Online Networking Meetings

The Dos and Don’ts of Online Networking Meetingsstring(50) "The Dos and Don’ts of Online Networking Meetings"

May 18, 2020
, , Online Networking, Social Media, technology, Video Blog 14

The technology that exists today is great.  When I started BNI 35 years ago, we couldn’t do any of this.  We all had to quickly learn how to utilize the net as part of your networking strategy this year. Naturally, there’s a great deal of overlap between face-to-face and online networking. However, networking online works only when you are engaged during your online networking meetings to learn about each other.  Therefore, you need to practice active listening so that you leave your online networking meetings with more ideas on how to refer your networking partners. Now, more than ever, you need your network to work together and support each other by networking online.

Seven Tips for Your Online Networking Meetings

Watch this video to learn how you can make your online networking meetings more successful:

Learn how to utilize the net as part of your networking strategy.

It will still be a while until we can attend face-to-face networking events again. Therefore, we need to attend online networking meetings instead. Online networking meetings will never replace in-person networking, but they work well together. If you remember these tips during your next online networking meeting, you will maintain a powerful personal network that will be even stronger once we return to in-person networking again.

What tips do you have for attending your online networking meetings? I would love to read your suggestions. Please share them in the comments below.

Business Relationships

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March 26, 2020
, , Building Relationships, Strategic Planning, Video Blog 5

We are in a crazy time right now and we business owners need to be thinking differently than ever before. We need to be focused on two strategies. First, you need a plan to get through this current situation with your business affected by current events. Then, you need to plan on what you are going to do as quickly as possible when society returns to normal. We all have to do something and be proactive to really make a difference by focusing on business relationships.

Watch this video with Frank De Raffele about planning your own strategies to help your business these days.

Transactional versus Relational

People don’t make good decisions based on fear or anger, so don’t succumb to that. In the middle of any kind of serious challenge, it’s hard to see through the fog that surrounds us. Do not get distracted by all the noise, but focus on the solution. Therefore, change your plan from focusing on business transactions to focusing on building business relationships. Use online networking to build meaningful referral sources, referral partners, and strategic alliances.

Are you doing virtual one to ones with people and talking about the various types of referrals that you are looking for. These may be completely different than what you were asking for before due to self-isolation. Be creative and think of ways to stay in business while practicing social distancing. This is a perfect time to reconnect with the people that are already in your network. Go deeper into that relationship and ask them how you can help them. And it’s okay to ask for help from your network for people that you know and have a good relationship with them.

People need their network, more than ever before. You will have a business tomorrow because of the actions you take today. Yeah, a lot of people are going to go out of business, but those with a powerful personal network are not. The people that you have in your BNI network are very supportive and in BNI, we are all willing to share those networks with each other.