Author: Craig M. Jamieson

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional including Boise's best B2B leads group, NetWorks! Boise Valley. We are a Nimble SCRM and a PieSync Solution Partner and a Value Added Associate for TTI Performance Systems. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in selling.

I’d Love To Give You That Referral …. But

I have been incredibly busy this past week getting everything put into place for the launch of our third NetWorks! Boise group on January 5. This will be a Tuesday breakfast group code-named … Sunrise. How original (smile). Oh well, it works.  I’ve been thinking about the topic of this post for some time now and, in fact, it was originally created on one of my Posterous accounts that I don’t really promote as of yet. Still, the topic is timely. If Christmas is about “giving”, it only makes sense that I see so many “takers” these days (smile). Here is the original post in its entirety and please have a fun and safe Merry Christmas and New Years!! …..

Referrals are the “holy grail” of all networking activities. When you are provided with a referral, there is a better than average chance that, if anybody gets the sale, it’s going to be you. A good referral is like gold. Money in your pocket. It can range from “Please use my name” to “They are expecting your call” to “I’d like to take you out and introduce you to …”.

Now, let’s take a moment and think about that person who is providing you with this referral. If I give somebody a referral, I need to do so with 100% confidence that:

Continue reading “I’d Love To Give You That Referral …. But”

Your First New Investment Should Be In You

The economy continues to languish and, if you are like me and a lot of other folks, whatever investments you did have prior to this recession took a major hit. Suddenly, your plans for early retirement have been …. “modified”. Certainly, there are signs of life and we all know that things will someday be back to “normal”. Personally, and I tend to be very conservative, I am watching the economic indicators climb back up and am awaiting the right time to jump back in. The real question is … “Jump back into what?”. I’m a little queasy on stocks and not that much more comfortable with real estate. Precious metals are interesting, I just really wish that I had bought gold when it was at $400. Continue reading “Your First New Investment Should Be In You”

The Hot Dog Vendor

This one is a real oldie but a goodie (smile). I have no idea who wrote it but can tell you that I have had a worn out photocopy of this in my files for at least 30 years. Same tale holds true today. Feel free to substitute your company name, products, and chosen form of investments (smile).

There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs.

He sold very good hot dogs.

He put up sign along the highway and advertised in the newspaper telling how good they were.

He stood on the side of the road and cried: “Buy a hot dog, Mister?”

And people bought. Continue reading “The Hot Dog Vendor”

Networking Remains A Contact Sport

I really wanted to use a picture of a fight but …………. (smile). With all the hype surrounding Social media as a way to make contacts, it reminds me that it is even more important to meet contacts. As others have properly pointed out, it’s not about numbers, it is about conversions. And, in my experience, conversions occur face-to-face. Networking is still very much about “pressing the flesh” and “meet and greet”. Why do you think they have TweetUps? Even good little Tweeple recognize that, at some point, they are actually going to have to speak to each other in order to take the relationship to the next higher level (smile).

What social media really is, as Justin Foster puts so well, “old rules, new tools.”  It’s still communication. Social media excels in the areas of branding and initiating some form of contact. Case in point. I was having coffee with Jacob Nordby the other day and as some people were leaving he stopped this one gal and said “Aren’t you …..”. And, yes, she was. They had never met but recognized each other from Twitter. This is a result of branding. Jacob was initiating a form of contact. Mission accomplished. And there are many avenues to get to that goal. Honestly, while social media can be a lot of work, by the same token it encourages folks to be lazy where it counts. Here are some of my favorite, and proven, old school methods: Continue reading “Networking Remains A Contact Sport”

Hello Social Media – Buh Bye Networking Groups?

Disclaimer: I am a traditional networker who has been studying social media heavily for the last six months only. And, I am still learning more and more daily. My expectations and feelings about this phenomena change just about as often. As such, certainly what follows is merely my perceptions on this topic at this specific snapshot of time. There will quite likely be those who will read this and say “That idiot just does not get it yet!”. To which I would respond…. “O.K.” (smile). I also enjoy playing “devil’s advocate” and the devil in me just loves to “stir the chili”.

Let’s see now, traditional networking groups have been around since ……. well, a real real long time. Dinosaurs were around a long time too. And now? They be gone (smile). Evolution is a funny thing. So are the axioms “survival of the fittest” and “only the strongest will survive”. Therefore, with the explosion of Social Media, Business-Social Media, Internet Networking, whatever you want to name it, how does that bode for the traditional networking group? It’s gonna’ “bode” one way or another. The question becomes ….. will it bode well, bode badly, or have little or no affect? Continue reading “Hello Social Media – Buh Bye Networking Groups?”

What Do You Do To Invest In Your Success?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all have a money tree? Well, maybe you can. But, you first have the plant the seed and water it regularly. These are the investments that you make in order to ensure your success. The question is, how many of us are willing to make that investment and the effort in so doing? I’m constantly amazed by folks who think that this all just happens magically. It’s hard work and sometimes you need to invest some funds in order to reap even greater returns. Sorry, life is like that. Continue reading “What Do You Do To Invest In Your Success?”

Business-Social Networking Groups

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time lately in looking at networking, or “leads”, groups around the country and kind of evaluating what they are doing and how that might work in with some of the things we might wish to do with NetWorks!. Certainly, there are a lot of different formats to choose from and most of those can be found right here in Boise, Idaho. I thought it might be beneficial to discuss the varying anatomy of such groups. Continue reading “Business-Social Networking Groups”