everyone here...receptionists...secretaries...sales people... assistants... janitors...anyone who even remotely might talk to a decision-maker. I database a lot of people that you might consider insignificant BUT my experience has taught me to go after the business by building all of the allies inside that company at any level that I can. You never know when the boss is going to casually mention your company in front of a secretary or an employee who is going to say something really positive about your business and swing the deal your way.

One of the greatest speakers and motivators of our time, Zig Ziglar, taught me a basic philosophy that has helped me to increase the quality of my life in almost every way, and that is... "You will always get what you want by helping other people to get what they want."

The difference in setting up a productive network and simply "using people" to get what you want lies in the fact that you set up the relationship by doing something for them...without a specific reward in mind. Whenever possible, without a specific goal or reward in mind, I make it a point to help other people. It all seems to come back to you.

I have landed hundreds of profitable business opportunities as a result of a conversation with someone that I met on an airplane. Through the years, I've done a lot of business through contacts that were referred to me through contacts that were referred to me through contacts in my immediate network and circle of influence.

Building a network is easier than keeping it. As an example...how many of those people who were your closest friends in high school are you still in touch with today? How many of them know what you are doing today? And, do you know what their doing today? Have you been guilty of wasting, and eventually losing, the people you gathered through out your life?

You will never have an effective network unless you have superior contact management skills. I remember their names, their spouse's names, their children's' names and I can tell you what they do and what their dreams are. I database everybody.

In my business network, I database my contacts and projects. Whether you are using ACT or GoldMine or any other application, you have to be able to keep a lot of balls in the air at the same time. Whenever possible, I always try to get as much re-contact information as I can without being offensive. I can't tell you how many people were so grateful that I kept in touch with them after they left a company that they took my business to their new employer when they finally landed.

The most important advice I could give someone about networking for success is to educate the people in your circle of influence about exactly what it is that you do and what type of business you are looking for. I send my friends and associates videos and brochures and handouts about my company and me as if they were the clients. Let them know you would appreciate any help and referrals they could give you.

Once you have built these relationships, never let them go. When I am in my office, I will make as many as a hundred telephone contacts a day. Most of the conversations sound something like this...

"Hey Jennifer, James Ziegler, Listen I just called up to see how your business is doing. I really don't have an agenda for this call, just wanted to let you know I hadn't forgotten about you. By the way, have you been getting my newsletter? Good! I hope my people are following up with you? Great! By the way have you checked out my new website? Fantastic, thank you, we did a lot of work on it...Thanks. Hey listen, I've only got a minute but I wanted to say hello...Is there anything I can do for you? Okay...Glad you got that deal...I'll call back soon."

Not only do I stay in touch with my clients but I am also calling my circle of influence, my network. These "Telephone touches" are not business calls. There is no agenda. Just calling to see how things are going. Rarely do these calls last more than a couple of minutes each, but it keeps us in each other's minds. And, my calls always end the same way... "Hey listen, before I go...is there anything I can do to help you today?"



More here...