Advice for Small Business Owners » networking

A Matter of Trust

Elie Kochman — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:45:33 +0000

In studying the business applications of being a personal trainer, there was a comment that piqued my interest:

Within 6 to 9 months of becoming certified, if you are not getting 75% of new clients via referrals, you’re doing something wrong.

This is particularly interesting to those in service-based industries. Getting new clients is generally extremely lucrative, and many businesses would be prepared to pay hefty fees to bring in new clients. However, the vast majority of their new clients don’t have any costs associated with them.

Word of mouth is the best way to draw in new business, and there is no reason why any business owner need have any difficulty in this manner. Treat your clients well, and they will, in turn, pass your name along to their associates. Establish trust with people, and they will reciprocate over time.

Additionally, there is no reason not to try to use this method of bringing in new business. You should be treating your clients well, because in service-based industries, that is precisely what you are being paid to do. While this may not be true for every client, treating them well in general will see your clients treat you well – with respect, courtesy, and understanding as you may need it.

For example, I try to be generous with my referrals – but only in terms of whom I will give a referral to. That is, if you ask me if I know someone who can fill a particular role, I would be happy to provide such a recommendation – if I know and trust someone who can fill that role. Getting onto my list of people I refer, however, is much more difficult, as competency and courtesy must be established before I will consider giving the referral.

Over time, this has benefited me, and so most of what I’m doing could be considered selfish. As a result of the dozens of referrals I’ve given out, I have in turn been referred a few times, but every time that has happened, the value of that one referral has shown that it is worth considering others. No, I don’t demand, expect, or even hope for reciprocity every time I give someone a referral. But I know that by doing so, somewhere down the line, a referral will arrive.

I’ve been consulting for several years. As of right now, I have only one client who was not the result of a referral. That’s how service-based businesses work – I provide one client with a service, he mentions my name to his friend, who in turn becomes a client. She mentions me to a colleague, who also becomes a client. I earn each referral (or at least, I try to) by providing that client with the best service I can.

At the end of the day, this is all a matter of trust.

Willing to Say No

Elie Kochman — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 12:45:53 +0000

I belong to a small network of businesses each of which provides similar and related services, though it is rare for any of us to compete directly with one another. This allows us to forward projects and clients to each other with little risk of losing the client.

A few days ago, the owner of one of those businesses came over to me to ask if I could take on working for one of his clients, who had been looking to extend one of their websites to a new market. I took a quick look at what was needed, and realized that while part of the project fell within my area of expertise, a major component did not. I was also aware that he had another option – his network of vendors included someone with expertise in this particular area, though that vendor’s prices were significantly higher than my own.

However, I didn’t feel that I could justify working on his project, or at least, not on the portions outside my area of expertise. While I was confident that I could complete the project, there were two reasons not to take on the work:

First, the amount of time it would take me to do the work would be much longer than if he used the other vendor, and ultimately might have cost the client more.

Second, I didn’t really want to learn how to do the portion of the project that I didn’t currently know how to do.

I declined the work, and he asked if I could do the part of the project which I did know how to do, to which I accepted. By declining one part of the project, at the risk of losing the other part of the project, I gained the trust of a client.

Sometimes, the gains of saying no to a client are known almost immediately, and sometimes, you just have to trust that the gains will come. When you inform a client that something falls outside your area of expertise, they will either ask you to do it anyhow, ask you to find someone who can do the work, or find someone else themselves. In any of these situations, you stand to gain – either immediately in the form of being able to subcontract work that you might otherwise not have been able to do, or in the long run with customer referrals.

When you gain the trust of a client, it will last longer than any satisfaction they get on a given project. It will translate into more business, references for more work, and many other long-term gains. But to gain this kind of trust, you need to teach yourself to be able to say no.

Starting a Business

Elie Kochman — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:45:34 +0000

A recent course which was titled “Starting a Business” and ended being better named “Writing a Business Plan” got me thinking about what kind of advice I would give to someone just starting out. I thought back to a few businesses which started out as a single person, and have grown, and realized that there are two kinds of people who start businesses, and the advice to each is different.

First Time in Business

If you are in business for the very first time, then what you need to do is go out and find some customers. No fancy business plan, no expensive incorporation, just a phone number or email address at which you can be reached. Reach out to your network, announce that you’re in business (explain what type of business you’re looking for), and ask people to send you leads.

What you are trying to do is get some momentum, and the simplest way to do that in the early days of a business is to find one person who will pay for what it is you have to offer.

One friend started his business with $500 in his pocket – he unpacked the coffee machine, pulled out a list of phone numbers for every person he knew, and started calling each to let them know he was in business. A few years later, he has several people working for him on a variety of projects, and has some idea about where he’s taking his business. But the start was informal – just a bunch of phone calls.

What it comes down to is networking to find one client. Once you have that one client, you can worry about determining where your business should go – taking legal steps to protect yourself, setting yourself up to be as tax friendly as possible, etc. The first step for someone in business for the first time is always networking.

Been There Before

If you are starting your second or later business, then the steps are different. Finding your first customer isn’t as important as figuring out what this business will do. You have to reflect on your previous business to determine, from a business perspective, how you can do better. In that case, a formal business plan might be wise – you may have the time to do this, and can afford to spend valuable time researching your target market, the industry, raising capital, etc.

The steps aren’t as clear here either – what was the end of your previous business that pushed you to start a new business? Would you call your previous venture a success? How would you apply the lessons learned there to your next venture?

These questions, and other related questions, need to be answered in order to determine your best approach to starting anew.

Summary

If it’s your first time in business, then don’t over-think it – just go out and find someone who will pay you to do the kind of work you want to be doing. If it’s not your first time, then reflect on your previous endeavors and figure out how to apply the lessons learned there to your next venture.

It Pays to Give Away

Elie Kochman — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:45:24 +0000

A few years ago, when just starting out in the consulting business, I would have been reluctant to give up any business at all. If someone asked me to write them a tiny script, or a massive desktop application used by thousands of people simultaneously, I would have been eager and raring to go. The bigger the project, the more likely I was to take it on, and I would convince myself that I was actually the right person for the job.

Fortunately, that didn’t ruin my business, but in hindsight, I was running a huge risk. There were certainly projects that I should have turned down for a variety of reasons.

What I discovered during the growth of my business is that there are really only a subset of projects that I personally should be getting involved with. For the rest? I have a nice Rolodex with names of businesses that would love to have those projects, and would do a fantastic job at them.

It’s not that I couldn’t do those projects, but rather, that I shouldn’t be doing those projects. While the short-term gains for me I perceived to be significant, in truth, they probably weren’t nearly as important as I thought at the time. What gains I made through those projects I could have made elsewhere, or made irrelevant through other projects I did.

In any business, it can sometimes be difficult to look at the current situation, and the latest opportunity, and determine whether or not the gains from that option are worth pursuing. What can help with this determination, though, is the presence of a clear goal, and you can look at the opportunity from the perspective of how much closer it gets you in reaching those goals.

For example, a project recently arose in which a client required a fairly complex web application to be built. This isn’t my area of specialty, and it’s not where I would take my business. Reflection told me to pass it on to a friend, who’s business does exactly this type of work.

The return benefits are often late in coming (I rarely take a referral fee directly from handing over a project), but can be more significant that what I’ve given. In this particular case, I landed a dream client I would have never met without this friend.

In other words, giving away a project or client now can have bigger returns. I consider it to be an investment in the relationship I have with the client and the company to whom I pass on the client to.

The client is happier because I forwarded them to someone more qualified. They trust me to tell them about my own expertise, because I’ve already proven that I’m not afraid to say that this isn’t what I do best. Forwarding them to others within my network increases the likelihood that if this client ever has a project that does fit my vision of an ideal project, it will be sent my way.

Likewise, the company who is being referred appreciates the business, and when they come across a project that suits my business more than their own, it too will make its way to my desk.

Oddly enough, this exchange is actually measurable in terms of pure profitability. I try to determine with every project that comes my way how the client found me. Once I do that, I can actually balance the project I got against those I gave away.

To date, I’m still on the leading side of this overall. Sure, there are a few relationships weighted in one direction or the other, but the benefits have far out-weighed the costs overall, and that’s why I will continue to pass along on projects that don’t bring me any closer to my goals, because passing those along is bringing me closer to my goals.

Are You Magnetized?

Elie Kochman — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:45:11 +0000

Over the last few years, I’ve begun to suspect that in some sense, I’m a magnet, and I’m not sure why. Not that I’m complaining – on the contrary, this magnetism has brought me large amounts of business, but I’ve tried to understand how this can be replicated.

First, though, I should explain what I mean by being a magnet. If I attend a networking event, I’ll meet people with businesses larger and smaller than my own. Chances are, at least a few of these encounters will result in second meetings over a cup of coffee. Or, I’ll hire someone on contract to do a bit of work for me, and the next thing I know, we’re sitting down to discuss opportunities for development.

It’s not just that I attend these events, though that does lend itself to making it easier to meet people. I think it’s more about the attitude toward meeting people at an event.

At this stage of my business development, I will often have more to gain from a networking associate, who may be more established in their business, and therefore able to offer more. However, one of the things I’ve learned is to never ask for the help, but rather, educate your network on what you do and the types of people you would like to meet, and the introductions will follow.

The second part of this is how conversations flow at these events. I try to express a genuine interest in what other people are doing with their businesses, and what they might need. This knowledge helps me in that for most of my business needs, I can find an answer with a couple emails or phone calls. I know who’s out there, I know what they can and can’t do, and much of the time, I also know who they know, or are connected to.

This ability to link people together makes people want to be in your network – they want to know you, and are happy to share their network, because they are aware that I do the same in return. The benefits are rarely aligned, but it is a large cycle, and most people intuitively know this.

Apparently, they’re also good at spotting such people. I can think of several people who would likewise describe themselves as a magnet, and I’ve discovered that they are taking the same approach as myself toward meeting people.

That, I believe, is one of the cornerstones of building a solid network.

When You Work for Yourself

Elie Kochman — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:45:46 +0000

Perhaps one of the factors of life as the self-employed freelancer is in regard to what happens when you get sick. Or, if it isn’t you who gets sick, a family member who you have to care for. Even for those under the impression that they rarely get sick, it tends to happen, as Murphy’s law dictates, at the least opportune time.

There are a few factors to consider here, and unfortunately, few solutions offered. However, bearing this in mind, it can help in alleviating client concerns when planning is done for this dreaded eventuality.

First, many clients will be reasonable if you get sick – it’s a risk they take working with a freelancer, and therefore they have already accepted that this may happen. As such, for non-urgent requirements, a quick email letting them know that you’re ill will usually suffice to remove the mundane tasks from your schedule as you recuperate.

Second, since you may get sick, it is prudent to avoid working to deadlines. With being ill occupying up to 2-3 days, a wise approach would be to target all deadlines to 3 days prior to the client-designated deadline. If you finish early, you can fine-tune for the last few days, or give the client the work ahead of schedule. If it requires an extra few days of work, you’ve built that into the schedule. And if you get sick, that’s okay because you still have some time for that.

Third, when emergencies come up, be prepared to work despite being sick. You might not be able to get out of bed, but your laptop may join you there as you log in remotely to the system and do what needs to be done.

Alternatively, have a network that you can fall back on in case you are unable to work. This network may not be able to help you for major projects, but if you are in a support role with fairly standard emergencies arising from time to time, then if you can find one or two people you can call on in a pinch to backstop you, it would help you in reassuring your clients as to what will happen if you should suddenly be unavailable.

In short, don’t wait for the inevitable to happen to start your planning – as the expression goes, an hour of planning can save you weeks of work.

Not Everyone is a Customer

Elie Kochman — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:45:04 +0000

In a recent article I wrote for a local organization, I discussed an approach to networking that involves whispering, not shouting. The article addressed a common issue with organized networking events in which people shamelessly self-promote without establishing connections, turning the event into a mass marketing forum.

What many people fail to realize at such events is that not everyone is a [potential] customer, but that does not mean they are not worthy of your time. The next big lead for your business can come from anywhere or anyone.

Once you realize this fact, though, your approach to networking may change significantly. Instead of trying to push a product or service, you might try to inform. Instead of trying to sell, you might start to listen and have conversations.

Networking is about establishing connections that will endure long beyond any short-term benefit. As an example, you might be able to close a sale with some aggressive marketing for a few cans of paint to someone who just moved into a new house. If you spent time to connect with that person, though, they may have referred you on to their contractor, who would continue to buy from you for many years. Does that mean that you should not sell to anyone who could use your service?

Not really – it just means that your approach might need to be fine-tuned. Listen, connect, interact. Eventually, the sale will come. If you provide paint, as in my previous example, then the person who moved might ask you if you sell privately, or only to contractors and professional painters. Not only have you opened yourself to the possibility of referrals, you have managed to close the immediate sale as well with far less effort.

Oddly enough, many people are well aware of this sales technique, and yet they persevere with the bullhorn approach to networking. Perhaps this is because when they enter the events, they are seeing other people behave this way, and they immediately try to fit in.

From personal experience, though, I’ve found that you’ll actually make more of an impact if you use the soft-sell approach – you’re at the event not to sell products or services, but to meet people. When you tell others this, they will be initially surprised, and try to find the ulterior motive. But if there truly isn’t one, you’ll have made great progress is establishing new connections that will have the potential for huge returns over the long-term.

The Value of Your Time

Elie Kochman — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:45:39 +0000

Over the last few weeks, I have been sent requests for articles from a variety of people, for many different reasons. In each case, there was to be no direct compensation for my work, though there would be significant exposure and references back to my website. As the revenue model of my site itself is mostly indirect, the conversion rate on my site from viewer to client is extremely low. The one direct revenue model, being an Amazon affiliate, has shown minimal value to me over the time I’ve been recommending products on their site.

When the most recent request for articles came in, I decided to run a basic calculation of what that article would cost me, and whether or not it is worth my while to write for yet another site. Essentially, I was trying to predict what the return on my investment, or ROI, would be based on the new exposure.

The first part of this was fairly simple. Writing an article for another site, once I have a topic or subject selected, takes me about 15 to 30 minutes on average. Writing one such article a week puts the cost of the article at about $50 of my time, considering that I will also have to spend some time thinking of a topic to write about. For a given site, I would write about one article a week, which translates into an annual cost of $2,500 worth of my time.

The second part was harder – how do I compute my conversion rate for my site? As mentioned above, the purchases made on Amazon are negligible, and so do not factor into the equation. What I needed to determine was how many people would contact me, via my site, for more information about a service that I offer, and how many of those would eventually become clients. Additionally, since some projects are really small, and others fairly large, determining the average revenue generated by a single client is a fairly complex task.

Additionally, many of the clients I’ve acquired via my site have required additional work on my part, and have actually been driven to my site by my efforts elsewhere on the web. Gaining additional readers on my site might have a measurable value, but without direct interaction, it could have no value at all.

The question bothered me – how can you calculate the potential ROI for gaining additional exposure for a site which has no direct revenue model, and is being used almost exclusively as a networking tool to gain introductions to new people?

Through discussions with several other people, I determined that the question I was trying to answer had no simple answer – it was asking what value I place on an introduction, and what value I might place on getting thousands of introductions in a short period of time. Does this have value? Absolutely, but perhaps not one that can be quantified.

The value of my time, therefore, could not be measured against the potential return, since there is no metric available for this purpose. As a result, I decided to take the opposite approach, and determine my potential loss if I did not write additional articles.

In this case, the loss would be exposure of a non-quantifiable value, but I would gain 30 minutes per week. Since I don’t have additional writing to do, I would also reduce any associated stress. I could focus on writing articles for this site, which would improve the quality of content here, thereby increasing the likelihood of gaining introductions to my readers.

As such, the case was closed – for the purpose of marketing, I didn’t really need the additional exposure, and so would not, in general, write more. For other reasons, such as supporting a cause, I might write, but it would not be for the sake of additional leads.

I value my time higher than those abstract potential returns.

Differences Between Service and Product Based Businesses

Elie Kochman — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:45:36 +0000

With thanks to Susan Varty for suggesting this topic.

Many businesses define themselves as being either a product-based business or a service-based business. While there are certainly those businesses which encompass both categories, and certainly many who will primarily think of themselves as providing both of those, it is the thoughts of the customers that matters in how the business is defined.

For example, my lawyer provides me with documents and contracts, but I think of a law firm as being a service-based business. On the other hand, the company that takes care of my lawn would be a product-based business, since what I care about is that I have a nice lawn, that is, a final product.

As a business owner, it is important that you first identify which of these two categories your business belongs to, and, as a consequence, what that means in terms of the growth and development of your business.

Product-based Business

If your business is based on a product, then your concern should be about making that product be as good as it can be in whatever way it is that you choose to market it. If it’s supposed to be high quality, then that’s your focus, it it’s supposed to be cost-effective, then you need to find ways to reduce its cost to the consumer. However, your interactions with customers are limited to finding out how you can make your product better, and the relationship with the consumer is of secondary importance.

To think about this in more practical terms, think about buying cereal at a store. You, as the consumer, generally don’t consider your relationship with the cereal manufacturer to be important, as long as the cereal itself meets your needs. The manufacturer knows this, and therefore will usually focus on the product, and reach out to consumers in order to find out how to improve those products, or create new products to meet a new demand.

Service-based Business

When your business is based on a service, then your concern is two-fold. On the one hand, you need to offer the best service possible, which may involve improving a product. Additionally, you are working directly with clients to make them happy, and as such, you must spend significant amounts of time on networking. That is, when you meet customers, it’s about more than just improving the deliverable, it’s about finding out how you can better meet the needs of that customer.

If my lawyer merely provided me with well-written contracts, I would be happy with the product, but perhaps not with the service. As such, he spends some time to understand what it is I’m trying to accomplish, so that he can anticipate my future needs. However, if the product he delivered wasn’t up to par, then even good service could not keep me with his business.

The problems a business in this situation faces is that they have to deal with all the issues of the product-based business, as well as those of networking and consumer relations. The rewards are appropriate as well, but a business that fails to take this into account is one that is thinking tactically, not strategically – owner beware.

Business and Lies

Elie Kochman — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:45:17 +0000

A question posed regarding how to discuss the size of your customer base when you have few, if any, customers, generated the following response:

A recent consultant I worked with had a clever way of dealing with this… He claimed his clients were the Department of Defense, and the Homeland Security Department. Think anyone can check up on those references? Hah!

You need to get at least 1 customer who is willing to provide a solid reference before you’re able to deal with a customer like that. As for the the ‘how many’ question, you have no obligation to give them solid numbers… go with vague words like ‘several’ or ‘numerous’.

While the second part of the answer is on the edge of acceptability, the first part has no place in a business that intends to be around for a while. Once the lies start rolling, it becomes difficult to stop. Additionally, at some point in time, one of those lies may rear its ugly head, usually at a most inopportune time.

While a methodology in business centered around acting larger than you currently are has come to be an accepted practice, it does not come at the price of lying. Rather, it is from the perspective of having the right mindset for a larger business, if that’s where you’re trying to reach.

In regards to this specific question, then, the appropriate response would be more along the lines of a “small but enthusiastic client-base” which does not specify size, but does admit that it’s not very large. Having one or two clients who would be willing to give you a strong referral can help reinforce this.

However, when you work with clients, you must act larger than you are. That is, the communications must all be extremely professional, follow a process to ensure that any issues are properly handled, and so on. That is, you must act as though you were a company many times your current size, so that the clients will respect you for where you’re going, not where you are today.

Solo in Business

Elie Kochman — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:45:50 +0000

This past weekend, I spoke at Freelance Camp TO, whose tagline was:

Be in business for yourself, not by yourself.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for a solo business owner is the fact that while they know a lot about their own business, they have a limited perspective, that is, they are stuck with their own. At times, another perspective can make things easier by seeing opportunities or solutions where they see difficulties and obstacles.

Events such as Freelance Camp provide a recourse for such business owners, giving them the opportunity to meet others in a similar situation. If there was one piece of advice that the organizers of the event should be stressing, it’s the expansion of a professional network over the course of the day.

Yes, each business is different, and has its own set of challenges. Yes, your business doesn’t work the same as the business next door.

However, many of the issues faced by all businesses are really the same, and have the same general approaches for solutions. As an example, I was asked during my presentation on Time Management and Procrastination on a solution to dealing with invoicing, something this audience member did not enjoy doing, though she knew it was necessary for her business.

The answer provided was one of options. She could use a service such as Freshbooks, which would allow her to invoice and collect payments fairly easily. As her business grows, she may look at a full accounting system, such as Quickbooks or Simply Accounting. She can continue to use a home-built solution using Excel.

The point, though, is that other businesses have gone through the same thought process, and come up with each of these solutions. A friend running another business might have been able to make all these suggestions. While I was able to answer this question, I may not be reachable when the next question comes up.

If you’re running a business alone, find one or two other business owners, and arrange to get together on a monthly basis to discuss the challenges you’ve each faced, and some of the solutions you’ve come up with. It may be the best investment of your time you do for your business.

Networking – Your Personal Mafia Family

Elie Kochman — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:45:05 +0000

In my recent post The Right Time to Network I emphasized the importance of networking well in advance of you actually needing something from your network. I was mentioning the post to my photographer during a photo shoot (new images will be put up within a few days), and he described it in a way that I hadn’t really thought about before.

Your network is basically a big family, like the mafia families of the stories, in which some things are expected of you from time to time, and in exchange, the family will stand by you when you need their help. That is, a well-cultivated network can be an extension of your family, with people you’ve helped over the years who are glad to help you when you need it, much as you helped them when they needed it.

Cultivating your network means slowly growing your network by always looking to bring people closer to the center of your circles, and increasing the number of people in the outer circles. In the book Make Your Contacts Count which I reviewed following a networking event last year (Getting Started with Networking), the author describes 5 levels of your network, from an acquaintance you barely know to an ally who will stand by your side. Your network will grow by moving people through those circles as effectively as possible.

Growing your network, which I describe in the afore mentioned article, involves more than merely increasing size, but doing so in a manageable way. That is, you can meet many people and make them acquaintances in a relatively short period of time, but also slowly cultivating relationships with a few people from each group, such that the groups grow slowly but surely.

Additionally, maintaining your network will involve work, to constantly connect with the people you already know, to not disappear for long periods of time. In this, websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook provide an excellent service, facilitating regular contact. That is, of course, provided you still maintain the in person contact that you would have used prior to the development and growth of these sites.

The Right Time to Network

Elie Kochman — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:45:03 +0000

Over the past few years, I’ve participated in a variety of networking groups, both online and in real life. I’ve also read several books on networking, and have been coached by a professional networking facilitator on etiquette. Out of interest, I started asking people around me about their networking experiences, what pushed them to start, and what approaches they’ve made to expand their network.

What I discovered was that many people start networking when they lose a job, or start a new business.

From my experiences, that’s much too late.

The best time to start networking is when you don’t need anything from the people you connect with, and ideally, when you have something to offer. Networking is not about telling everyone how great you are, or how desperately you’re looking for work. It’s not about telling the world about your latest product and how much better it is than the alternatives.

It’s about making connections that are mutually beneficial. While you can certainly do this when you need something, it’s so much easier to focus on giving when you don’t need anything. When you attend a networking event, you should be looking for people that you have something in common with, or people that you can help out. You should try to be the connector in the room, linking up people who might otherwise not find each other to their mutual benefit.

What you will discover is that by helping other people, you establish a strong network of people who have come to respect you for focusing on their best interests. True networking is reciprocal, but not necessarily within a single connection. If you set out to an event with the plan to help make 10 connections between other people, maybe only one connection will be of value to your own needs. However, in the long run, that one connection can often prove to be of equal value to the other 10 connections you made that have no direct benefit to yourself.

Question Behaviour

Elie Kochman — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:45:53 +0000

There are hundreds of sites for asking questions – some focusing on particular areas such as programming or building a business, others which are open to any type of question. In recent weeks, I have spent time browsing through questions and answers, looking at the way in which people phrase their thoughts.

What struck me as interesting is that there are two types of questions, leading to particular types of answers. On the one hand, there are questions posed which are carefully crafted to avoid leading the answers. On the other side are the questions in which the author has a clear opinion, and is leading the answers down a particular path.

A side effect of these two general types of questions is the nature of the question itself – how well does it indicate to the reader what the true question is?

As an example, a question might be posed regarding ettiquette of exchanging business cards (I asked this question a few weeks ago on Linked In) and the answers to this question will be diverse. The question posed a particular situation, and the answers, for the most part, stayed on topic with people not only saying what they might have done, but also explaining why.

On the other side, I asked another question regarding networking styles, both online and offline (also on Linked In). The answers to this question were not what I was expecting – while they all were connected to networking, they didn’t answer my question. I later went and added a clarification to the question, hoping to get the information I was really seeking.

Does this mean I don’t always ask good questions? Perhaps. Except that I’ve noticed that I’m not alone in seeing this situation.

Does this mean that people aren’t good at expressing themselves well when asking questions? Certainly a possibility.

What I think is the true issue has to do with the first statement I made regarding the two types of questions. When we are being truly honest with ourselves and seeking information, we will try as hard as possible to not bias the answer. However, we can often be a little too good at that, resulting in a loss of information that would help clarify the question to the audience.

When asking a question, there is going to be a balancing act happening between the not cluttering the question with irrelevant facts, and providing sufficient information so that the audience understands what is being asked.

So, if you’re looking for something you can teach others, try teaching people how to ask questions. It’s a need that, when satisfied, will help people communicate that much better.

Play Golf to Promote Your Business

Elie Kochman — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:45:32 +0000

I recently went to a driving range for the very first time, in preparation for my first round of golf. Different from the other sports in which I participate (cycling and hockey) in that there’s a lot less physical effort and much more mental effort, I wasn’t convinced that playing golf would really be of interest to me.

Until, that is, I was explained the social aspect to golf.

On a typical golf course, people go out in sets of four to play each round. Because there needs to be a gap between players, the clubs will generally insist on this amount of grouping. When a pair shows up and wants to golf, they will be asked to wait until another pair arrives, and then they can golf as a foursome. As a result, you will end up spending a couple hours with people you are now meeting for the first time.

If your clientèle is of the type to play golf, then this can be a great way to gain an introduction to some people you would otherwise have difficulty locating. Not only that, but you will also have the opportunity to spend a few hours with them, making your 30 second elevator pitch into a two hour discussion about their business and how you might be able to help them.

In golf, unlike many other sports, it’s considered acceptable to discuss business while playing. Not only that, but social etiquette on the links frowns upon the use of cell phones (no one will be happy if your phone rings while they’re in the middle of lining up their putt). As a result, you are expected to hold conversation with your fellow players.

This is one of the best ways to network. You get to enjoy some time in the sun, perfect your golf game, meet new people, and grow your business all at the same time.

I looked up the price of membership out of curiosity.At one club, the annual membership is about $5000, while others did not list prices. This, however, is the price of exclusivity, and a worthwhile business expense. While I’m not rushing out to get a membership right now, it’s certainly in my list of potential places to continue my networking efforts.

True Relationships

Elie Kochman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:45:35 +0000

I recently accepted a contract working for a small company. I was interviewed by the two owners of the company before being retained, and was introduced to their significant others. Between the time that we signed the contract and when I started working for them (there was almost a month gap there) I invited them to my place for a barbecue to get to know them better. The dinner lasted several hours, and while we couldn’t leave business completely out of the conversations, it was certainly more social than professional.

To me, the casual meetings are as valuable as the formal, professional ones. I prefer to hold meetings that aren’t strictly confidential in coffee shops or over lunch or dinner. If I can’t have the entire conversation casual, I at least aim for a casual setting. This works for me, though I certainly understand why some people find it odd and unsettling.

Perhaps that’s what I’m aiming for.

No, I’m not trying to unsettle people, but I am trying to get to know people better. I want to know the person I’m dealing with, and what they are like outside a professional environment. It’s a chance to learn about their other interests, and sometimes, other sides to their personalities.

For example, having a meeting in a coffee shop dictates that there will be some small talk, whether about finding the location, or the type of drink preferred by each person. Because it’s a more casual environment, discussions will tend to be more casual as well, which has its benefits especially when going through initial meetings, trying to determine needs and expectations.

There’s more to it than that, though, which is the title of this article. Meeting in casual places is one way to develop a true relationship. It’s a way to connect to people beyond the professional ties that brought you together in the first place. If a relationship is strictly professional in nature, than there’s no loyalty in either direction, because each person is truly in the relationship for themselves.

Like marriage, a relationship needs to be about the pair, the combination of people, in order to succeed. Each person has to want the other to benefit from the relationship, and has to care about the other people. As such, it is important to establish relationships that have few borders, that are not limited to certain topics or subjects.

How about you? When you develop relationships with people, do you limit them to professional subjects? Or, like me, do you prefer to cross the various lines and establish a complete relationship with the various people you work with in your day-to-day life?

Pitching for a Homerun

Elie Kochman — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:45:46 +0000

If you spend time networking, or if you are the owner of a small business, you are constantly on the lookout for ways to promote yourself. You have a business card that has your contact information, and a website that has more detailed information about your business. However, you need something more – you need to be able to get the person holding your card to visit your website, and then you need to be able to convert them into a customer.

The topic of this article is about how to convince a random stranger into visiting your website for additional information about you and your business.

You need to be memorable

The person who is receiving your card, regardless of the context in which they received it, likely comes across dozens of requests for their attention on a daily basis. Since your new friend is not currently in front of a computer, you need to make sure that the person will remember to look you up. That means you need to do or say something that is memorable to keep you in their mind.

You need to be relevant

If you’re selling expensive vacations and meet someone at a seminar on how to save money and get rid of debt, you’re in the wrong game. Being so far off-topic might make you memorable, but not in the way you want. Make sure that what you’re pitching is relevant to the person being pitched to – it will increase the chances that the person will want to find out more about you.

You need to be concise

I was at an event a while ago in which one person managed to be both relevant and memorable – but he took almost 5 minutes to get through his pitch. That ensured that not only would I not look him up, my memory of him is someone who I would not want to do business with. To avoid that, make sure you can throw your pitch in under a minute, and ideally in under 30 seconds.

You need to be clear

People need to be able to understand what it is your business is all about. If it takes a PhD in Astrophysics to understand your pitch, then you either need to rephrase your pitch to a more simple level, or be at the National Convention of Astrophysicists. Trying to make your business sound complicated doesn’t impress people, it bores them, and drives them to look for someone else who speaks their language.

Summary

In brief, you want people to remember you in a positive light, and to be able to relate quickly to what you do. If you can’t explain what you do in under 60 seconds (at least a partial explanation), you really should consider reworking your pitch.

The Network Reaches Completion

Elie Kochman — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:45:48 +0000

In any given day, I spend in excess of an hour working on my networks. Some of that time is spent on this site – writing articles, responding to comments. Other time is spent talking to colleagues to keep up-to-date on what’s happening around me. I visit a variety of sites (see my list of sites for more information about which sites I visit and why).

I’m constantly reaching out to others, probing for information and strengthening ties.

Then I met the right person, and suddenly, I truly understood why I put in all this effort into growing and maintaining my network.

I’m jumping ahead of myself.

I’ve been consciously networking for a little over a year. When I went to my first event, I was excited about developing new relationships, and wrote an article describing the experience. Since then, I’ve attended several other networking events, and pretty soon, the novelty began to wear off. I still thought I understood why I was putting in the effort, but I wasn’t seeing the rewards. I started getting discouraged, that my efforts were for naught.

Perseverance is one of the keys.

Knowing what you’re looking for is another.

Fortunately for me, I did persevere, continuing to reach out despite not seeing the hoped for results. I wasn’t being called after each event with requests for my time. New clients were hearing about me from old clients. My referral network was strong, but my new network? Silent.

Then, late in 2009, I started getting contacted randomly from readers of my site. I then understood why it took so long to hear from them – it took almost a year to establish credibility. The comments of Chris Brogan and Julien Smith in their book Trust Agents (link to review) were started to set in.

My site was starting to pay off, but what about the hours spent on LinkedIn? What about the time spent meeting other consultants? When would those start to pay off?

I met Susan Varty, the most recent piece of the puzzle.

After being featured in the AdviceTap newsletter, Susan reached out to me to connect, and a few days later, we were sitting down to discuss our businesses over coffee. Susan is a writer, and as her site says, she helps you finish your writing projects. While her actual business has diversified from there, it still remains her core focus.

The conversation we had gave me a lot to think about, from adjusting my consulting rates (Susan felt that I could easily double my rates) to potential sources of new clients. As I left the meeting, though, I continued to think about what we had discussed – how our business constantly evolves, how we recognize new opportunities. Tied in with this was the work I’m doing for one of my clients, assisting in developing a complete technology infrastructure for his business, and which I had been mulling over for the last few days.

I put the two together, and am now working on a new direction for my business. I’m developing what I’ve tentatively called the Small Business Technology Kit which will contain the various hardware, software, systems and processes that small businesses need to grow and expand.

Susan provided me with the target market. Jeremy warned me about the limitations. Ron gave me a concrete example of the applications.

It was my network that provided all the pieces. I just put them together.

It took over a year to get the right set of connections to figure out where I want to take my business. It took people I met in a variety of places – family, friend, networking sites, events, bloggers. But when all the people were there, I knew what it was I was trying to find, and it appeared.

Sometimes the answer to what are you looking for? stays hidden until you find that something, and then you know that you were looking for that all along. But the sooner you recognize what you’re looking for, the easier the search will be.

Surprising Connections

Elie Kochman — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:07:26 +0000

What is the most interesting connection made through your network that resulted in a contract or a sale? We all know the benefits of networking, but I was wondering just how remote a connection other people have found to have landed them a job. I’ll start by giving two personal stories.

My Current Job

When I graduated university, I didn’t have a job, and spent several months teaching part-time at a community high school. During that time, I got engaged, and at the engagement party, the father of my wife’s close friend heard I had a degree in computer science. He gave me his e-mail address, and suggested I send him my resume. I e-mailed it that night.

Three weeks later, I was called for an interview, and then a week later, for a second interview a few weeks after that. Two days before the wedding (it was only a 4-month engagement) I was informed that I got the job, and would be starting a month after the wedding.

Landing a Contract

The second story happened more recently. I did some work for a client for about 15 months building a fully customized inventory management system. I was at an engagement party for a friend, and another guest was chatting with the groom, and asking him about what he did. He mentioned that he worked for my client, and in an off-hand way, said “Elie would know, he wrote our software!” The guest turned to me and asked me what I did, which I quickly explained. A month later, I was hired to build a catalog of 200K files for a community organization he represented.

What’s the most interesting connection you’ve been involved with?

Trading Cards

Elie Kochman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:00:10 +0000

Recently on LinkedIn I asked a question about business cards and etiquette – do you always reciprocate handing out a card? That is, if someone gives you their card, should you give that person one of yours? If you hand someone your card, should you request one in exchange?

Before going any further, one thing needs to be clarified. I was asking the original question for a particular reason, and it was not so that I could write this article. I’m planning on attending a speed networking event next week, in which participants are seated at tables with five other people and get two minutes to make an introduction. The last time I attended, before anyone spoke, I had 5 cards in front of me, one from each person. After the introductions, however, I only really saw value in 2 or 3 of the connections.

The second half of the issue is that I did, at that event, reciprocate the handing out of my card. I ended up on 3 distribution lists as a result, and it took a while to get taken off one of those. All three people who put me on their mailing lists had something in common – they were all mutual fund salesmen. The question I was trying to get answered was whether I could [politely] refuse to give my card to the mutual fund salesmen at the next event.

I got many answers to my question, some of which addressed my concerns, others which seemed to ignore that aspect of the question. However, I did learn a few things about such events, and the ramifications of sharing a card.

Speed networking events are of limited value, because, while they allow you to meet many people in rapid succession, they often do not allow you to establish a solid connection with any one person.
Given then I will be attending this event (although this may be my last such event), sharing my card is considered to be a necessity. That is, I cannot politely decline to share my card with any one person or group of people.
I can control when to share my card – I can wait until it’s my turn to introduce, thus linking my card to my introduction.
I can make mention that I do not wish to be placed on any distribution lists – while I welcome networking opportunities, please keep my e-mail off any type of mailing list you may have.
When receiving cards, make notes on the back regarding the person who gave me the card, and any other information that may be relevant.
You never know where your next successful connection will come from, so don’t try to guess. Instead, hand your care to anyone who will take it, but always include a brief summary of what it is you do, and what it is you’re looking for.

What do you think about sharing your card? What value can you find is such events?