Referrals Unlimited Network

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Tonight I was spending some time on FaceBook - looking at the profiles of those that have either added me as a friend or who had accepted my friend request.  All of a sudden, this post became crystal clear to me to come and talk to you about being respectful of your network.

As you know, I am an Open Networker and on LinkedIn I DO accept almost every single person who requests to connect with me.  I give them a chance, to see what they are all about, if we can resonate with one another, and if we cannot do that, then I can disconnect from them.

I do almost the same thing on FaceBook.  Tonight I spent more time than usual reviewing the profiles because time  had slipped away from me and there were quite a few people that added me as a friend and I had not had the chance to visit their profile and thank them.  Much to my amazement, I spent a good deal of time “unfriending” quite a few people.  You see, their profile was either very unprofessional in the words or in the photo they provided.  I also found quite a few young kids (I’m talking teenagers) who were interested only in the vampire and the blood games.  I quickly unfriended those connections.

Why would I do that?  You see, I’m in the business of building relationships.  In order to build a relationship, both parties must respect one another and the work they are doing.  It would be very unfair of me to expose the contacts in my network to the people that were on FaceBook, LinkedIn or even on Twitter, just to have fun and play games, look for a love connection or simply waste time.

When someone reviews my profile, I would appreciate it if they take the time to see who  has been posting on my wall, the type of messages that are posted and at least glance at who I am connected with. 

On Twitter it is a little more difficult to be choosy, but it’s not impossible.  I’m going through my connections on a regular basis. I’ve decided that if you use an avatar instead of your photo and you are not saying anything that is professional or in the way of sharing business tips and ideas, I’m going to “unfriend” you, “unfollow you” or “disconnect” from you.  My time is valuable, as is yours, and we need to spend time with folks who are here to do business and to help one another grow.

So as I am pruning my network, tell me about yours?  How do you decide who to “friend,” “follow,” or connect with?  How often do you review those connections? 

Are you keeping in touch with those contacts, gradually moving them from the position of contact to connections?  This is very important in developing relationships.  Start to move the contacts deeper into the relationship by asking qualified questions.  One of the major questions I have just started using is “please tell me about one of the most important projects you are working on currently.”  When they respond to my question, I can learn a lot from their answer - not only about the project(s) they are working on, but what type of business people they are and perhaps someone in my network, if not me, myself, may be able to make a referral or suggest a resource that would help them complete that project and add to their revenue stream.

As I close this post, I ask you to tell me about your project - what are you working on right now?  I want to help you so please do tell me.

Your comments are very welcome - please do answer in the comments below - I have asked quite a few questions in this post and I’d love to see this discussion continue.

If you are having trouble developing your contacts into connections and would like to have some coaching sessions to help you on your way, please do let me know.  I work with groups and/or individuals and can help guide you to improving the status of your network and help you generate income from those valuable connections and relationships.

How about it - are you being respectful of your network?

Do you Twitter?  I am learning more each day about Twitter is a tool that will help me with networking!  Getting to know new people, finding out what their needs and/or wants are and generally enjoying their selected topics is a great way to start each morning.  Not wanting to be a “card-carrying” member or a “lurker,” I decided it was time to participate a little more than simply answering some questions.  Why not generate some discussion of my own?

So, each day I have been signing on to Twitter and posting a Netweaving Tip for everyone to enjoy.  I’ve seen some great responses and I know people are reading them.

As a follow-up, today I started asking a question and am thinking about adding one question per day and asking for comments on my blog so that I can develop a good, strong, information-rich product for my prospective clients.  Would you help me with this?

Would you post your netweaving or your networking challenges here?  It would be wonderful to see how the discussions develop from these questions.

Please tell me  . . .

Pay It Forward

PIF, standing for Pay (or more recently Pass) It
Forward is based on the concept of the movie “Pay it
Forward.” Where acts or deeds of kindness are done
without expecting something in return, just passing it on,
with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness
will do the same.

Thank you to Debbie at Creations by Debbie for her blog post talking about this awesome opportunity!
http://creationsbydebbiejean.blogspot.com/2008/07/pif-standing-for-pay-or-more-recently.html

How it works:

If you haven’t seen this in blogland before now,
it’s simple.

1. Be Attentive:

So the first three people to leave a comment
on the blog offering the PIF, stating their
intention to join the fun.

2. Do something nice for someone you do not know:

will get a gift which may be something handmade or shop brought . . .

it’s entirely up
to the blog owner.

3. Spread the word:

In return, you agree to post
the “Pay It Forward” message on your blog.

4. Pay It Forward:

Now you do the same for the first three
people who comment on your blog.

A really nice way to show “random acts of kindness.”

So let’s make some one’s day. Remember the first 3 people to comment on my blog
will receive a PIF from me.

Carol Deckert is one of my favorite people on the planet. I first met her through LinkedIn, then the group LinkedIn Power Women.

After a bit, we started chatting on Skype. After I was asked to join Carol as a co-moderator of LinkedIn Power Women, we found that we not only had a lot in common, but we were actually typing in the same words at the same time to people!  We found that we react in a similar way to a lot of things.  It was so nice.

We have gone so far as to kid around that we are “sisters from another mother”!

In between the fun and support, we are actually working on projects together and helping each other grow business.

We became very close personally, and professionally.  Last week I had the honor of actually visiting one of Carol’s in person networking groups.  It was amazing to spend a good chunk of the day with someone that I know from online networking and phone calls.

Carol and I are living examples of networking, and netweaving, in action!

Dr. Sally Witt on left, Carol Deckert on right (the cute one!!)

Stay tuned for video interviews with Dr. Sally and Carol, and more!

You can listen here to Carol’s interview on the Dr. Sally Show:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drsallywitt/2008/04/14/Carol-Deckert-good-friend-amazing-Networking-Coach

If you want to network with me, just try one or more of the sites below and add me as a friend!

Sally

Dr. Sally Witt Breakthrough Coach/Hypnotherapist

drsallywitt@gmail.com

215/736-0900

skype: drsallywitt

http://www.drsallywitt.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/drsallywitt

http://www.linkedin.com/in/sallywitt

http://twitter.com/drsallywitt

http://www.youtube.com/drsallywitt

http://activerain.com/drsallywitt

http://www.ojeez.com/drsallywitt

http://myspace.com/sallywitt

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=688850804

http://www.ryze.com/go/drsallywitt

Feel free to send me an invitation to link, or to be a friend on any of the sites!

Good morning everyone!  Things have been a little quiet around here lately.  What have you all been up to?  Tell us about your latest networking event that you attended - online or offline - meet any new interesting people? 

Netweaving is really a lot of fun and it is the latest, best way to utilize your network.  You can position yourself as a Resource, a go-to person, if you will, one that has a massive contact list and knows just the right people for the right situation and is willing to share that information with others.  You could also position yourself as a Connector, one who helps others by introducing them to key people that may be needed to help develop their business to the next level, or may simply have a need for their services or products.  Either way, by helping someone else, focusing on others, your networking efforts are laser-sharpened and people will respond.  By doing these activities without the thought of what’s in it for me (WIIFM) and thinking of others instead, your payback will be bountiful somewhere in the near or possibly distant future.  You may never be able to attribute a growth in your business from one particular person or event, but you WILL benefit by paying it forward.  I’d love to see you all concentrate on doing that, see what the results are - I know you will be absolutely amazed!  Givers do gain - sometimes the gain is a whole lot more than financial wealth. 

A great example of netweaving is exactly what we are doing in our Skype Room network. When someone is having a problem with their blog, their Squidoo lens, their website, and they need advice on how to fix or solve their problem, they turn to one of us.  We are here to help one another!  Do we expect to be financially paid for our help - no, for the most part, we don’t.  We simply help one another and by helping one another, we all grow.  There are exceptions to this when two people contract with each other to work together and that’s perfectly okay - there’s nothing saying that services and/or products cannot be paid for - we are running businesses!  But the paying it forward opportunity excels right here, in this network.   I hope you are all aware of the rich contacts you have made  here and will continue to help one another - together we will all grow and be wildly successful! 

If anyone is interested in joining our Skype Room Connections, please feel free to visit http://www.runlancaster.com/skype-room/networking   You do need to have Skype installed on  your computer (it’s a free service, you are able to talk computer to computer anywhere in the world, free!) and please be sure to develop your profile on Skype!  As a community, there is a lot of great information that is shared with others and we would love to have you participate too!  We also have a community blog, one where we can each contribute on a subject that is helpful to others - visit http://www.passionprojectblog.com and meet some of the awesome contributors!  We also welcome your comments and your help in generating conversations!

So now tell me - who have you connected lately?  Have you helped someone grow their business by connecting them with someone in your network or have you helped them solve some sort of problem with their business?  If you are looking for some help for yourself or your business, the easiest way to ask is to start with “who do YOU know WHO . . .” and netweaving begins!  Keep it moving forward and help someone else - share your knowledge, time or talents!

I invite you to join in the conversation here, post your comments and let us get to know more about you!  And if you need some help, I’m always available - contact me by Skype (Deckert1116) or email or via the blog or my website - http://www.runlancaster.com

I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your business!  Make it an awesome day - help someone - you’ll be glad you did!

What makes you and your business different from your competitors’ business?  Tell me why you are unique and why you should be chosen over all your competitors to do business with!

As members of my weekly RUN group will tell you, this is a question I am constantly asking them as we give our referral requests during our meeting.  Be sure you are as specific as possible, telling me what you do that solves your client’s pain or how you helped solve a problem.

Members of my RUN group will be asked to come and post here as well.  Please check back to read the comments - I’m sure you will enjoy meeting everyone and be able to make some new referral buddies!

So tell me, why should I do business with YOU?

Bill Cates, from The Referral Minute, writes some great email posts.  Today’s included a great quote that I felt compelled to share with all of you . . .

 Quote of the Week
“Referrals come through who you are, not what you sell.”

Think about that - does that motivate you to change the way you think or the way you promote yourself?  I loved that quote and it really hit home with me - building relationships, going for the referral - it all begins with the person - not the business!  If you would like to read more from Bill Cates, you can find him at http://www.referralcoach.com   Bill talks quite a bit about niche marketing - and he has found his own niche, working with CPAs.  If you know of a CPA that is struggling, I highly recommend sending them to Bill!

Tell me what motivates you?  Do you have a favorite quote that “gets you going” when you are stuck? 

By the way - I love your comments so I appreciate your response! 

GUIDELINES: 

Everyone is welcome to join Carol Deckert’s - Business Networking and Relationship Building Skype Room as long as your behavior is professional and non-threatening.  

EVERY new person entering this room MUST introduce themselves by their first and last name.  It is difficult to get to know someone only by their aliases.  Your introductions can and should  include information about your business, how long you have worked in this particular industry, what you specifically do and may also include generic facts like whether or not you are married or single (if you choose to divulge this info), number of children, grandchildren, and the general area in which you live (for example, I’m married, have 3 children, 5 grandchildren and I live in SouthCentral PA in the USA (EST).  Anyone that does not introduce themselves, may very easily find themselves banned from returning to this room!

Introductions should be posted immediately upon joining the room - please begin your post like this:

INTRO: My name is . . .  Include your URLS for websites and blogs for others to read and review. 

As new people enter the room, would someone please greet the new person and tell them about the room guidelines?  As others join in, questions will naturally flow -  and we will learn more about what they are looking for.  If you would like to invite your friends and associates, please use this URL  http://www.runlancaster.com/skype-room/networking

 *****************************

SPECIAL EVENT DAYS:
Mondays:  Post the link to your blog and tell us what’s happening - do you need help with promoting it, ask us to post a Tweet, post in FB, etc.

Wednesdays:  Introduction Day for everyone

Fridays:  Self-promotion Day - post your ads, post your news, etc.

As discussion topics are posted, please don’t lurk - I really invite your participation, including your likes/dislikes.

*******************************

Building relationships is so very critical if you ever plan on referring or receiving any new business.  In order to build relationships, obviously there has to be some social interaction and I am all for that.  What I don’t want to have happen is that the room becomes nothing BUT chit chat.  Please remember that this is all about networking and relationship building as it relates to business.  

Anyone using inappropriate language, including language of a sexual nature (which could be considered sexual harrassment) or discriminatory language will be immediately ejected and banned from participation in this room without warnong or comment.  We do have some teenagers who have been invited to participate in this room, with their parent’s permission and knowledge, so that we can assist them in learning how to network properly.  Please be considerate in all you say and do.  Conversations of a personal, private nature should be taken out of the room and into an individual private chat.

Keep this room about business - share resources, quotes, joint venture opportunities, teleseminars, that type of info with one another.  Find out about each other’s business - ask relevant questions until you totally understand how the other person works.

You could start with some very basic questions such as what are your biggest challenges right now in your business?  How did you get started in your business?  If I ran into a good referral for you, how would I know it?  How would you like me to introduce you to someone that I know (such as email, voice, letter of recommendation, etc.)  Most of the individual members of these Skype rooms are more than likely NOT in your target market, but there is absolutely ways in which you can each network and refer each other.  Share stories, anecdotes, processes you use.  Help others really understand your business.

Announcements for all events should be posted in the Announcement Skype Room to avoid posting in every Skype Room.

Please use this room for sharing experiences, asking for help, sharing resources and links and business-type information.  As we begin to build relationships, we should be focused on listening to what others say about how they do business, why they do business and what they do to solve their client’s pain and/or frustration.  Building professional relationships does include learning something about the person’s background and life experiences, but does NOT need to include statements about their health, what they ate for lunch, dinner, etc. or where they went over the weekend. 

Not to sound harsh, but general chit-chat of a personal nature should be done between two or more individuals in their private Skype rooms.  Keep this room available so that valuable shared resources and links do not get lost in the midst of conversations.  Of course, good morning, evening, etc., how are you today is perfectly acceptable.  It’s those personal details that we want to avoid - details that are not necessary in a public forum.

If you want to temporarily leave this chat, please close the room with large “X” - DO NOT LEAVE BY CLICKING ON “LEAVE CHAT” button - if you do, someone will have to manually add you back to the room.

One of my newest connections on LinkedIn sent me an email a few days ago, with a question as to how I manage my connections.  For those of you who are building a network and are “afraid” of over-extending yourself, read on . . .

Here is my response:

Don’t be overwhelmed, take it one step at a time and enjoy what you do! Most of all realize that not all connections will develop into strong business relationships, although our hope is that they will, reality is that they won’t. Don’t be disappointed. Do all you can to nurture your network in whatever time you have available to do it. Most of all, don’t overextend yourself. Enjoy building these relationships - international, multi-cultural relationships really open your eyes to the possibilities! Do only what you can do - and you are the only person who knows what that answer is. 

Enjoy and most of all - let me know how I can be of help to you!

There are so many social networks available today.  Don’t feel like you “have” to belong to all of them.  Be selective and look at the people who are participating.  Do they fit into your target market or do they share a special hobby with you? Do what fits best into your life - don’t be bullied into joining up with everyone, everywhere.  After all, how many places do you  have to be seen in order to network with the same people all the time?  All it takes is one network!

Tell me what you think - how many networks are YOU involved in . . . how do YOU handle YOUR connections?

Wow, I just listened to an awesome presentation by Debra Simpson, on WECAI’s First Fridayz event.  Debra shared some great tips on increasing the visibility of your blog, how to make it more interesting and how to collect some “link love!”    Debra Simpson says visit magicinblogging for some how-to videos!  You can also find Debra’s podcasts at http://www.northsandiegobusiness.com.

I would be remiss if I did not share the contact info for Heidi Richards WECAI Network and the wonderful programs she provides on a monthly basis that are FREE for her members (and the great part is that your can become a member for free!).  Check out Heidi’s Network and see how impressed you are with what she provides - she is definitely a first-class networker and truly believes in helping much more than receiving! 

Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO – The WECAI Network - http://www.wecai.org

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Check out the latest issue of WE Magazine for Women! http://www.wemagazineforwomen.com

Have you taken the Women Business Owners Survey Yet? Lots of freebies at www.womenbusinessownerssurvey.com for sharing your feedback.

One of the things that Debra shared with us is that when she attends a networking event sponsored by her local Chamber of Commerce, she attends with digital camera in hand.  She snaps photos during the networking event, returns back to her office, prepares slide shows from the event and posts the slide show to her blog.  She then adds all the business’ names (from the photos she took) and includes them on her BlogRoll!  She refers to that as spreading the “link love!”

I think that is such an awesome idea and I am going to venture into something like that.  At our weekly Referrals Unlimited Network meeting, I’m going to arrive with my digital camera and then post some photos on our blog, right here!  I do believe that would be a fabulous way to showcase our Member of the Week and keep the buzz going about looking for ways to help that member increase his/her business.  So look out, Lancaster RUN members - come dressed for success, we’ll be snapping some photos and learning how to get them up on this blog for all the world to see!

Thoughts anyone?  Tell me, what you do to make your blog stand out from the crowd?