rewards Archives - Dr. Ivan Misner®

30Mar2015

Who Cares about Your Business?string(30) "Who Cares about Your Business?"

Do you know who really cares about your business and wants to help you? Realistically, there are only a few basic ways of motivating people to care about and help build your business. Basically, it comes down to relationships and rewards.

Photo courtesy of graur codrin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Some folks, usually friends or family, will simply want to help because they like you and want you to do well. These people will be motivated by the relationship itself.

But in most other cases, the long term motivation to build your business is not based primarily on whether or not the other person likes you. Business partnerships, including referral relationships, almost always include some form of mutual reward; typically in the form of social or financial gain. Both you and your networking partner have something to gain, and you are both eager to help each other achieve it.

Some people are motivated by the potential for business referrals you can send, while others are motivated by the prestige and opportunities created by having a relationship with you. Regardless of the underlying motivation behind them, relationships can take time to prove profitable in a substantial way, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth cultivating. Ultimately, strong relationships will steer back opportunities because of the nature of networking itself and of the endless variety of products and services to which it can lead.

I firmly believe that most relationships will probably prove rewarding in the long term, even in cases where you don’t receive referrals in return. There are a few super successful people to whom we send referrals who’ve never reciprocated with a referral back. We’re motivated to continue helping them in any way we can simply because they will work with people we refer to them. That makes us look good, because it’s very difficult for the average person to start a working relationship with these very successful, very busy people.

If we refer someone, it opens a door that might never have otherwise opened. The new person that we are referring to our very busy friends or associates is the one who now goes out of his way to reciprocate. That’s our motivation; helping our networking partners achieve their goals. And, of course, in one form or another, it winds up coming back in some way.

What are some experiences you’ve had in which you’ve benefitted in some way or another as a result of truly caring about others’ businesses and helping them to grow and achieve their goals? I’d love to hear your story/stories so please share your experiences in the comment forum below. Thanks!

9Dec2013

Referral Marketing: Know the Risks, Reap the Rewardsstring(52) "Referral Marketing: Know the Risks, Reap the Rewards"

December 9, 2013

Ivan Misner

Building Relationships, referral marketing, reputation, rewards, Risks Advertising, Building Relationships, Business, Connections, Credibility, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Referrals, Relationships, Risk Takiing, Word of Mouth 2

In a radio interview I once did, the host of the program asked me whether I consider referral marketing the safest form of advertising. Without the slightest hesitation, I confidently answered, “By all means, no.” Based on his response, I’m sure he was shocked by that answer.

I went on to explain that I believe very strongly in the tremendous benefits that word-of –mouth marketing can bring. However, there are unique risks associated with referral advertising that are not an issue in commercial or other forms of advertising.

When you give a referral, you give a little of your reputation away. If the business you’ve referred someone to does a good job, it helps your reputation. But if it does a poor job, your reputation may be hurt.

As I said, the payoffs of referral marketing are immense—when it’s done correctly. But referral marketing involves a really big risk: giving away a piece of your reputation every time you give a referral to someone. When you tell a valued customer that a friend of yours is going to take good care of them, you must have confidence in that friend.

But what happens if your friend lets your customer down? It comes back to haunt you. Your customer begins to lose faith in you and, because of that loss of faith, you just might lose that customer down the road. This is why it’s so important to develop strong relationships with those to whom you’re referring business and vice versa. Once those strong connections are forged you can rest easy, knowing when you tell someone a business associate or a networking partner is going to take good care of him or her, that’s what will happen.

Do you have a story others might learn from about a time when referral marketing really paid off for you, or a story about how you experienced the unique risks associated with referral marketing firsthand? Please share your experiences in the comment forum below. I’d love to hear from you–thanks!

19Nov2012

Are You Using Networking Tools Effectively?string(43) "Are You Using Networking Tools Effectively?"

The Second Law of Notable Networking: Learn How to Use Networking Tools Effectively
(Click Here to read about the First Law of Notable Networking)

A Notable Networker must have and use the right tools to network skillfully. All professionals need the tools of their trade to conduct business. A painter needs a brush, a teacher needs a blackboard, and an administrative professional needs a computer. To achieve success, networkers need their own tools as well. Good networkers’ tools include:

name tags to identify themselves to others,
card holders to carry their business cards, and most important,
card files to carry other people’s business cards.

It has been said that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce coined the term “networking.” Over the years, I’ve gone to many Chamber of Commerce business mixers. Unfortunately, too many of them seem to practice a passive form of the technique. However, depending on the chamber, some mixers can be an outstanding way to meet many new people. At Chamber of Commerce mixers, people from a variety of businesses get together with the idea of meeting one another.

At these meetings, I often encounter people who don’t wear a name tag. Of those who do, many neglect to put their company name or profession on the badge. I can’t imagine anyone going to a business meeting and not telling everyone what business he or she is in! You’ve got to let people know who you are and what business you’re in if you want to reap the full rewards of networking.

I also run into people who don’t have any business cards with them. Business cards are one of the most inexpensive forms of advertising available and a crucial tool for networking. They should be well designed and present a professional image. Most important, you need to have them in your possession! A large stack of cards sitting in the desk drawer at your office doesn’t help much at a business mixer. Always carry a small card case full of business cards with you and keep a large box of business cards in the glove compartment or trunk of your car for restocking your card case on the spot. Use the backs of any cards you get from others to make notes that will jog your memory about each individual or about the conversation you had.

In addition, you should go a step further and carry a vinyl or leather card-carrying case or book for the cards of the people you network with. These are people in your own personal network of contacts, people who presumably are storing your cards and referring you as well. Always keep three or four of their cards so you can hand one to anyone interested in their services.

One way to enhance your networking efforts is to use computer software. When you get back to your office, you can enter the new names and information you’ve acquired into a contact management program to help you organize your information and enable you to easily handle follow-up activities. In addition to these, several general database programs, such as Relate2Profit, provide contact management capabilities. You can log in new information and contacts, get reports of your progress, and reminders. If you’re not already using a program such as this, rest assured that the learning time is a couple of hours or less.

Do you have a favorite networking tool or a particular software program that you’ve found to be especially useful in enhancing your networking efforts? If so, please write about it in the comment forum below–I’m always interested in hearing about new tools for increasing networking effectiveness. Thanks!

16Aug2010

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Winning Strategies for Business Conferencestring(72) "Entrepreneur Magazine’s Winning Strategies for Business Conference"

Entrepreneur magazine’s Winning Strategies for Business Conference is being held in Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 5. If it’s possible for you to attend, I highly recommend that you go. This event offers serious educational value, plenty of opportunities to network and, best of all, registration is FREE!

I’ll be giving the keynote presentation, “Networking Like a Pro,” during the morning session and I’ll be talking about how to create, maintain and serve a wide network and enjoy great business and personal rewards as a result.

If you can make it out to the conference, I’d love to have the opportunity to meet you, so please take a moment to introduce yourself during one of the networking sessions or after my presentation.

The focus of the Winning Strategies for Business Conference is to show you everything you need to know about how to go further and achieve more by teaching you proven tactics that will impact virtually every aspect of your business. Bruce Kimbrell of Disney Institute will be giving the afternoon keynote presentation, “Disney’s Approach to People Management,” and there will be a handful of other dynamic speakers presenting on topics such as SEO, social networking and PR, fundraising, launching a new business, brand building, driving sales and more.

There will also be a one-of-a-kind opportunity for you to pitch your business to Entrepreneur‘s editors for a chance to have your business featured in either Entrepreneur magazine or on Entrepreneur.com

(Now that is a great opportunity!)

Hope to see you at the event! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR FREE or to get more information on Winning Strategies for Business.