A clump is a knot or tight cluster of people or things.  It’s a natural tendency in humans to want to stay in groups with   whom they feel comfortable – either people you already know or those with whom you share similar interests.

There are times when staying within your clumps or tight cluster may not be a good idea.  Business events like large training groups, business functions and local networking events usually create opportunities for exposure, networking, building connections and, of course, taking advantage of learning opportunities from others.

If you congregate with just your known circle, you are not allowing yourself to make meaningful connections. You may also have the  type of product or service someone else at the event needs.  You could unknowingly prevent others from  getting to know you.

Breaking out of your clumps or clusters may be challenging especially if you are shy,  but it can be done. When planning to attend any event, try to develop the mindset of a host who has to circulate among everyone in the room just to be sure they are comfortable.

This could mean asking yourself, Who can I help to establish new contacts? Which two people can I introduce to each other, or whose business would likely benefit by being connected to another? Or even, Which speaker impacted me that I can give a sincere compliment to? People enjoy feeling they are important and when you make the effort to do this you will also be building meaningful relationships that can have an impact on your offline and online business.

You may be nervous, but force yourself not to talk too much. Make brief comments then ask questions that will elicit positive responses. In so doing you take the pressure off yourself and the person to whom you’re speaking will be thrilled at your level of interest in what he or she has to say.

In my previous post I revealed 7 principles that I got from a review of Chapters 1-5 of The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles From America’s Greatest Woman entrepreneur.”  Today my review continues with timeless principles that can benefit small business owners, leaders in direct sales, entrepreneurs who outsource tasks, and every thought-leader who works with people; all from Chapters 6-12.

1.  Giving criticism: Criticism will most likely be made at some point but Mary Kay felt that a good manager should direct criticism to what’s wrong; not who’s wrong.

Managers must be strong and speak in a straightforward way, but should sandwich that criticism between praise – before and after.  Doing so lessens anger on the part of the recipient.  When people recognize that the good they do is appreciated, it makes them more willing to put effort in their work. Criticism should never be given in front of others as it’s cruel, but is also self-defeating.

2.  “People will support that which they help to create.” When you invite people to contribute to an idea and offer solutions they have a vested interest and feel responsible to ensure its success.  On the other hand, when you dictate even the most thoughtful and logical concept to someone they view it as a command and may or may not choose to cooperate enthusiastically.

3.  Follow-through: This requires discipline and planning.  Schedule time to return phone calls, reply to correspondence – regular mail or e-mails.  If you need to forward to a third party, make sure to follow-up to ensure that the matter has been handled.

4. Enthusiasm:  A good leader is enthusiastic and arouses enthusiasm.  It’s easy to be enthusiastic when everything is going smoothly but the challenge is to maintain enthusiasm under adverse conditions.  What you think about you bring about, so act enthusiastic and you will become enthusiastic.

5.  Lead by Example:  Mary Kay taught that the ’speed of the leader is the speed of the gang.’  A good leader must present a good appearance as well as demonstrate good work habits. People often copy a leader’s work habits and self-discipline, for better or worse.  A good leader operates from experience not from theory.

6.  Help Other People Get What They Want: The goal  for being in business should be to service others and fulfill a need.  Some of the people served may be part of the organization, but in helping them to get what they want, you will also get what you want.

Which of these principles appeal to you most?

In Part I of this topic I introduced the bumblebee as well as featured one of it’s characteristic: it’s wings in relation to it’s body.  You may read Part I on how home-based businesses can benefit from the bumble bee by clicking on this link.

Another characteristic of the bumblebee is that it’s a “social insect.” Like honeybees they form colonies, only smaller.  Their colonies typically have anywhere from 50 to 200 bees at the max.

How can entrepreneurs who work from home in offline businesses be part of a colony or group?  Like the bumblebee, entrepreneurs need the association and support of like-minded groups.  In fact, groups do not have to be like-minded because these can open horizons and provide a different perspective on your business, therefore enhancing your current business and introducing other opportunities.

Even in small towns there are business groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, the Jaycees, Business Network International (BNI), one of the most supportive business networking groups.  There are also other local networking groups, which are not to be confused with meetings for a particular MLM or direct sales group. These are meetings attended by entrepreneurs and small business people  with the purpose of expanding their influence in the community and forming alliances with other local business people.

Meet-ups are growing in various parts of the United States.  During my research for Meet-ups I’ve found groups that are organized to meet specialized areas, for example there are writers’ Meet-ups,  Classical Lovers Meetups, People who are Interested in Raw and Vegetarian Foods Meetups, and the list goes on.

Entrepreneurs who work from home and have an online business also have the opportunity to meet with these offline groups.  In addition there are online social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many, many more, some of which I am totally unfamiliar.

On these sites you’re able to create a Profile and find people who are in your niche so you can connect with them.  In addition, spending quality time of forums can be another place where you can be part of a colony or group.  Here you can learn from the questions asked and answers given as well as contribute to the discussion so that eventually you’ll become known to the group and be known as an expert elsewhere.

The lifespan of a bumblebee colony is fairly short.  You can decide whether you’d like to stay within a group or go elsewhere, but keep in mind that  you should desire to be part with a purpose:  to grow and provide growth, as well as to give and receive support.

A short while ago someone made the comment to me that she could never work from home as she would find it boring.  Asking questions made me realize that what she would find boring is not being able to interact with people of a regular basis.

Many people love working alone. Others hate it! They miss the rapport with co-workers, the watercooler chit-chats and jokes, and face-to-face interactions with people. Depending on the type of business you’re pursuing, you may not necessarily have regular interaction with people face-to-face and on a one-on-one basis.

If you work with clients/customers mainly on the telephone, why not arrange to meet them in person from time to time? If there are networking events in your area, why not make arrangements so you can attend one or two each month?

Online forums in your niche are great places to interact with like-minded people.  Over the past 16 days over 200 people have become part of a 30-day blog challenge (#blog30 on Twitter) and it has been interesting to see the level of interaction and support among participants as we visit each others blogs, leave comments, and promote each other on the social networks.

Perhaps like me, your spiritual activities also allow you to interact with another level of like-minded people.  When it’s all added together I never have time to be bored and feel isolated, but this is not the case with some persons.

How about you? If you work from home, do you feel isolated, and how do you deal with isolation?  Please share your thoughts in the Comments.

This is a guest post by Barbara Lopez, the Elevator Pitch Coach, of Brightfarm Introductions.  Many of us struggle with our introductions when attending networking events; and most of us get tired of hearing, “My name is…and I am a ……of XYZ Company…”  There is a more effective way and Barbara taught me how to create an effective elevator pitch.  Enjoy reading her Elevator Pitch Mistake #3:

Focusing on your COMPANY, rather than YOURSELF

Barbara Lopez, “The Elevator Pitch Coach” with Brightfarm Introductions, teaches business professionals a simple 4-step process on how to introduce themselves with high impact so that they stand out and are remembered.  Everything in business starts with a BRIGHT introduction.  If you’re ready to learn how to introduce yourself and your business professionally and comfortably, visit Barbara at www.brightfarm.com.

]]> http://mysuccesscircleonline.com/elevator-pitch-mistake-focusing-on-your-company-rather-than-yourself/feed/ 1 http://mysuccesscircleonline.com/making-connections-at-networking-events/ http://mysuccesscircleonline.com/making-connections-at-networking-events/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:08:50 +0000 Yvonne A Jones http://mysuccesscircleonline.com/?p=171

Do you remember the proverb, “Birds of a feather, flock together?”  It is a natural tendency in humans to want to stay in groups with others with whom we feel comfortable – either people we already know or those we share similar interests with.

When it comes to business events like large training groups, business functions and networking events staying within your groups or your clumps may not be a good idea.  What’s usually your main reason for attending these events? Would it be for exposure? To get away from your home office, to learn from others, or to interact with peers?  Even if your goal is ‘only’ to learn, these are opportunities to get to know other coaches, marketers, direct sellers, etc.

There is always a certain level of comfort when you attend events, especially large ones, with someone with whom you are already familiar.  However, if you congregate with just your known circle, you are not allowing yourself to make meaningful connections and possibly reach new people and companies that you’d like to do business with. YOU may also have the personality or type of business someone else needs. Would it be fair to deprive others of getting to know you?

Breaking out of your clumps or clusters and making connections may be challenging, but it can be done. Develop the mindset of a host who has to circulate among everyone in the room just to be sure they are comfortable. This could mean asking yourself, Who can I help to establish new contacts? Which two people can I introduce to each other whose businesses could support each others? Which speaker impacted me that I can give a sincere compliment.

A point to keep in mind is that while you may be nervous, force yourself not to talk too much. Make brief comments then ask questions that will elicit positive responses.  I once heard a speaker say that you should not talk for longer than 60 seconds without asking a question. Applying this method you could take the pressure off yourself, and the person to whom you’re speaking will be thrilled at your level of interest in what he or she has to say.

I invite you to post your comments and share your experience on this topic.

This post was written by Barbara Lopez of Brightfarm Introductions.  I felt it was a really great article to make networking and connecting people through e-mails a more effective process and wanted to share it with my readers.

In your daily travels, you'll often times meet people who you think should meet someone else in your network.  Sometimes
it's someone who shares a need that you think someone you know can fill
for them, and sometimes it's a connection based on some sort of common
interest – people that have a complimentary type of business or
service, or even just a common personal interest.  

Barbara Lopez, "The Elevator Pitch
Coach" with Brightfarm Introductions, helps business professionals
introduce themselves with high impact.  Everything in business starts with
an introduction.  If you're ready to learn how to introduce yourself and
your business professionally and comfortably, visit Barbara at www.brightfarm.com.  

Networking events are great meeting places and provide venues to work within groups – usually of professionals. Like any other successful marketing strategy, there is an art to networking that involves many areas, but we'll focus on just one for now. Your Goal!  What is your goal when you attend networking events? Is it to quickly tell everyone who you are, what you do, hand out as many cards as possible, then leave?

Someone may say that if all they're to be concerned about is the other person, what's the point in attending these events? The point is that this is a marketing strategy that works! When you show that you care about others, they begin to build a measure of trust in you. People are so accustomed to being pitched to,  when you display the opposite behavior this breaks down some of the defensive wall they surround themselves with and will be more receptive to you.
Go with a mindset to GIVE, and you'll be pleasantly surprised how much you GET.

I invite you to click here to learn more about a web-based greeting card system that allows you to follow-up quickly after networking events with the people with whom you made a connection.

Please feel free to post your comments.