NetWorks! Boise Archives - Page 3 of 5

Are You Creating The Opportunities Or Just Responding To Them?

Or, to put it another way, are you proactive about creating deals or do you just sit back on your ___ and wait for the phone to ring? Are you a salesperson or are you an order taker? Sales pro’s are always, one way or another, out prospecting for new opportunities. Yes, I said prospecting.

I had actually set up a draft of this post several months ago (title only) and then had promptly forgotten all about it. Then a couple of weeks ago, one of our NetWorks! Boise Valley members, Justin Tarpley with CableOne Business, pipes up in the meeting and thanks everybody for the general shared leads that people had been providing and indicated that he had actually called on a number of these and had been able to successfully secure their business. I was floored. “Justin, let me get this right. You are actually calling on leads that were not specific referrals for you and you are making sales!!!???” Well, what a novel idea 🙂 Continue reading “Are You Creating The Opportunities Or Just Responding To Them?”

Defining The Consummate NetWorks! Boise Member

The other day I was pondering the question … “What characteristics make up the consummate NetWorks! Boise member?” Actually, I think about that a lot. Some members in our group do extremely well while others … not so much. We have guests who attend our meetings who would be perfect for our group, and who by all indications would be extremely successful, yet they choose not to join. Hmmm. Here is how I would define that perfect member. They …

Have a target market that is business – We have made the choice to focus our group on B2B vs. B2C. In this way, our members share a common target market. We do have members who do both and even have a few who I would say are primarily B2C. B2C members will rely largely on referrals and introductions vs. general leads. That’s great but, those do take more time as our current members will need to get to know that new member fairly well before they will directly refer them to one of their accounts or friends. At the same time, this B2C member will be expected to contribute B2B leads as that is the focus of our groups. Continue reading “Defining The Consummate NetWorks! Boise Member”

Instead Of Whining About Your Networking Group … Dial Up Your ROI

This is going to be one of my “tough love” posts 🙂 Let’s start this conversation by defining ROI. That stands for Return on Investment and not Return on Expense. Who expects a return on an expense (ROE) anyway? I’ve never even heard of that term before. However, every day we make investments with the hope, the expectation, of receiving some form of return. How many of you out there have actually invested in yourself? Invested in your own success? Investing in a networking group, any networking group, in terms of time and money, is exactly that. It is an investment and it in no way should this be confused with being an expense.

Still, I hear this all the time … “My company won’t pay my dues”. Assuming that your compensation is at least partially based on your ability to generate new revenues, I’d have to ask … “Why should they?” Of course, if they do, that’s very nice but, if you can invest $100 (time and money) a week and get $200 back in return and you won’t do it because your company won’t pay for your dues, who’s not the sharpest knife in this drawer? If on the other hand, you are a salaried employee, I would expect your company to pay. Enough said about that. Continue reading “Instead Of Whining About Your Networking Group … Dial Up Your ROI”

“I’m On Commission. I Can’t Afford NetWorks! Boise’s Dues!”

First let me state that NetWorks! Boise is not just for salespeople. Some of our best members are business owners & serve in a variety of capacities other than sales. That being said, if you are a commissioned salesperson and you are of the opinion that you can’t afford our dues, is that a joke? It must be because you can’t afford not to belong to NetWorks! Boise Valley! If you are a crummy salesperson, that’s different. Then again, we don’t want crummy salespeople anyway. NetWorks! Boise Valley is, quite frankly, a “no brainer” if you are at least partially compensated on your selling efforts and those efforts include cultivating new business.

Still, I hear it all the time …. “I can’t afford the $29 per week dues ($348/quarter) and my company won’t pay them for me.” Are you compensated, at least partially, by commission? Do you eat out for lunch at least once per week or do you “brown bag” it? How about coffee or a tasty adult beverage with a client or co-worker? Do you ever take clients to lunch?

Let’s talk about priorities and simple math. Your investment in NetWorks! Boise Valley is …. Continue reading ““I’m On Commission. I Can’t Afford NetWorks! Boise’s Dues!””

Sorry But, I Have No Leads To Share

Say what!? Last time I checked this was a leads group and you and everyone else in this room agreed that we would share leads. Weekly. “I don’t have any leads” just don’t work. We don’t do “empty hands” here 🙂 Sure, there are occasions when everyone will have a day when he or she comes up short, however, this should be the very rare exception to the rule and not the norm. Fact is, there are great leads everywhere and all you need to do is to open your eyes and your ears and carry a voice recorder (your phone probably has one) or a notepad. Being open to gathering great leads for others is merely a state of mind.

In my play book, there are three basic kinds of leads and all of them are valuable: Continue reading “Sorry But, I Have No Leads To Share”

You’ve Joined A Leads Group. Now What?

Despite the explosion of Social Media, make no mistake about it, there is still a place in the business world for the traditional “Leads Group”. While Social Media is a great tool for reaching out and finding new connections, networking remains very much a contact sport. Nothing can replace getting “nose-to-nose and toes-to-toes”, doing it on a regular schedule, and doing it with the people you have built a relationship with!

Therefore, if you have taken the first step and joined a local group, you might as well take those critical steps that will be necessary in order for you to ensure your success. I recommend a two-stage process which will involve a minimum commitment from you, to the group, of six months. If you are unable or unwilling to follow these suggestions, save yourself both the time and the money and don’t even get started. On the other hand, if you are ready to substantially increase your earnings, please read on ….. Continue reading “You’ve Joined A Leads Group. Now What?”