Encourage Employees to Network

Five Ways to Encourage Employees to Networkstring(43) "Five Ways to Encourage Employees to Network"

Too many entrepreneurs focus on bringing in new business themselves or in tandem with the sales force but overlook their support staff as a source of referrals. Building word-of-mouth for your business is not just the responsibility of your marketing or sales department. As you might imagine, it’s far better to engage your entire staff in your word-of-mouth marketing campaign-not only at startup, but also throughout the life of your business. Here are five tips on ways to encourage employees to network:

1. Include networking in the job description for each and every employee

Often, if a new hire knows upfront that he’s expected to incorporate networking into his job, it will happen.

2. Have clear and reasonable expectations.

If your company manufactures a very obscure product, your staff might have a hard time bringing in tons of referrals. However, keep in mind that people are more important in the networking process than the type of product being sold. When you have the right person, he or she will be able to build a network around any kind of product or service.

3. Teach your staff about how to network effectively for the company.

Hold focus groups where you role-play ways to ask for referrals from other customers, friends, and family. Bring in local networking experts for in-house training. If you belong to a weekly networking group, bring your staff to those meetings one at a time so each member can see firsthand what networking can produce. This also helps your networking partners feel that they know your business better since they’ve been able to meet the people in your company.  Until you teach someone how to do something effectively, expecting them to do it well or even at all is unrealistic.

4. Motivate your staff to bring referrals to the company.

My wife once worked for a business owner who incorporated monetary bonuses into her word-of-mouth marketing expectations. For every new customer, she was given a bonus. It was a win-win arrangement for the company, as each new customer brought in revenue well above the bonus amount, and my wife felt rewarded each time one of her referrals came through the door.

Having a bonus system in place made it obvious that she would be attending chamber meetings with the boss and developing other connections in the community while passing out business cards and flyers for the company. To properly execute this idea, check with your CPA or tax preparer.

You might even establish a “networker of the month” status for the staff, using a reserved parking spot or an overnight hotel stay somewhere fun as a reward. Make the motivation something that’s relevant to your industry and, most of all, exciting to your staff.

5. Be sure your staff sees you practicing your networking skills.

Often, we as entrepreneurs don’t share with our staff the amount of time and energy we put into building and maintaining our businesses utilizing word-of-mouth marketing. I have always felt very strongly about this point. If I am going to expect my staff to do something, motivate and reward them for doing it, I better let them see me doing it as well. All too often, networking is something done behind the scenes and not necessarily in front of the staff.

One way to change this is to track how much business you brought in, as well as the staff’s numbers. Imagine the pride one competitive staff member will have when he or she breaks your number. Imagine the profits your company will realize when everyone in the company focuses on growing the business.

Networking is a group activity. Make sure to encourage employees to network and get your whole team on board with the process.

Steve Farber

Steve Farber says “Love is Good Business”string(53) "Steve Farber says “Love is Good Business”"

Fellow Transformational Leadership Council member and friend, Steve Farber, talks to me about focusing on finding love in business. Steve is one of the best speaker’s I’ve seen on the stage.  His message is both surprising and impactful. When we were in Cancun together last week, he talked to me about love being a part of your every day mantra as a business owner.

It’s true. Love is just damn good business. Here’s the logic:

1. You have a massive competitive advantage when your customers love your product or service.

2. The only way to create that experience for customers in a meaningful and sustainable way over time is to create an environment or culture that people love working in.

3. You can’t create that kind of culture unless you love your business, your team, your colleagues, your employees, your customers, yourself, first.

4. Employees will model how they are treated by their leaders.

Love being part of our every day business

Businesses that promote love and celebrate love still need profits to keep their doors open, but they understand the powerful connection between loving what you do in the service of people who love what you do. It builds strong relationships, trust, loyalty, and the commitment that allows a business to not only make money but make a difference. Love being part of our every day business is no more complicated than the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.

Steve Farber, founder of The Extreme Leadership Institute, is a popular keynote speaker and leadership expert. Steve’s been featured on my blog before. He’s the bestselling author of The Radical Leap, The Radical Edge, and Greater Than Yourself. Learn more about Steve on his website at stevefarber.com

Think of this the next time you order a pizza. It’s a great example of “love is just damn good business” in action. 

Unhealthy Habits

Seven Unhealthy Habits at Workstring(30) "Seven Unhealthy Habits at Work"

Being healthy is not only good for the individual, it’s good for business.  Healthy people don’t miss work and are more productive when they are at work.  So, let me share seven important unhealthy habits at work based on material from my book, Healing Begins in the Kitchen.

  1. Sitting still for hours can compromise your immune system. Your body needs movement in order to stay healthy. Getting up and walking, or even using a stand-up desk, keeps your lymphatic system flowing and your oxygen levels higher, so take stretch breaks or march in place at your desk every half hour. Studies have shown that people who do this consistently retain more of what they are learning and have better recall.

 

  1. Don’t drink coffee or black tea all day long. One cup of coffee or black tea in the morning isn’t a bad thing, but you need to drink water throughout the day in order to maintain optimal health. Herbal teas are okay to have frequently, but too much coffee or black tea will raise your body’s acid level and can lead to calcium depletion of your bones as your body tries to regulate the blood pH.

 

  1. Avoid taking work home with you on a regular basis. Maybe you want to impress the boss, but you’ll be more productive at work and will avoid burnout if you take quality time off every day. The concept of “be here now” is so important to your health. Taking work home with you robs you of your personal time and adds to your immune-suppressing burden of stress.

 

  1. Skipping lunch can be hazardous to your health. Sometimes it is tempting to press into a project and miss out on lunch, but you need to fuel your body and brain with nutritious food to be your best at work. Running on empty leads to low blood sugar which can restrict your ability to think quickly and clearly, and also slows you down. If you don’t have time for a lunch break, at least have some almonds or a healthy meal-replacement bar handy so you can refuel.

 

  1. Watch your bad attitude. It’s common to hear employees bellyaching and complaining about various things, but keep your attitude positive and have a solutions focus. You’ll find you have a stronger immune system. Positive attitudes lead to healing hormones like serotonin and oxytocin being released which support healthy immune function. Negative attitudes lead to damaging hormones being released (such as adrenaline and cortisol) which suppress healthy immune function. Attitudes are contagious, so surround yourself at work with happy, positive coworkers. Besides, it doesn’t do any good to complain to others. Half the people you tell don’t care, and the other half are glad you’re worse off than they are!

 

  1. Stop letting deadlines stress you out. OK, this one’s a little woo-woo. Stick with me though. Change your approach to those deadlines by scheduling frequent micro-breaks for focused breathing. Take five deep breaths every 30 minutes to an hour to help keep your immune system strong in order to protect your health. Studies have shown that when your brain is oxygenated, you perform better as well.  I know, it sounds crazy – but it’s the truth.

 

  1. Resist starting your day with donuts. Give your body something better than a high-carb, sugary breakfast to start your day strong. Try having a quick skillet scramble with pastured eggs cooked with high-antioxidant vegetables. Then you will be happily and healthily full and able to say no to those sugary treats at the office. If you’re not able to cook a hot breakfast, blend up a vegan protein drink.

Here’s a quote you might find interesting: Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.

These are not words of some twenty-first-century alternative health-care guru, no.  They are the words of Hippocrates, the father of Western Medicine (b. circa 460 BC).

We should take that to heart.  Literally.  Being healthy is smart for you and smart for business.  I know.  I learned this the hard way.  If you’d like more information on how I learned this, check out my book, Healing Begins in the Kitchen.

college graduates

Five tips for new college graduates to find a job through networkingstring(68) "Five tips for new college graduates to find a job through networking"

It’s graduation season. However, the majority of soon-to-be college graduates don’t have a job lined up. The New York Post reported that a study conducted by GoDaddy found that only 40% of college seniors have lined up a job and another 30% don’t even believe there are any jobs out there for them. So many new grads are still looking for employment because many of them are doing it the wrong way. They are unprepared because we don’t teach networking in colleges and Universities. Networking is still the best way to land a job. According to PayScale.com, over 85% of all high-end jobs are found through networking.

I thought I would share five tips on how new graduates (or even seasoned professionals) can find a new job if they are looking for employment.

Networking

Follow a lead when you get it but focus on getting a referral. A lead is merely a contact but a referral is about a relationship. Desperation is not referable. Since you’ll be depending on your network to speak highly of you to their hiring manager and contacts, practice confidently touting your skills. Reach out to friends, family and business contacts in person, on LinkedIn and via social media to tell them exactly what kind of position you’re looking for. Ask if they can check for any upcoming openings and keep you in mind.

Mentoring

Every college grad should find a mentor in their profession.  Know how to ask.  Don’t lead with “will you be my mentor.”  Instead, ask them if they are willing to give you some advice.  Tell them you are not looking for anything from them but advice. DON’T PITCH to them.

Checking

Image-check your social media profiles. They are looking! Potential employers will search about you online. Your social media presence could be hurting your chances of landing a job. Take down all your posts of your wild parties and remove any posts that you think don’t represent you appropriately to an employer. You won’t want to make those who have referred you to look bad if they stick their neck out and recommend you.  I was once considering hiring someone and I checked out his Facebook page.  OMG!  He threw out the “F” bomb time after time on his posts.  In addition, he posted widely inappropriate comments and tirades about people.  He was not the kind of influence I wanted in my office.

Strategizing

Determine where you stand with these contacts. Whether they are active, passive, or dormant will determine the strategy. Active; pick up the phone and ask for assistance.  There’s a relationship.  They will most likely love to help. Passive; set an appointment to reconnect (preferably in person).  Find out about them and let them know you’re looking for something.  Dormant; reconnect by social media or email.  Just talk.  Don’t ask for anything – yet.  Stay in touch, build the relationship before you ask.

Visiting

Visit organizations in the industry you want. Network right there, on the ground. Check in at the front desk, drop your resume off in-person and ask to meet with the HR director. Better yet, find out if someone in your network can connect you to a current employee in that company. Contact them through the referral.  Meet them for coffee and come prepared.

Your network is the lifeblood of your career.  Don’t let it die of professional loneliness.  Learn how to network your way into a job.

Share this with anyone you know who is looking for employment.

Working IN versus ON

Working IN versus ON with Tiffanie Kellogstring(41) "Working IN versus ON with Tiffanie Kellog"

Tiffany Kellog joins Jason Avery to discuss his journey from being the worker to being the owner. They offer the following tips about Working IN versus ON your business:

  1. Find someone who could do the labor
  2. Hire a General Manager so you can focus on referrals
  3. Bring in more labor crews to support the added work
  4.  Bring in office staff to support the business

 

About Tiffanie Kellog

For more information on Tiffanie Kellog, please visit her website at tiffaniekellog.com/

Tiffanie Kellog is a professional speaker and trainer with Asentiv, and is co-owner of a business with her husband.  Therefore, Tiffanie has helped entrepreneurs over the years make more money while saving time. Thus, they can have more fun. She is dedicated to helping others make more in less time. Click here to view more video blogs by Tiffanie Kellog.

To contact Tiffanie, call her at 813-263- 9690 or email at referrals@tiffaniekellog.com

Tiffanie Kellog is a referral marketing expert who has been sharing how to create an amazing business & spectacular life for the past 12 years. You can learn MORE about Tiffanie at

Tiffanie loves to speak to groups around the globe on how to grow their business by referral as well as creating more time in their lives.
Graduates

Six Steps to Find a Job Through Networking For New Graduatesstring(60) "Six Steps to Find a Job Through Networking For New Graduates"

It’s graduation season so, I thought I would share some ideas on how new graduates (or even seasoned professionals) can find a new job if they are looking for employment.

Over 80% of all jobs are found through networking according to a recent study published on LinkedIn.   Here are six steps to help someone who is looking for work (along with two bonus ideas when they get a great connection).

  1. First, get your mindset right. Desperation is not referable. Since you’ll be depending on your network to speak highly of you to their hiring manager and contacts, practice confidently touting your skills.
  2. Image-check your social media. Potential employers will – and you won’t want to make your network look bad if they stick their neck out and recommend you.  I was once considering hiring someone and I checked out his Facebook page.  OMG!  He threw out the “F” bomb time after time on his posts.  In addition, he posted widely inappropriate comments and tirades about people.  He was not the kind of influence I wanted in my office.
  3. Start with current relationships. Reach out to friends, family and business contacts in person, on LinkedIn and via social media to tell them exactly what kind of position you’re looking for. Ask if they can check for any upcoming openings and keep you in mind.
  4. Inventory your other connections. Don’t forget to check in with neighbors, professional organizations, past customers, and community organizations for more contacts.  When it comes to referrals for employment, don’t underestimate the strength of weak ties.
  5. Determine where you stand with these contacts. Whether they are active, passive, or dormant will determine the strategy. I can outline how to approach each.  Active; pick up the phone and ask for assistance.  There’s a relationship.  They will most likely love to help. Passive; set an appointment to reconnect (preferably in person).  Find out about them and let them know you’re looking for something.  Dormant; reconnect by social media or email.  Just talk.  Don’t ask for anything – yet.  Stay in touch, build the relationship before you ask.
  6. Visit organizations in the industry you want. Network right there, on the ground. Check in with the front desk, drop your resume off in-person and ask to meet with the HR director. Better yet, find out if someone in your network can connect you to a current employee in that company. Contact them through the referral.  Meet them for coffee and come prepared.

Once you get a referral, do these two things:

  1. Research your prospective employer. Never go in without being prepared on the history of the company, their latest press releases, their corporate culture and values – whatever you can find.  Checking out their website is only the start.  Google the organization to get more information.   If possible, find out who might be interviewing you and learn more about them.  I landed one of the biggest jobs of my career (before starting BNI and long before Google) because I researched the company and knew so much about the organization and the professional background of the person interviewing me that it blew him away and he hired me.
  2. Offer to do a “working interview.” This is a great way for any company to take your experience and work ethic for a “test drive.” It will give you an opportunity to show them what you’re made of. If all goes well, ask them to consider you for the position.  I’ve been recommending this to job-seekers for many years.  In fact, one week before I wrote this article, I suggested this idea to my eldest daughter.  She tried it out with a company she wanted to work for and they took her up on a “working interview.”  She did such a great job, they hired her the next day!

Your network is the lifeblood of your career.  Don’t let it die of professional loneliness.  Learn how to network your way into a job.

Share this with anyone you know who is looking for employment.

 

Productivity

Five In Office Changes to Boost Employee Health and Productivitystring(64) "Five In Office Changes to Boost Employee Health and Productivity"

Ivan Misner shares how diet and eating habits can boost your employees’ productivity.

1) Install a water filtration system
2) Encourage a body detox system
3) Serve healthy alternatives at luncheons and office celebrations.
4) Start a walking club
5) Keep morale high

Make your employees day better by encouraging a healthy lifestyle. For more information, please visit http://misnerplan.com/

Promote from Withinstring(19) "Promote from Within"

In this video, I explain how it can benefit both business owners and employees when business owners promote existing employees from within the company whenever possible as opposed to hiring outside individuals to fill higher positions.

In almost 30 years of running my international networking organization, BNI®, I have largely taken the approach of hiring new employees to fill lower level positions and then promoting them over time to higher and higher positions. To exemplify how this has proven beneficial, I tell the story of an employee I hired over twenty years ago as a receptionist who is now the third highest ranking executive in my company.

I firmly believe that actively looking for opportunities to promote people from within a company not only increases morale within the entire company, it also motivates employees to grow their skills and experience and perform at an increasingly high level.

What is your opinion on promoting from within a company as opposed to hiring from the outside whenever possible?  Do you have a story about an employee or employees you have promoted who have proved to be irreplaceable assets to your business?  I’d love to hear from you so please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

Coaching Skills

Are Your Coaching Skills Lacking?string(33) "Are Your Coaching Skills Lacking?"

In this video, I talk  to Dave Buck, the owner of Coachville, about the importance of coaching skills for entrepreneurs.

Any successful entrepreneur can tell you that success depends on the quality of the results produced by the people on your team; and the best way to get better results from the people on your team is to coach them.

Watch the video now to find out what Dave thinks is one of the key skills for entrepreneurs to have when coaching their team and, also, how you can participate in an entire program to become a really powerful and effective coach.

Do you have any coaching tactics or strategies that you’ve found to be particularly effective in coaching your team/employees?  If so, I’d really love to hear them.  Please share your thoughts in the comment forum below.  Thanks so much!

To find out more about Dave and Coachville, please visit: www.Coachville.com.

Treat Loyalty Like Royaltystring(26) "Treat Loyalty Like Royalty"

In this video, my lovely wife Beth brings up a phrase she has often heard me mention in many of my presentations and in various conversations over the years–“Treat Loyalty Like Royalty”–and she asks me to explain what exactly the phrase means to me.  Beth goes on to reveal that she believes just as strongly as I do in the importance of treating people like royalty when they’ve consistently shown you loyalty and commitment in one way or another.

Whether they are employees or people you do business with, if you treat others like royalty when they show you loyalty, your ‘return on investment,’ so to speak will be beyond worth your efforts.  After watching the video, I’d love to hear about some of your experiences where you’ve worked with someone who has been loyal to you and how treating them very well in return has been well worth your efforts . . . or, also, how you worked with someone who you were very loyal to, how they treated you like royalty, and how it paid off for both parties in the long run.  Please share your story/stories in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

Vitality + Health = Greater Success in Businessstring(47) "Vitality + Health = Greater Success in Business"

As this is a blog about business and networking, you may be wondering why some of my recent blogs have seemed to have a fairly apparent focus on health.  I think the video I’m sharing with you today should answer that question for those of you who may wondering.  Over the past couple of years, I have indeed become quite an advocate of the importance of health in regard to achieving success and there is good reason behind that.

In this short video, I talk with my good friend Lise Janelle, renowned success coach for companies & entrepreneurs across the world, about the role that vitality and health play in achieving ultimate productivity and success in business.

Lise offers three keys to achieving vitality and explains why it is important not only for business owners, but also for all of their employees, to focus on staying healthy and engaged in order for any given business to truly thrive.

After watching the video, if you’d like to find out more about Lise Janelle and how she helps businesses and people alike to achieve their full potential, please visit www.HeartAtWorkInstitute.com.

To find out more about the book I mention in the video, The Misner Plan: How We Healed Cancer Naturally with Food, Nutrition, and Healthy Living , please click here.  If you’d like to learn more about the Misner Plan, please visit www.MisnerPlan.com.

Do you have certain habits and/or tactics you employ to stay healthy?  Do you  have specific ways of making sure you stay connected to your core values?  I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts on this and, also, if you have questions pertaining to this topic, I highly encourage you to ask them!  I am more than happy to do a future blog addressing your questions and to consult with Lise about them in order to get you the best answers possible.

 

3 Signs Your Office Needs a Health Make Overstring(44) "3 Signs Your Office Needs a Health Make Over"

Last month I posted a blog about changes companies can make to boost employee health & productivity and I got an e-mail message in response to it asking if I had any thoughts on how to tell whether or not an office maintained a mostly healthy environment or a mostly non-healthy environment.

There are always going to be some people in an office who are motivated to be healthy and others who are tied to an unhealthy lifestyle, but there are certainly ways to tell when your office could benefit from positive changes.

 

Here are three signs you office is in need of a Health Make Over:

  1. Negativity in the workplace. People who do not feel well overall tend to have a more negative outlook on life . . . both personally and professionally. When suffering all day with a headache or fatiue, it is hard to feel or act positive and cheerful. If you notice that the overall energy level of your office is low or negative, then perhaps it is time to brighten things up by focusing on recapturing high levels of health in your office.
  2. If one person gets a cold or flu, many others get it. When everyone’s immune system is strong, colds and flus do not get passed around quite so easily. Some offices bring in a healthcare worker to administer flu shots each year, although the efficacy of these shots has not been proven by medical studies. In my own office, the focus on building health takes an approach of building up the staff’s own immune systems to prevent the spread of colds and flus. If you find that your office goes through times where quite a few employees are out sick at the same time, you may want to evaluate whether a health make over is needed.
  3. Many of your staff members are overweight. When the metabolism slows down and people gain a significant amount of weight, other systems in the body are also compromised. The immune system and the liver (which plays a large role in the strength of the immune system) usually do not function as well in people with slower metabolisms. When I focused on boosting my immune system and engaging my liver in the healing process, I easily lost nearly 40 pounds, all while eating four to five times per day. The difference eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and antibiotic-free and hormone-free chicken and seafood was simply amazing. While my immune system became stronger, I naturally and easily dropped the extra weight I’d been carrying for years. Take an objective look at your staff. If you realize that more than 10% of your employees are overweight or obese (with a Body Mass Indicator ((BMI)) of 30-39.9), then your office may benefit greatly from a health make over.

Remember though, you can’t change things over night.  I found that the key to encouraging some members of my office staff into adopting a healthy paradigm at work is to make incremental changes, rather than coming in all at once and making sweeping changes. Not everyone in the office will be excited about embracing a healthy lifestyle, but many will. Most people need to make changes and know it, but they may not know how to make those changes, or they may lack the motivation or willpower to do it. Having a healthy, supportive focus at work among others with whom to share this positive shift can make all the difference.

Have you made changes in your office toward maintaining a healthy environment?  If so, I’m really interested in hearing what you’ve done.  Please share your thoughts in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

 

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