Now days, with the economy is struggling to rebound, and people often ask me; "What can I do to stand out from the crowd. How can I make sure potential customers are paying attention to me and my message?" My answer to that question is mind you're networking P's and Q's and you will stand out as a winner. What do I mean by your networking P' and Q's you ask?. My answer is simple and as you read, you will learn specific behaviors that make you stand out and attract business, while avoiding behaviors that cause you to stumble and scare customers away.
First, let me start by covering what I call the five P's of networking. These are being Positive, Proactive, Prepared, Purposeful, and Pleasing. First, let us look at Positive. I have heard many of the top professional of the networking world say that being positive is the number one thing you need to start on the right path to success. I have also heard it said that it is also second, third and fourth... you get the idea. Your attitude permeates everything you do. Make sure you are positive because being positive will attract people to you and many of them will be potential customers.
Now let us discuss what being Proactive means. A proactive networker does not wait for referrals to come to them; they go after that business directly. They attend many networking events; take the time to meet, set appointments, and learn about other networker. They take the time to educate their referral partners on their businesses. Proactive people get things done. By being proactive you can builds your credibility with your fellow networkers and strategic referral partners. Being proactive will allow you to deliver your positive focused messages and as such, it will help you get more referrals.
Being prepared goes along with being proactive. Here I am talking about practicing your presentations, (both 60-second and 10-minute presentations) before events. Making sure, you have a plan and a list of those businesses you want to be introduced while attending these events.
Purposeful also goes hand in hand with proactive and prepared. You can only be purposeful if you have taken the time to be proactive and prepare. Your focus is only as good as your preparation. Being Purposeful mean knowing in your gut exactly why you're at that networking event. It means you know who you are looking. You will know because you have put in the time and effort to get ready for that event.
The last of my P's is Pleasing. Here I am referring to the fact that by being positive, proactive, prepared and purposeful you will automatically be more pleasing. One reason is because the first four P's help build your credibility. In addition, the first four P's allow you to relax and not be anxious (because you know exactly what you have to do). You will be able to enjoy the event more. You will be more successful achieving your goals and success lead to having fun. When your having fun you will be more pleasing to other and it will perpetuate being more successful. Focusing on the five P's generates success.
Now lets contrast the negative aspect of what I am calling my networking Q's with the positive P's I just covered.
My first Q is Quiet. I often see people at networking events huddle away in some corner acting as if they are in a "time out". This will never get you any business. This also goes for people spending most of their networking time eating and drinking instead of meeting and mixing with the other attendees. Being quit is only important when you are actively listing, other wise it will not gain you a thing. When it time to give your 60-second presentation, saying nothing is bad. The only thing worse than saying nothing is say things poorly. Neither of these traits will instill confidence in your services and they definitely will not build your credibility.
Quiescent is my next Q word. Quiescent goes hand in hand with quiet. Quiescent is defined as; "marked by inactivity or repose." Going to a networking event and doing nothing but standing around is just wasting time. I have had people tell me that they just wanted to get out of the office early and this was an excuse to do just that. Obviously being inactive at an event that requires proactive behavior insures your failure and cost you the price of admission.
My next negative Q is Quibble. Many times at networking events, I see participants quibbling over unrelated happening, which have nothing to do with their business, profession or market in general. They in essence are being social. Although all networking events have a somewhat of social flavor to them, that is not their purpose. Networking events are marketing events not social meetings. When you see people quibbling over who has the best football teams or where the biggest fish are, think to yourself. Am I here to quibble socially or make business contact and get referrals?
Now let's talk about Quarrel, our next negative Q word. Some time I see people quarreling at these events. It definitely hurts' your ability to connect and build credibility if you argue with people. This is true even if you do it only occasionally. Arguing with people about politics, religion or even business is negative in nature. The best thing you can do is excuse yourself from any conversation that turns negative or argumentative and move to where there are positive people at the event. You can't be positive if you're quarreling. Remember negative repels and positive attracts.
My last negative Q word is Quit. Many time people just quit networking because they think, they don't have the skills or it too hard or that it just doesn't work. All of these reasons to quit are just negative though move into that person reality because that person is operating from a negative "Q" mentality instead of a positive "P" mentality.
If you follow my positive networking, P's and avoid my negative networking Q's as outlined in this article you will make more contacts, create more referral partners and get more business then you ever have before. Mind you're networking P and Q and reap the rewards at your next networking event.
That's my opinion, what's your.
First, let me start by covering what I call the five P's of networking. These are being Positive, Proactive, Prepared, Purposeful, and Pleasing. First, let us look at Positive. I have heard many of the top professional of the networking world say that being positive is the number one thing you need to start on the right path to success. I have also heard it said that it is also second, third and fourth... you get the idea. Your attitude permeates everything you do. Make sure you are positive because being positive will attract people to you and many of them will be potential customers.
Now let us discuss what being Proactive means. A proactive networker does not wait for referrals to come to them; they go after that business directly. They attend many networking events; take the time to meet, set appointments, and learn about other networker. They take the time to educate their referral partners on their businesses. Proactive people get things done. By being proactive you can builds your credibility with your fellow networkers and strategic referral partners. Being proactive will allow you to deliver your positive focused messages and as such, it will help you get more referrals.
Being prepared goes along with being proactive. Here I am talking about practicing your presentations, (both 60-second and 10-minute presentations) before events. Making sure, you have a plan and a list of those businesses you want to be introduced while attending these events.
Purposeful also goes hand in hand with proactive and prepared. You can only be purposeful if you have taken the time to be proactive and prepare. Your focus is only as good as your preparation. Being Purposeful mean knowing in your gut exactly why you're at that networking event. It means you know who you are looking. You will know because you have put in the time and effort to get ready for that event.
The last of my P's is Pleasing. Here I am referring to the fact that by being positive, proactive, prepared and purposeful you will automatically be more pleasing. One reason is because the first four P's help build your credibility. In addition, the first four P's allow you to relax and not be anxious (because you know exactly what you have to do). You will be able to enjoy the event more. You will be more successful achieving your goals and success lead to having fun. When your having fun you will be more pleasing to other and it will perpetuate being more successful. Focusing on the five P's generates success.
Now lets contrast the negative aspect of what I am calling my networking Q's with the positive P's I just covered.
My first Q is Quiet. I often see people at networking events huddle away in some corner acting as if they are in a "time out". This will never get you any business. This also goes for people spending most of their networking time eating and drinking instead of meeting and mixing with the other attendees. Being quit is only important when you are actively listing, other wise it will not gain you a thing. When it time to give your 60-second presentation, saying nothing is bad. The only thing worse than saying nothing is say things poorly. Neither of these traits will instill confidence in your services and they definitely will not build your credibility.
Quiescent is my next Q word. Quiescent goes hand in hand with quiet. Quiescent is defined as; "marked by inactivity or repose." Going to a networking event and doing nothing but standing around is just wasting time. I have had people tell me that they just wanted to get out of the office early and this was an excuse to do just that. Obviously being inactive at an event that requires proactive behavior insures your failure and cost you the price of admission.
My next negative Q is Quibble. Many times at networking events, I see participants quibbling over unrelated happening, which have nothing to do with their business, profession or market in general. They in essence are being social. Although all networking events have a somewhat of social flavor to them, that is not their purpose. Networking events are marketing events not social meetings. When you see people quibbling over who has the best football teams or where the biggest fish are, think to yourself. Am I here to quibble socially or make business contact and get referrals?
Now let's talk about Quarrel, our next negative Q word. Some time I see people quarreling at these events. It definitely hurts' your ability to connect and build credibility if you argue with people. This is true even if you do it only occasionally. Arguing with people about politics, religion or even business is negative in nature. The best thing you can do is excuse yourself from any conversation that turns negative or argumentative and move to where there are positive people at the event. You can't be positive if you're quarreling. Remember negative repels and positive attracts.
My last negative Q word is Quit. Many time people just quit networking because they think, they don't have the skills or it too hard or that it just doesn't work. All of these reasons to quit are just negative though move into that person reality because that person is operating from a negative "Q" mentality instead of a positive "P" mentality.
If you follow my positive networking, P's and avoid my negative networking Q's as outlined in this article you will make more contacts, create more referral partners and get more business then you ever have before. Mind you're networking P and Q and reap the rewards at your next networking event.
That's my opinion, what's your.
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