Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Reach Success The Easy Way

By Alex Sumner

When the datum networking is mentioned, most people I now think about salespeople or business owners exchanging business cards any chance they can. Of course networking can be the card exchange. It`s also "doing lunch" and attending exploits and many other equally valid and powerful things, but even so, most of what is written and thought about networking focuses on external networking.

External networking is important. And, for a leader in a business of any size, I would suggest that the most important networking opportunity you have is the one all around you - networking with those within the company; networking internally. Since this type of networking isn`t talked or written about much; it is rarely thought about. And yet, for all of the relationships, learning and opportunities external networking can bring, the same can be true-blue when you focus on building your network inside your company as well. Here are eight ways you can creatively and glibly network within the boundaries of your own organization.

Consider using a daily traffics checklist. make sure that you keep track of the accounts you are currently handling. With a daily sales checklist, you will have an easier time maintaining active accounts, as well as make old accounts become functional again. Also, by identifying the amount of intelligences you have, you can simplify and approach the number that you can easily accomplish on a routine basis.

Seek out internal elders for yourself and your team. If you are in a relatively large organization, there are probably people that you have heard of or have watched from a distance in admiration. Why not approach them to be a mentor to you and/or members of your team? be a silo buster. If your organization operates in a fragmented, highly departmentalized, siloed way, decide to be the silo buster. All these ideas can help you do this, but the point here is to make a conscious decision to network with the purpose of building relationships that will begin to break down these barriers. Create "lunch and learns". Invite people from other departments with expertise your team or beat doesn`t have to come and share that information over lunch. This creates new learning opportunities for both sides and gives people a chance to get to know new people at the same time.

This way, you are not only ruling in Marketing your product in your postcard printing for example, but you are actually making a commitment to sell your product or service.

Its highly unlikely that your competition will vandalize your place of business as in the movie " surely theyre not THAT stupid! There will be those who resort to mudslinging, however. In those situations, do like Gina did: pick up the pieces, hold your head up and move on. Put your focus on YOUR customers and YOUR business. do not stoop to the accusers dub. As the LOVEly and brilliant Sales Diva, Kim Duke says: People who throw mud are the ones with the dirt on their hands.

Focus your efforts on putting your Business in the market. You actually have to set yourself up on a selling mode. To sell effectively, be in the mood to do so. make sure you know everything there is to know about your product and service. get energized to market your product and put yourself in a positive frame of mind, that selling in itself becomes an congenial activity.

Creating your own products can go a long way to entrenching on-going customer loyalty and cultivation your brand. Treat every customer like they are your saving angel. In this age of continuous bombardment of purchase messages, NOTHING is as effective as good word-of-mouth referrals. People put more credibility to a personal reference than they excessively will in a big advertising campaign. And best of all, the cost to you is NOTHING. Zip. Nadda. Just be yourself, do good work, and create great products your customers taste and want to buy again and again.

Many of the other ideas on this list may be the platform or the "excuse" for such an contingency - but you can come up with many more that will harrow within your organization now that you are thinking about it! All of these ideas may not apply to your situation, but some of them will. For every idea I`ve shared I would guess you can think of five more. In the end, the most powerful key to implicit networking is to perfectly start doing it! As you build your internal network you will create benefits and opportunities for you, those you`re networking with, and for your team and colleagues. When you look at it this way you hopefully realize what a valuable investment time spent on building a larger and broader set of combinations inside of your company can be. Potential Pointer: The most overlooked opportunity to network is not out in the world, but right inside your organization. As a leader, or aspiring leader, when you mine the network and combinations within your company you help both yourself and your team create greater success!

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