| Welcome to 'Connecting is not Enough' |
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I'm delighted to be Chairing The Big Event in Hatfield, Hertfordshire in March 2010. Clare Rayner, Simon George and their committee have worked tirelessly to bring together a top class line up in record time and to get people buzzing about what's to come.
Only launched last week, Keynote speakers include well known investor and BBC Dragon Julie Meyer, Founder of Ecademy Penny Power and top selling Sales expert Grant Leboff. There are already a range of excellent workshops confirmed, including plenty on PR, social media and blogging.
I'll talk more about the event in my next newsletter but I thought I'd give you some advance warning in case you're still wondering what Christmas present to buy for the one you love!
As well as attending, I would also recommend looking at the sponsor packages as these could present you with an excellent opportunity for your business. Email the organisers for more information.
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In my workshops, talks and coaching sessions at the moment there is a great deal of interest in how to make the most of LinkedIn. This has been reflected in a growing number of books and training courses on the subject.
One such book is 'LinkedIn Made Easy', an e-book from Linda Parkinson-Hardman which not only offers a very simple step-by-step guide to using LinkedIn but through which Linda is aiming to raise �400,000 for charities, The Hysterectomy Association, Kiva and BCCT.
At 42 pages Linda's book is a quick and straightforward approach to LinkedIn, taking you through some of the key steps to using it strategically. At �4.99 it's certainly very useful and it's all for a good cause.
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As we come to the end of another exciting year in business, this will be my last newsletter of 2009. I've been delighted with your response and support since launching the newsletter earlier this year and look forward to building on its popularity in the years to come.
It has been a big year for us and we still have a long journey ahead. We are very excited about what 2010 promises to bring. Thank you to everyone who has referred, recommended, tweeted, shared, linked, poked and supported us so far.
Have a wonderful time over the holidays and we all wish you a very successful 2010.
I'll spare you a newsletter on New Year's Eve, so the next issue will be out on January 7th.
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If you have received this in error and don't want to receive future editions, please use the unsubscribe link at the foot of the email and accept my apologies.
If you like what you read, please feel free to forward it and invite others to subscribe.
Happy Networking!
Andy
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Managing what they say about you
Networking Skill Tip |
Networks thrive on reputation and you must focus on being in control of yours. One of the key themes of one of my talks is that it's not what you know or who you know, it's who knows you and what they say about you that counts.
Letting people down generally is poor practice, in business it can be suicidal. Naturally, there are times where something comes up and you may miss a deadline or have to cancel a meeting. If that does happen, communicate clearly and let your contact know what's going on. Try not to leave things to the last minute.
Remember that people love to gossip, and it's often about negative things rather than positive. Take control of your own reputation by doing what you say you'll do and not letting people down.
Don't give others anything but good things to say about you.
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We are Family....
Networking Strategy Tip |
Do you talk about business with your family and friends? Do they know what you do?
One of the challenges when I run a Referral Strategy Workshop is the natural reticence many people have to 'cross the line' between business and pleasure. There are good reasons for this, no one wants to damage a personal relationship because of a business transaction gone wrong.
On the flip side, who wants to support you more (and who do you want to support more) and see successful than your family and friends? If you are in a position to help each other, is it worse not to do so? If a good friend of yours lost their business and you discovered that you could have helped them but they didn't ask because of the 'line', how would you have felt?
Reality is rarely black and white. I have always been reticent to do direct business with friends, yet have become friends with people I've done business with. I've been able to refer work to many friends over the years and they to me. Some of my friends subscribe to this newsletter.
Yet I take great care not to force my business at them or discuss it if there is clearly no interest.
On a recent workshop a company MD realised that his wife was perfectly placed to introduce him to an ideal client....her boss! He'd never made the connection before. If we can't turn to the people who most want to help us, how many opportunities are we missing out on?
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Make it happen
Online Social Networking Tip
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I would suggest that the vast majority of social network users are reactive rather than proactive. They join a network because they receive an invitation, fill in their profile briefly before forgetting about the network until they get a connection request or message that takes them back on.
In some cases I'm the same. I have a profile on a number of social networks which I rarely activate unless prompted. The truth is that I don't have the time to be proactive on every network I have joined, but I do need to be on some.
Choose the key networks that are important to you. Understand what you want to achieve from membership and what you need to do to get there. Then take that action proactively.
That may mean setting time aside every day to make connections or comment in groups on LinkedIn or Ecademy. It may mean planning Tweets in advance so that you can get certain messages across clearly and frequently. It may mean searching for particular people on Xing or Facebook and sending a personal message to link with them.
Whatever the action, it is one that you plan and regularly take the time to do, rather than only thinking of when a message from the network arrives in your inbox.
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Remembering names
Your Business Channel Video Tip |
One of the common problems people face when networking is remembering people's names. We are so paranoid about this sometimes that the temptation to avoid someone rather than face embarrassment leads to us heading to a different part of an event!
If you want to avoid such embarrassment in future, this video I recorded earlier in the year for Your Business Channel may help.
Remembering names to improve your networking.
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| Andy recommends... |
At the end of every year it is natural to look back on the journey you have just travelled. As I mentioned in my introduction, that's certainly been a big journey for us in the last year and it is appropriate to use this column to thank a man who played a major role in kickstarting that journey.
Last November I embarked on an eight-week marketing coaching course with Fraser Hay. Once a week, including over Christmas, we talked on Skype for two hours as Fraser took me through the next step of his marketing system.
Not everything that Fraser shared with me was a natural fit, we had some interesting discussions on the calls, but the overall package was exceptional. A wealth of knowledge was coupled with a treasure trove of resources and some exceptional tools to manage all the lessons.
Like any training, it is only as good as the amount you implement. I know that even one year on there is still a lot more of Fraser's advice that we need to follow and we recently undertook a review of the work we did with him to help take the next steps. I am in no doubt, however, that a lot of our growth this year can be attributed to those eight sessions with Fraser.
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The Anatomy of a Referral (part two)
The National Networker |
Last month's article in The National Networker was the first part of a series looking at The Anatomy of a Referral.
In the second part of the series, I look at how to identify your best referral sources and the dangers of narrow thinking when looking at your network.
Don't forget, if you like this article, you can receive a range of networking articles from across the US and globally every week through a free subscription to The National Networker. You can sign up here.
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| Just for Fun |
With this being the last newsletter before Christmas, I thought I'd offer you a seasonal double bill....
A wonderful short animation to start with. This is what happens when a Presidential Aide tries to take a break from his routine to enjoy a doughnut...and all chaos ensues!
Pigeon Impossible
And as a special bonus, our old friends from The Muppet Show offer you their rather unique version of Bohemian Rhapsody. Rumours are that this will be released as a Christmas single. If it keeps the latest bland dross from X Factor away from the Number One spot, I'm all for it! (Cue emails!!!)
The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody
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I hope you've enjoyed the newsletter and look forward to your feedback.
If you're serious about developing a networking and referrals strategy that can take your business to a new level, or you are interested in booking me for a speech or training session for your team, you can contact me on:
Tel: 07930 417833
Skype: andylopata
I look forward to hearing from you.
Andy
� All material copyright H & A Lopata ltd 2009. All rights reserved.
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Are you a professional services firm with more than 5 employees?
Are you getting the results from your networking that you'd like?
Are you getting a steady flow of introductions from other professional services firms?
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We are launching a limited number of Professional Services Networking and Referral Strategy Groups.
Each group of fifteen will comprise five professionals from three firms in
non-competing but complementary business fields.
The overall objective is to substantially increase each firm's return on investment from networking both in general and by building on the synergy with each other.
For more information and to discuss this further please contact Harvey Lopata on 01992 450488 or email harvey@lopata.co.uk
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| Connecting...Live! |
Season's greetings from all of us. Have a wonderful break.
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In other people's words:
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"Andy's ability to understand diverse business
sectors very quickly is impressive, but it is his open approach and integrity
that mark him out as someone who really understands the value of relationships."
John
Cave
Strategic
Business Development Manager, EH
Smith
"As
an event and seminar photographer I get to hear lots of different speakers at
nationwide events.
I was really inspired and educated
at Andy Lopata's talk. Andy really knows his stuff and helps people focus on why they are
attending networking events, what are the best networking strategies and how to
implement them."
Dianna Bonner
Photographer
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