Do you ASSume?

Welcome to my sick mind!  Casey here again with another networking tip for you.  Do NOT assume!  I am going to tell you a little story that happened this morning in hopes you will get the point.  One of the things that will help you network and build a huge business is listening.  Now, here is the key to this deal.  Never ever assume the person you are talking with is telling you the whole story.  I am not saying they are lying but it is not your job to assume or fill in any part of their story. 

Let me tell you about “Gale”.  Gale is a potential client of mine who is all about assuming what her clients might want based on nothing more than her own story.  You see, Gale claims to be broke and because the story in her head is real, she is assuming all of her clients must be broke too.  We are talking about her coming on board with me in a position where she would sell a product to her existing client base.  Her base buys really high end products from her but she keeps telling me how broke her clients are.  The funny thing about this is that my product is just an add on up sale that is actually really inexpensive compared to what she is selling. 

I am asking, no begging you, to please not make assumptions on what people will buy or how much money they have in their bank account.  You must have a really big ego to think you know what someone elses situation is.  You will be a much better networker if you concentrate on building a long lasting relationship with people and not try to pretend you know more than you really do. 

When you can release your ego and let a relationship blossom you will be a much more valuable asset to others making you an ideal networker! (O.K. I could not resist using my blog name here)

Go out and give someone an AWESOME day!!

Does your email address confuse people?

Howdy everyone!  Casey Eberhart here with another tip for all of you folks looking to actually do business via the Internet.  Let me share with you what I have been doing all morning long and what conclusion I have drawn about email addresses.  This morning I have gone through stacks and stacks of business cards with the intention of putting them in different stacks according to how likely I will follow up with people.  If you are anything like me, you probably have 100’s laying around on your desk just waiting to go through them.  (As an aside, if you need some ideas on what to do with all of your cards, check out my friend Alan’s blog at www.followupsuccess.com ) 

I have an email list stared with all of my contacts in it.  You will probably have one as well growing that list every time you meet people.  Here is the thing I noticed over and over again this morning.  PEOPLE ARE CONFUSING!  It made me so confused I actually stopped inputting them into Constant Contact to write this post.  Here is the thing.  hotchik456hyes@rr.kc.orn.com for a lady named Samantha who sells high end real estate is a bit confusing.  After entering literally about 100 email addresses today, I ask you to take a few seconds and look at what your email address says about you.  You need to make sure you do not confuse anyone by your email address because you WILL lose contacts.  You might consider buying your own name and making your email address something like yourname@yourname.com.  When you use a free service such as yahoo or gmail, it makes you seem a little less professional in my opinion.  You might also consider making it really easy for people to email you by setting up a site like www.emailcasey.com. 

I beg you to take a few seconds and ask yourself if you might be confusing people by a silly free email account.  The last card I entered was for an Arbonne rep with an email address at an insurance office!  Does this make any sense to you?  Is she selling insurance or lotion?  You tell me. 

P.S. You may email me at www.emailcasey.com or casey@idealnetworker.com

Give someone an AWESOME day!!

Is Your Attitude Flushing Sales and/or Relationships?

I have been thinking about this post for about a week now, and after enjoying my cup of coffee for the morning I am ready to share a story with you that has made me really take a good hard look at networking with people who may not have the best attitude.  Let me say a few things before I share with you how one guy flushed away literally tens of thousands of dollars within one hour!  This blog is designed to give you some ideas to help GROW your business through experiences, stories, and ideas from not only me but you as well.  Read this story with the idea of checking  your attitude at the door when headed out to network.  Enjoy, I assure you “Sam” won’t.

So last week, I had the privilege of being the host at a Chamber networking dinner.  I was tapped to run the meeting and educate the members of some new idea to help increase productivity.  Easy for me as I had just written the vacation list post.  There was a member, we will call him “Sam”,there who sells commercial and personal lines of insurance.  Personally I have hired him on 3 different occasions and referred him too many times to count.  Total premiums paid to Sam by me directly?  Around 40,000.00.  He is a great Broker and one who I have been a big supporter of in and outside of the Chamber.   

At this meeting there were about 40 members and around 10 guests.  In my opinion the meeting was AWESOME!  Lot’s of interaction, good food and new faces.   As the host, I did my usual deal and came up with a little exercise to get people thinking of better ways to work.  I had them all write down the few things that would need to be completed if they were leaving the office on vacation for a month.  We then just wrote “To Do” on the list.  There were a lot more details that I will share if you are interested.  Shoot me an email if you would like. http://www.emailcasey.com 

After the meeting was over, I was swamped!  People were saying that the exercise was one of the best ideas they had heard.  I was immediately asked to speak at two more events and the room was on fire!  I was very pleased to say the least.  EVERY SINGLE guest joined that night and the response cards showed it was one of the highest rated mixers.  I do NOT share this to brag, it was the other people in the room not me, who made it a great event.  This is shared only to set a scene for what I will forever remember as one of Sam’s costliest events of his life!

Sam came up to me while I was being showered with compliments by around 10 members and gave me a quick hello handshake.  All would have been fine had he just walked away.  Not Sam.  While all 10 or so people were saying how the meeting was awesome, Sam started in telling everyone that the exercise was an “absolute waste of time and that he was not interested in playing stupid games but generating new business”.  The reaction was kind of comical from my perspective.  Being attacked in front of a group by someone who clearly has the capability to send you business??  Really?  I decided to let Sam keep going as I was now more fascinated by how this exchange was going to play out.  Sam went after me, the exercise, the way I ran the meeting and even the Chair of the Chamber.  He was quite upset that the meeting was not just a walk around meeting.  His attitude was so awful that I can not even imagine the people standing around will ever speak with him again, much less hire him.  By the time I had left the room, Sam had just flushed not only any sales from me or people I know but also his relationship with me. 

Let’s quickly look at the big picture here.  It was 2 hours of Sam’s time.  He lost sales, referrals, ideas, and was put into the category of people I would NEVER do business with again.  In fact would stop business if I had the chance.  All because he opened his mouth and out dropped his bad attitude!  I am all for different ideas, and I was not looking for everyone to think it was a great meeting but negativity has NO place at an event.  Stay home if you think you might show up like Sam.  It will save you sales and relationships in the end. 

Please feel free to comment on any of the posts you read, We all benefit from them.