Business Networking Groups: Power Groups - Large Group Networking

As we all know the power of strong relationships and the "power teams in BNI, here is a great article that goes into them. It is groups like this that make a city such as Vancouver with its 2 million people seem like a small close knit community.

Cheers,

CB
Business Networking Groups: Power Groups - Large Group Networking

Chuck Brady-Access Strategist: Emulation-Who do I want to be like?

If you know me or have heard me speak, you know that I am very big on choosing who to associate with. In one of my recent articles I wrote:
Everyone needs to have role models in life, just make sure you choose them wisely. I am a firm beleiver in the psychological theory that you become who you associate with most of the time. If you want to be good at golf then hang around with people who are good golfers. If you want to have money, hang around with people who you want to emulate with money.Chuck Brady-Access Strategist: Emulation-Who do I want to be like?

This is so important in networking as well. In a city such as Vancouver you could litterally go from one networking event to another continuously all week long. However, to be an effective business person it is imperative that you make wise choices with your time and your choice of company. (by company I mean the people who are present). If you do not choose your surroundings, you are allowing others to choose for you and that rarely works out in the long run.

Happy Networking,

Chuck

Elevator Speach

In our recent meeting we were talking about the importance of a solid elevator speach describing what it is that we do for a living. This is something I feel is very important and something that is over looked by so many professionals. If you are unable to communicate to someone in a few short seconds just what the benefit is to doing business with you, you are allowing a large portion of business to fall by the way side.

One of the key points that was made was to put yourself in the shoes of your listener and discover why they would care about what you have to say. I think all to often in business we talk so much with our own interests in mind and forget about the interests of the people we are talking to or attempting to sell to.

I beleive that if you take a few minutes to think about the person you are speaking with and put yourself in their shoes, you will better be able to understand how to improve your offering.

These are my two cents on the subject,

CB

The Friendship Factor
By: Brian Tracy

The Communication Process
The ancient Greeks taught that all conversation involved three ingredients: Ethos, or the character of the speaker; Pathos, connecting with the emotions; and Logos. The logos discussed by the Greeks refers to the factual content of a message, the words used. It refers to the argument that you present on behalf of your point of view. (However, we know that the facts themselves, although they are important, are not as powerful or as influential as the emotions are.)

The Selling Process

In selling, we know that there are three parts to the process. These are, first, establishing rapport with the prospective customer, second, identifying the problem or need that the prospective customer has and, third, presenting the solution. These are the ethos, the pathos and the logos of selling to someone.

Build Good Relationships

Your success in every area of life will be based largely on the quality and quantity of relationships that you can initiate and develop over time. In the world of business and sales today, relationships are everything. We often call this the “friendship factor.” We have discovered that a person will not do business with you until he or she is convinced that you are his or her friend and are acting in his or her best interest. In other words, you cannot influence someone unless he or she likes you in some way. Of course, it’s often possible for you to influence a person if he fears you, but that type of influence lasts only until the person can rearrange his situation and escape from the circumstances that enable you to have control over him.

Contra- Business deals without cash

As we move forward with the paradigm shifts the 21 century has brought to our business world contra is something that more and more businesses are learning the value of. A contra business deal is where I offer my product or service in exchange for your product or service. Similar to the common practice of barter.

It is through developing a large business network that companies can maximize the value of contra. It is especially prevelant amoung small businesses and new businesses. These strategic partnerships can save thousands of dollars in both cash and taxes and can pay off huge down the road.

Networking groups such as BNI are a reputable gold mine for these types of things. I really see strategic partnerships being the way of the future as specialization in business becomes more and more important.

Cheers,

CB

Business Networking-Getting started

I was serfing through posts and I found this one which I think is very true,

"To be a successful Networker, whether you are an introvert or and extrovert, you must change your thinking, Networking doesn't happen in your spare time, and it isn't something that can be de-prioritized, or put off until tomorrow. Networking MUST be part of your job, no matter what your "job" is."

In business we so often speak of all of the things we are going to do tomorrow. With the average Canadian working at 130% of capacity tomorrow will just never materialize if you dont take the time to make networking part of your routine, just start doing it and you will be amazed with the results.

Cheers,

Chuck

3 types of personal networks

One of the things BNI teaches is to identify each of the 3 key network types and determine who is in your networks. Doing this will also open your eyes to where perhaps you have an opportunity to meet some new people.

The first is an Information Network. This would be made up of people who can give you technical advice in a particular area. For instance if you liked cars, someone in your informational network would be your mechanic.

The second type is a Support Network. This is made up of friends and family and those you can count on to help you when things are tough.

The third is a Referral Network, such as BNI. This is a group of people who offer complimentary service. A good example of this would be a real estate agent and a mortgage broker. They have services that go together very nicely.

Knowing your network and keeping engaged will keep your business moving smoothly.

Cheers,

CB

Video Business cards

As the business world continues to expand its borders globally, and relationship based selling becomes more and more important new strategies are required. One simple way to do this is by use of web based video products.

I have been using these kinds of products for about a year now and I just love them. The company I am currently using is one of our fellow BNI members Stephen Samchuck with ie Design. You can see my video business card here http://www.iedesigninc.com/newsletter/Chuck_Brady.htm.

This is a simple way for a potential customer across town or across the world to get to know you a little bit and feel more comfortable doing business with you. I would recommend thse to anyone who is in the relationship selling business.

Cheers,

Chuck

BNI Vancouver

I am please to announce that our BNI Terminal city club was officialy sanctioned today. It is my great pleasure to take on the role as president of the club. I have long thought BNI to be a great organization. With our proactive group of business people in our group we are excited about the future of our new chapter.

Vancouver's business community has always been close knit and I think that BNI is still grossly under-represented in our fair city. I like to consider myself as someone who is well networked and would welcome anyone looking to network in Vancouver to come as my guest to our chapter or to any of the other many events that I am associated with in the city.

Cheers,

CB