Mark your calendar for this very special event on Wednesday, September 20th.
It’s a hot topic and tickets are sure to sell out fast. REGISTER HERE
Networking Tip #7
Networking Tip #7 – Choosing the right team
Follow this logic for a bit:
If you are going to get serious about networking, then joining a referral networking group is a good idea.
But, which group is right for you?
Too many people join a networking group simply because they like the people in it. That’s all we’ll and good, but you’re there for the referrals and to build your business. So, it stands to reason that you should check how many referrals are being passed every week. If the group isn’t passing referrals consistently, then they are not a networking group. They are a social club. Since I’m a business coach, I tend to like groups that tract their numbers carefully. That way I know how serious they are about business.
In order for the group to pass you qualified referrals, they need to have a network of customers that fit your target demographic. Take a look at what businesses are members and ask yourself if their client base is also a good fit for you. Does your product or service offering compliment theirs or conflict?
You also need to be able to give referrals in return. So, would your client base have a need for the products or services offered by the other members? Not all, but maybe at least half of the group.
Does this networking group have the right level of structure for you? Is it very loose in the meeting agenda or possibly too strict for your taste. Can you see yourself adjusting to the format or will that always be a source of frustration for you?
What is the cost of membership? This is a touchy question for some people. If your mindset is that you want to spend as little as possible, then I humbly suggest the group you join will have a similar mindset and the referrals you receive will be of similar quality. There are many networking groups who are proud to say that they don’t have any kind of financial commitment for membership. Take a good look at the group. Check the size of its membership. How long do members stay? And, of course, are referrals being passed every week? Often, you will find that low commitment leads to low performance. On the other hand, there are some groups that charge a hefty fee for membership and they still don’t pass many referrals. But, in general, the more commitment that is required, the more serious the members are about passing well-qualified business to each other. By and large, you get what you pay for with networking groups.
Another point to consider is whether the networking group offers education and tools for the members to learn more about networking effectively. Books, videos, articles, newsletters, podcasts, weekly educational moments, public speaking training, etc. can help the members gain confidence in their networking skills.
Still, one more thing is whether the networking group has connections outside of its membership such as, is it part of a larger organization that can help expand your sphere of influence? You may be a local business and don’t care or you may have unlimited geography and this could be helpful.
I don’t know if my networking group is right for you, but I invite you to check it out.
If you found value in this post, please share.
If you want some assistance with choosing the right networking group for you, contact me.
Young Entrepreneurs
In 5th grade, my oldest son, Mackenzie, started his own business. He drew his own graphic arts books and sold them. First, he sold them to classmates, then I brought him to business networking events and he sold advertising in the books.
His hopes, dreams, and career were crushed by the public school system when he was told he couldn’t sell his books in school any longer.
True story. I’m not creative enough to make this stuff up.
Before his career was ended, he made over $300 as a 12 year old building his own business. He was learning sales skills, marketing, basic financial management, interpersonal skills, and negotiation along with his artistic talent. He had great pride in his work and the relationships with the adults he met and learned to converse with at their level. He was treated as an equal at business events and congratulated for his initiative by those who understood the work it takes to build a business.
Coming from a family of self-employed business owners, this experience hit me deep. I taught in the public school system for many years and was always amazed that entrepreneurship was never taught as a class. In fact, it’s discouraged in favor of the traditional 40-40-40 mindset. You know, get a good education, work 40 hours a week for 40 years and try to retire on 40% of what you couldn’t afford before. Anytime I offered to teach a course on business ownership, I was shot down. After all, I’m third generation in the family business since 1926, what do I know? As a local business owner, when I tried to offer my assistance in the schools, I was constantly told “we can only accept your help if you’re a non-profit organization”. Seriously?
If you feel that you’ve been stuck in a box by the limited mindset that public school has to offer and want to escape, let me help you. Escape the Rat Race, the 40-40-40 scam, the trap that is considered normal. Contact me to learn how you can build a business to be proud of. It doesn’t take a lot of money and it can be done part time. All it takes is the desire to want to be more and to put in the effort to be successful.
Join me for a FREE information session and business meeting to see if you have what it takes.
If you found value in this post, please share.
Formal Education V Self Education
Thank you to the late great Jim Rohn for this – “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”
I’ve been self-employed since I was 18. Yes, along the way, I have held jobs with other companies, but I remained self-employed at the same time. Now, in many regards, I’m unemployable.
Today, one of my missions is to help other people escape the Rat Race and build their own businesses. There are basically four types of business models (with many sub categories):
- Manufacturing
- Distributor
- Retail
- Franchise
Whichever model you choose, I can help you get it started properly. Business coaching is the shortcut to making sure you don’t waste money and become another statistic on the business roadkill highway.
If you have toyed with the idea of becoming an entrepreneur, contact me. Maybe it’s right for you and maybe it’s not. Let’s see if you have what it takes.
If you found value in this post, please share.
FEAR is what you are missing
“Be afraid, be very afraid.” – The Fly, 1986
Wise words to live by, if you are in sales, and we are all in sales.
A little paranoia will serve you well in sales. Too many sales people allow themselves to fall into a comfort zone because they have one or more of these thoughts in their heads:
- I’m doing OK
- I met my goals
- Good enough is good enough
- I did my best
- It’s quittin’ time
These thoughts come from a very dangerous mindset in sales that allows you to be mediocre and for the competition to run you over. They need to go!
People who succeed in sales spend their time in a mild state of fear and paranoia, but in a good way, a way that serves them and helps to keep them stay hungry. When you lose the fear, you lose the hunger and become complacent. Complacency has no place in sales.
At the same time, don’t mistake this hunger/fear/paranoia for desperation. Not the same. Never let the prospect or customer sense desperation. That will absolutely kill a sale.
What’s the answer?
It’s a combination of working like your family will starve if you don’t (and they might) while at the same time projecting to the prospect or customer that you are not dependent upon them purchasing from you (which you shouldn’t be). Hungry, but not desperate.
To learn more about how to achieve this crazy balance and improve your sales, contact me. Sales can be fun and a most rewarding job when the game is played right.
If you found value in this post, please share. If not, be afraid, be very afraid.
Who wants to be a Millionaire?
If I offered you an opportunity to build a business, gave you free coaching and tons of support, showed you a step-by-step proven blueprint for how to be successful, and helped you create a 5-year plan to become a millionaire…would you be interested in learning more?
My name is Matt Randall. I’m a business coach with over 30 years of experience helping people set and achieve goals. I’m looking for 10 highly motivated and hard-working GEN-Zr’s (the 18-25 year old group) who want to be the next generation of millionaires by age 30. This is no joke, and it will take hard work, but it can be done. In fact, I’ll introduce you to others who have already reached that goal using this system.
For complete details and days/times for the next business meeting, visit my EVENTS page.
It’s good to sweat
A little sweat in the evening is good for you, especially when it’s with friends and fun people.
Another Fitness Kickboxing Boot Camp begins Monday, June 5th.
Drop 10 in June!
Date Change:Your Website Sucks!
Event Date Change for Your Website Sucks! (but it can be fixed).
Moved to June 23, 2017 from 9am-1pm.
Still at the beautiful 100 Club in Portsmouth.
And, yes, your website still sucks. Be there to learn how to fix it.
#yourwebsitesucksportsmouth
Core Beliefs:Money
What are your core beliefs around money? They may be holding you back and you don’t even know it.
Before you read any further, look at the picture here and ask what your first thought is. Yes, your first instinct before you attach any other rationalization to it, and be honest.
According to the Centre for Clinical Interventions, Core Beliefs are strongly-held, rigid, and inflexible beliefs that are maintained by the tendency to focus on information that supports the belief and ignoring evidence that contradicts it. Core beliefs are the very essence of how we see ourselves, other people, the world, and the future.
Core beliefs happen in the background and guide our every thought and decision. When it comes to money, if you don’t have what you feel is enough, then it is most likely your core beliefs preventing you from achieving the wealth that you deserve. Even the thought of what you feel is enough, is a core belief that may limit you.
Ask yourself if you were brought up with these old sayings and if you still use them on occasion:
- Money is the root of all evil.
- It’s only money.
- Money is there to be spent.
- The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
- I’m just not very good with money.
- My family has never been rich.
- There is never enough money.
- You have to work too hard to get wealthy.
- It’s selfish to want too much money.
- You’re either rich or healthy.
- Matthew 24 – Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
- I’ll never get out of debt.
- The system works against me.
- I don’t deserve a lot of money when others have so much less than me.
- It is better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable.
- Being rich is a sin.
- Having too much is greedy.
- I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I had it.
- All rich people are bad.
- Corporations make too much and keep people poor.
- I can’t seem to save any money.
- If I don’t have any then nobody can steal it.
- They call it ‘filthy rich’ for a reason.
- Money changes people.
This list could go on all day.
If you are still broke or struggling, then I humbly suggest you harbor some of these core beliefs. Let’s chat about that and make some changes because you deserve to have more in your life. Contact me for a free consultation.
Referrals are your best and least expensive marketing
Referrals are always your best and least expensive marketing resource…that’s assuming that they are qualified referrals. Unqualified referrals are no better than a cold call.
How do you get better qualified referrals?
While I could write a lengthy dissertation on the process of developing a team of business associates who know, like, and trust you enough to refer business to you on a regular basis…it would be far easier just to invite you to see how it’s done.
