Daily Datum

20 Minutes a day

To Rapid improvement

In your

Business, networks and life.

We are living in a period of massive opportunity.

Some of the greatest wealth has been created during times of economic recession.

Taking small actions each day will yield massive results over time.

The following are simple tasks to be completed for 20 minutes each day of the week. You will repeat each task on the corresponding day of the week for the next 90 days at which point you will start to see improvements in your business and your network.

Too often, change and improvement is viewed as a very difficult process. It makes sense. Looking at where you are today and where you want to be can be intimidating.

Breaking the process down into small practices done consistently is your path to real results.

For each day, Monday thru Friday, complete the corresponding task. Repeat each task on its associated day of the week for the next 90 days.

Monday

Each Monday, take 20 minutes to write 4 handwritten notes. You will write these notes to anyone in your network. Use the notes to express gratitude, reconnect, pass along some information or express your feelings about someone or something.

Here is why this is so effective.

Handwritten Note Cards

Technology has had an amazing effect on communication. With email and instant messaging, you can make contact with someone in a matter of seconds. Although this is very convenient, it is impersonal when it comes to expressing gratitude, a thank you or that you are thinking of someone and they are important to you. Note writing allows you to convey feelings and nurture a relationship. Remember, these cards are in addition to the birthday, anniversary and holiday cards you will be sending.

If you think about it, the handwritten letter is long gone. It is a dying form of communication. There is a time and place for email communication but when it comes to interacting with your network on a more personal level, I cannot express the importance of handwritten note cards. Consider the following:

• When you go through your mail, what is the first thing you usually open? Most people open the off size envelope that is hand addressed and has a stamp on it, not metered postage. It is human nature to get excited when we receive a card or invitation in the mail. A handwritten note will get opened first. The typical household gets an incredible amount of junk mail. The handwritten note helps cut through the noise in an over communicated society.
• Most people will keep a handwritten note for quite some time. They have staying power and keep your image alive.
• With the popularity of email, the handwritten note shows you care. The person receiving the note knows you took time from your busy day to think about them and pay special attention to them.

Start by going through your database and determine who you may have neglected and owe a thank you. Next, look at each contact and determine who has helped you the most and means the most to you. Send them a card and express how much they mean to you.

I am always on the lookout for interesting cards when I am out shopping. Get into the habit of picking up a variety of different cards in your travels. Look for cards that express who you are, what you believe in and the image you want to project. You can certainly have custom cards made with your logo and branding on them but I have found that they start to make it look like a marketing message when in fact we are trying to stay away from that on purpose. We want the note to be a personal reflection of you.

Once you start this process and make it part of your day, you will not believe the impact it will have on you and your network. For me, the best and most unexpected part of this process was the amount of cards I started getting back. I am fortunate to be able to start my day by reading cards from the people in my life that are most important to me. It follows the premise that the more you give the more you will receive. When you are ready to take this to the next level consider adding the following:

Using the personal information you have on the contacts in your database, consider adding press clippings or articles of interest to that person along with the note card. As an example, if you have a client that you know is an avid fly fisherman and you come across an article or magazine piece on the subject, clip it and send it along with a note saying “I thought you may find this interesting and remembered you were a fly fisherman.” This shows your clients that not only do you care about them but they are important enough for you to remember the details. It is the details that will separate you from the crowd. You should have enough data on each client to know what their interests and passions are. Once you get in the habit of doing this your mind will be trained to always be on the lookout for these items of interest.

Other uses for note cards are as follows:

• To say thank you and recognize great service or a kind gesture.
• Acknowledge anyone who helped make your day better.
• Send a thank you note when you do not get business from a client. If things don’t work out with the person they selected, they will probably come back to you.
• Send letters of congratulation to people who have made accomplishments in their career. You should always be scanning the papers and business journals to find these people.

Tuesday

Each Tuesday, call 4 people in your database. Have a chat with each one for about 5minuets. You will contact people you have lost touch with, haven’t spoken with for a while or past clients or customers. Do not to call people that are in your inner circle, those that you speak with on a regular basis.

The most important part is to end each conversation by asking one of the following phrases. “Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you?” or “Please let me know if I can I help you in any way?”

Here is why this is so important

The Warm Call

Just like we discussed in the Monday task on handwritten notes, we live in a world that is becoming dominated by hurried electronic communication. Other than a face to face visit, the best way to show you care is by picking up the phone and having a real conversation.

Building a network is a process of give and take. You help others and when needed you ask others for their help. There is no score keeping. If you help someone on a regular basis but do not require their assistance, so be it. Perhaps you will one day.

Two of the most common questions I am asked when it comes to working within a network are: How do I ask for the assistance of others without looking like I am on the take. And how do I help others without looking like I have a hidden agenda?

The answer is the same for both. Sincerity shows and transcends these thoughts. When you are consistent, honest and sincere there will be no thoughts of score keeping and hidden agendas.

This is why I want you to get in the habit of ending every conversation, weather face to face or on the phone with one of those two phrases. Here they are again.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Please let me know if I can help you in any way.

You can’t just ask the question. You have to mean it. If someone does request your help or assistance, stop what you are doing, write it down and take action on it as soon as possible. By asking and not following through, you will do more damage than if you had just kept quiet in the first place.

Once this becomes habit, peoples trust and faith in you will multiply 10 fold. I have been closing conversations with these phrases for so long now that a lot of people start their conversations with me by saying” nothing for me today” with a big smile on their face or in their voice. I love it.

I have also found that people won’t abuse this either. When they do ask for something it is usually important to them. When the day comes and you need a favor from them, they will be right on it.

This is one of the best ways of tightening your network relationships and building true social capital.

One Final thought on the matter.

When you first reach out to help others with genuine care and concern, don’t be surprised if they put you off at first. Most people are used to being abused and ripped off. They will be leery of your true intentions at first. Don’t worry about it. Just keep reaching out and keep being sincere.

When you are trying to get from point A to point B, learn what point B looks like first. Learn everything you can about it, that way when you get there, you won’t feel out of place.

It’s not what you know or who you know.

It’s what you know about who you know that matters.

Wednesday

Every Wednesday for about 20 minutes, you will go into your database and do some housekeeping. Most electronic database software programs have a way that you can categorize a contact. You can assign several categories to each contact if you wish but for now we are going to put a simple rating on each contact. For each contact, you will assign them a letter rating. They will either be an A, B, C or D. This has absolutely nothing to do with them as a human being and is not to be personal whatsoever. Here is what they mean.

An A contact – This is a top customer or client. They are loyal to you and go out of their way to refer others to you. If your database is not for business use, this would be what we call a very strong tie in the networking world. This is a person that champions you and you are in close touch with them.

B contacts – This is a loyal customer or client that consistently does business with you and may have sent you a referral or they are trying to. For a non business network this is a somewhat close contact however you only speak occasionally.

C contacts – This is a person you have met somewhere or know via someone else yet you have not done business with them and they have not referred any business to you. For a non business network this is what we call a

weak tie. They are not part of any networks that you regularly participate in.

D contacts – You got their name and information from someplace or someone but you can’t remember or have never been in touch with them. You need to determine whether you can develop a relationship with this contact or they should be deleted from your database.

Here is why this systematic approach is important.

If you don’t know where it is you are going you will never get there. The same is true for your relationships. If you don’t know exactly who you are dealing with and what you would like to accomplish, you will have a difficult time being of service and value to that person.

By placing a simple letter rating value to each contact you will know which contacts require further development and who your true champions are. For most people, you’re “A” group will be the smallest. Your “B” group will be second to the least and your “C” group will have the most contacts. It’s not a competition. It does not matter how many you have in each category just as it doesn’t matter how many contacts you have in total. Just so you know, the average person has about 200-250 contacts in their database.

Maintaining a 250 member database can be a daunting task. If you work on it for 20 minutes a day, one day a week you will have it in tip top shape in no time and it won’t feel like an excruciating task.

Once your database is sorted in proper order we will have some real fun with the information in it.

Meet 1 new person per week and that is 52 people per year.

The average person knows about 200 people.

You have now expanded your universe by over

10,000

People per Year

Thursday

Every Thursday you need to spend your 20 minutes meeting someone new or taking an action that will add to the addition of a new member to your network database. If you meet someone face to face be sure to get their contact information and follow up with a handwritten note.

A great way to meet new people is to take a walk through your neighborhood after work. There are usually people working around their homes and it’s easy to strike up a conversation with a neighbor. You will also

have their address to send a handwritten note the next day.

Here is another fun way to make new additions to your network and recognize the accomplishments of others at the same time. Each week in the business section of your local newspaper or Business Journal, there is usually a section called “People on the Move” or something similar to that. These briefs typically recognize promotions and accomplishments at work. With a minimal amount of effort, you can get the business address, clip the article and send it to that person with a nice handwritten note from yourself congratulating them on their success. You would be surprised how few people do this and how wonderful it makes the recipient feel that someone has recognized their accomplishment.

Using the internet as a research tool you can also connect with people in your area that you admire or want to connect with, drop them a handwritten note and see what happens from there.

“The size of your network and database will ultimately determine how far your business can grow”.

Here is some more information on why it is so important to always be meeting new people and adding them to your network database.

Your network can not remain static. Left alone without any new additions, it will start to diminish over time. People move away and relationships come to an end for a variety of reasons. To give you a powerful visual, I would like you to picture a box with a small hole in the bottom

On the top of the box picture a large funnel as the only means of getting items in the box.

The box represents your database, the single most important thing in any business. There will always be leakage from your database be it on purpose by you or just a product of time, that is the hole in the bottom. The funnel is the means by which we add to that database. There are numerous ways we meet people and they become a part of our network.

Growing your networks is something you have to work at every day if you want to be serious about it. You should always be on the lookout to meet new and interesting people, If you are friendly and have good motives this can be fun and easy. By seeking to provide value and help others, you will not only meet more people but will also be in a position to refer them to others in your network. With a little practice, you will be listening for the networking and referral opener and that is, I’m looking for a good fill in the blank, or, does anyone know a good blank? Asking open ended questions is also a great way to get people to start talking. Remember, an open ended question is one that can’t be answered with a yes or no and will typically start with who, what, where, when, why or how. Once you meet new people, you need to consistently stay in touch and add value when you can to nurture the relationship.

You can meet people just about anywhere but when it comes to strategic networking what follows are some places that are prime for networking.

Here are some of my favorite places to meet new people.

• Business mixers. You can either attend them or host one yourself. Your local chamber of commerce usually runs these types of events monthly.
• Social Gatherings. You have to get out there and mix it up. I know you are tired at the end of the day but you need to make it a priority to go to as many social events as you possibly can.
• Attend seminars and educational events. An excellent way to meet people you have similar interests with. An even better way is to pick a few people from you existing sphere and take them with you. You will be adding value to their life as well.
• Trade shows. They can be in your industry but you risk being with the same people you already know. Try going to trade shows of other industries or of industries that you want to serve as a niche.
• Host a value added seminar of your own. Don’t be afraid to hold your own seminar on your area of expertise.
• Non profit or charity events.
• Political groups.
• Sports and recreation groups.
• Civic organizations.
• Cultural and arts groups.
• Volunteer work.
• Chambers of commerce.
• School alumni.
• PTA
• Parent groups.
• Online social networks.
• Take other business owners to lunch. Go through your database and pick someone to take to lunch. Ask them to bring along a guest that you don’t know. In the same line of thought, you should pick people from your database that don’t know each other yet you feel they should and take them to lunch.
• Read your local Business Journal or section of the paper and look for networking events you can attend. There are a lot of these events for just about every industry taking place on a regular basis.
• Join a professional networking group like RENA Professional Networks www.renanetworks.com where the sole purpose is to meet new business owners and exchange leads on a regular basis.

After meeting someone for the first time it’s all about follow up and adding value. Don’t forget to send a handwritten note the next day. You want to start building a mutually beneficial relationship from that point forward.

Friday

Congratulations, you made it to Friday but were not done with the week yet. Every Friday for 20 minutes I would like you to do the following.

Use your area of expertise to help someone else that needs it. This can come in the form of direct assistance to a coworker or by mentoring someone else in the form of a 20 minute call each week.

It is the responsibility of all strong leaders to pass down the skills and information they have acquired to others.

“If you need money, add value to the lives of others. If you need a lot of money, add a LOT of value to the lives of others”

Here is some more information on why doing all of these things consistently each week is so valuable to your growth and success

Too often as we work to advance our careers and businesses we tend to spend the bulk of our time concentrating on ourselves. I have found that the fastest path to success was by adopting the following two philosophies.

As you reach up to grab the next rung of the ladder, make sure you reach down to pull someone else up along the way.

Every time I have given of myself to others, I received something of equal or greater value back 10 fold.

Put even more simply………  Givers Gain.

As you adopt this mindset and complete the tasks in this guide on a regular and consistent basis, you will start to see a change in the way you are viewed by others and an improvement in your business as well.

1. What you have to offer. Your specific services
2. What you do that makes you different from all others in your industry
3. Why you are the only logical choice for people that need your services.

You should be as specific and detailed as possible. It should answer the who, what, where, when and why in a package. Your USP is the advantage that separates you from all of the others in your field. Some benefits of a well-written USP are:

• It highlights what you do best
• It tells the market what distinguishes you from the competition
• It highlights your strengths

A great USP will appeal to the consumer on an emotional and memorable basis. Here are some examples of famous USP’s:

Federal Express – When it absolutely has to be there overnight.

Archer Daniels – Supermarket to the world

Dominoes Pizza – Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free

These are from massive corporations that have the benefit of being able to reduce their statement to one sentence. For some businesses, it is possible but not likely. You should be able to get your USP down to one paragraph of 3 to 4 sentences. Your USP should answer the question “Why should I, your prospective client, do business with you and pick you above all of the other available options?”

The best way to go about writing your USP is to follow these steps:

1. Start with bullet points of your service and unique qualities
2. Turn each bullet into a sentence
3. Be descriptive and specific
4. Your sentences will become a paragraph
5. Edit and remove as many words as you can without diminishing your message so that it can be read in 30 seconds or less

Once your message is complete, you should use it in as many places as possible such as:

• Your business card
• On your stationary or letter head
• In your print advertising
• In your blogs, newsletters and written communications
• On your web site

Your USP can serve as an excellent introduction when you are networking or meeting new people. This statement will make your prospective clients feel that you understand their problems and situation and that you are there to fill their needs in a way that no others possibly could.

Help Promote Others – Sometimes it is easier to promote another than it is yourself. A third party opinion lends objectivity and you can see things that the business owner or professional may be too close to see themselves. This promotion can come in the form of writing endorsements, obtaining press coverage, helping form a circle of endorsement and finding profitable joint ventures for them. You will find that when you focus your energy on the needs of others, your needs will be met as well.

Meet with other business owners and discuss ways to help each other. By having a clear picture of what each of you do, you will be in a much better position to help and refer one another. If you support their causes and things that are important to them, they will do the same for you. Look for opportunities to do joint educational seminars or speak at each other’s meetings.

Form Advisory Councils – Another thing you can do is to create and sit on each other’s advisory councils. By banding together, you will find that you share problems in common and can help solve them together. You can also act as a mentor to others in your networks.

Negotiate on Behalf of Others – If your business requires you to negotiate on a professional level, you can offer this service out to everyone you know. By having a detached and unemotional point of view, negotiations can be a lot more successful.

Talent Scout – You can use your network to help find employees and contractors that others may be looking for.

The point is, you must be able to offer skills and connections that go beyond your core service. You may be in a business that has long sales cycles like real estate. You need to find ways to remain relevant and add value to your networks on an ongoing basis.

Create an Experts Directory

You should consider bringing all of your network contacts together and building an expert referral directory. You can feature everyone’s businesses from accounting to babysitting. Each business can keep them on hand to give to their clients. By doing this your are essentially forming a “Circle of Endorsement”.

In addition to having a print version of your directory, you can each post it on your website. By linking to each other’s sites, you will also raise you placement in search engines.

Another thing you can consider doing is going to all of the businesses in your neighborhood and see if they would like to offer discounts. This is a great way to build your database and meet new business owners. If you keep an eye on the legal pages, you can find new businesses opening in your area. These people will be very grateful for any help they can get in growing their young enterprise.

Depending on how big your combined networks are, you may find yourself in a position to have a website that draws in new customers based on some creative search engine placement or pay per click tactics. There is strength in numbers and by banding together, you can form powerful advisory councils, and community service programs.

Grouping members of your network together for the purpose of performing community service is very powerful. You can check with your local city council to get ideas on where volunteers are needed. This is also a fantastic way to get free press coverage.

http://www.renanetworks.com/seminars/press_and_media.php

• I don’t give referrals
• I’m not ready
• I don’t know you well enough
• Let me think about it
• I need more information
• I don’t know anyone
• I don’t know how

By understanding the objections up front, you will be prepared to deal with them throughout all phases of your client contact.

The first thing to know is that these objections are attached to real feelings. If a client feels taken by surprise or put on the spot, the natural thing for them to do is to throw up an objection or some kind of a screen. If you start the process of asking for referrals early in the relationship and do it properly, you will avoid almost all of these types of objections.

So when is the best time to ask?

The best time to start the referral mindset is during your initial consultation or “needs assessment” with the client. Set the expectation early and often. Let the client know that you work by referral only and you will be asking for their help along the way. This may make you uneasy. You must understand the majority of your clients want to help you. Chances are someone in their network referred them to you. On your initial consultation with the client, use the following process:

• Explain the entire process of your service. By telling the client what to expect, you will put them at ease. There will be no surprises along the way. This is also an excellent way for you to set your service standard and then exceed it.
• Ask about their previous experiences with services of your kind. You want to hear both the good and bad.
• Ask what their expectations of you are.

If the client was referred to you, acknowledge that fact and thank them. This is a great time to say some kind words about the party that referred you. Let them know that you will earn the right to get their referrals and you are committed to exceeding their expectations. At the end of your consultation, ask that they not keep you a secret. Remind them that because you work only by referral, you are able to spend the majority of your time serving their needs and not out looking for business. This is an excellent way to set the stage. If you met in person, provide your client with your business cards and a referral kit. This fortifies the basis of your working by referral only. You can close the conversation with something like this:

“Often, after meeting and hearing about my services for the first time, my clients think of others that may want or need what I offer but are not sure how to tell them. If you think of anyone, please give them this information, know that I will take excellent care of them, and make you look like a hero.”

When asking others to help refer you, you need to go into as much detail as possible. You cannot be vague. If you simply ask, “do you know anyone who can use my services?” it leaves too much for the human mind to sort through. Most people know between 200-250 people. Asking a broad question like that makes it too easy for someone to say, “I don’t know.” You want to use a classic Tom Hopkins tactic and “Isolate” the question. You want to bring their focus down to a narrow group of people.

If you say, “I am looking for college educated people that make between 80 and 100 thousand dollars a year that live in the San Francisco community and like Victorian homes” you have now narrowed the field in the mind of the other party. While they may not recall everyone that would be a good referral for you, it will get them to mentally page through their contacts and select a few names.

You can also ask, “Who in your Rotary club may be in need of my services.” While this may still be a large group, you have at least helped to isolate it from their entire sphere of influence.

Go to http://www.renaseminars.com for more information and to register.

Most sales people spend 80% of their time looking for business and less than 20% of their time taking care of their clients. This seems backwards and is an injustice to the customers you serve.

You can go about running your business two major ways:

Transactional: You look at each deal as a single occurrence and are starting each day from scratch. You prospect very hard and get some business into your pipeline. You then switch to servicing that business and stop prospecting. Once you close what is in your pipeline, you are left with nothing and have to start the process all over again. This leaves most salespeople with a few business spikes within the year and living a very uncertain life. The process is to Hunt, Work, Close and Hunt.

Referral: By working on a referral-based process, you build off each transaction so that every client leads to a predictable amount of new business. The longer you are in business and the more people you serve the more robust your pipeline will be.

A transactional mindset will have you:

• Cold Calling
• Door Knocking
• Doing costly mailings
• Spending money on ineffective print advertisements

A Referral mindset will have you:

• Creating lifelong relationships
• Establishing yourself as the expert
• Leveraging your relationships
• Building a valuable business

Are you leaving business on the table? The fact is almost 85% of salespeople are by not asking for referrals or by not having a system in place. By not doing so, you are passing up the opportunity to do business with the best class of client there is.

It starts by asking. Yes, this is the most difficult obstacle for most people. If you truly believe in the value of your service, asking for referrals should not be that difficult. Remember all of the past clients you worked with and how you impacted their lives in a positive way. By asking for referrals, you are making sure that their friends, family and sphere are going to get truly remarkable service…. service that you provide.

If you are going to take the time to go to a networking event of any kind, you must engage the other attendees. Too often, people go with good intention and then get nervous about making introductions. Remember, most people are shy and appreciate it when someone comes up and introduces themselves. Look for people that are by themselves and look like they could use a friend.

Mistake 2 – Talking too much about yourself.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is talking too much about themselves and not learning about the other party. Remember, you have two ears and one mouth. Use them in the proper ratio. Your true goal should be to meet as many people as possible but make a real connection with one or two. Listen intently for ways you can help the other party. Take notes afterwards and send a handwritten note the next day. You want to meet people and look for a way to add value to their life. You will get more by giving.

Mistake 3 – Not having a pre prepared game plan.

You should spend some time before hand learning about the event and the attendees. You should set some goals prior to attending as well. You may want to set a goal of making a real connection with two people and introduce yourself to ten others. It does not have to be complicated but you will find that if you have a goal going in you will be more inclined to get it done. Your game plan should also include having a prepared concise introduction of yourself. This will give you the ability to deliver your message and spend the bulk of your time learning about the other people you meet.

Mistake 4 – Spending all of your time with one person.

You will undoubtedly meet someone who you really click with and want to spend a lot of time with them. This is normal but you do not want to forget your goals. If you really hit it off with someone, set up a lunch of coffee with that person to continue developing the relationship. Networking events are typically only a few hours long at best and you need to maximize your time.

Mistake 5 – Not following up.

Once you have made initial contact with someone at an event, it is essential that you get their contact information and follow up with them. As you meet people, take some time in private to make notes on the conversation and pay special attention to their needs. The next day, send a handwritten note and mention some of the points of your conversation. This shows the other party that you care, paid attention and that this young relationship is important to you.

One of the greatest sources of referrals is from family members and social contacts. Unfortunately, this is the group that many feel most awkward about asking. They feel like they are crossing an invisible boundary that should not be crossed. You may also fear that the other party thinks that you only want business from them and are out to use them in some way.

To overcome this fear, ask yourself the following question. How would you feel if you found out a friend or family member used someone else for a service you provide and had a lousy experience? Worse yet, how would you feel if you found out that they were cheated or taken advantage of? By not making sure you offer your services to this group, you are putting these people in a potentially dangerous position when it comes to their business affairs.

When you approach this group, you do not want to jump right into a conversation on referrals. Start by asking about what they do for a living. Solicit advice, if you can, on topics that they are expert on. Ask them for advice on how you may be able to meet others in the social group and if they can help make some introductions. By approaching the situation this way, you will appeal to their expertise and find it easier to bridge the gap in asking for their business and referrals.

The following are more common fears people have when it comes to asking for business and referrals:

Fear of rejection. This is a universal salespersons dilemma. You are not alone if you have a fear of being rejected. The advice here is quite simple. You need to get over it. Rejection comes with selling. If you cannot find a way to accept it and embrace it, you may be in the wrong line of work. You first need to understand that being rejected has nothing to do with you. It is not personal. This person just may not need or want what you are offering. It is their problem not yours. Do not take it personally. Another way to look at is that every time you hear no, you are one step closer to hearing yes.

Fear of Looking Needy. Many people view asking for business as looking unsuccessful or needy. Nothing can be further from the truth. The fact is that only the most successful salespeople ask for business in a systematic and regular basis. If you focus your conversations on how you have helped many other people accomplish their goals and dreams, you will be coming from a positive position. By basing your conversations on the value you deliver and the relationships you have built you will be operating from a position of strength. You should avoid speaking about how you are paid by referrals or that you are trying to build your business.

Fear of Being Too Pushy. This is another very common fear amongst many salespeople. You do not want to appear needy or fear ruining a relationship you already have in place. The most important thing to remember here is to never put your clients on the spot. You should ease into and warm people up to any conversation about getting referrals. This is also why it is so important to start the process as soon as you meet a new client and not wait until the close. Make sure you do not back people into a corner and make them feel like they can say no thanks at any time.

All of these fears are self-imposed and self limiting. By having the deep belief that there is great value in what you offer and that you are a true professional you will overcome these issues.