Working Online

Welcome to this blog.

There will be no new posts added here – all new posts will be on

www.businessnetworker.co

Hope to “see” you there!!!

Well, I have to say the last 2 months have been truly amazing.

I am now in the UK and have met my newest niece, Martha Ruth – very nice.

Business is going well and I am pleased to announce that I am now officially a Master of Wealth and Achievement – a long 18 months that has been in so many ways!! I have been given the opportunity to attend a number of events that are coming up in the near future – some of them I can make and some I am unable to but wish I could be there. Some are free, some are not – have a look and see what you think and go for it!! As a business coach I know the need to keep developing myself and encourage my clients to do the same.

Today I am going to tell you a little about each of them and if you can get along to any of them, I know that whichever you choose will be right for you. I was working on the event management team at one of Chris Howard’s Breakthrough to Success earlier this year when someone commented “I want some of whatever you are on, you can’t stop smiling”. When I told her that so much of that was due to the effect of the courses I had done with the Chris Howard team, that helped her to make her decision!!

Anyway, let me tell you about a few things you might want to look at.

If you are in Sydney in September, this is a must see event. Richard Branson and Tony Robbins are among the speakers at what looks to be an amazing event, The Success All Stars. Tickets are selling extremely fast for this one as there is such an amazing line up of speakers – including Kerwin Rae, one of the experts on our recent Business Rules of Engagement series. You can find out all of the information and book for this one by clicking here. I am trying to work out at the moment if I can make it back from the UK and combine that with a visit to my hubby!! – Hi darling when you read this!

Talking of Rules of Engagement, my own Business Rules of Engagement series started very well with the Ask the Experts series in June. Next Wednesday (July 28th) the Intensive series starts. For the next 10 weeks I will be training, coaching and sharing on how to make the most of time and money spent networking. At less than AU$40 a session this is amazing value – you can get all of the details and register by clicking here. I am even offering a guarantee for you to register and pay and try out the series until Week 5 – if you are not entirely happy, I will refund your money no questions asked.

The next thing is for those of you that like to combine fun with business. I had the privilege of working with Clinton Swaine earlier this month while at Billionaire Bootcamp in portugal. Clinton is the werld’s leader in experiential games. I am not really the game playing type and do have to confess to usually looking to avoid them at all leadership training and always have done. needless to say I was not looking forward to the “Games Day”. However, it was amazing and I learned an amazing amount and I am now excited to join Clinton for a further 3 days in August – and I would like to invite you to come and play too. To find out all of the details of an event near you – wherever you are – click here.

The next one is 4th Dimension Mastery. I was introduced to Janet Beckers of Wonderful Web Women and other companies earlier this year. As a result of being involved with her community I have had the chance to co-author a book and be interviewed for a radio show to go out to about a million people (more to follow on that in a couple of weeks.) She is running a 3 day workshop in Sydney which is all about positioning yourself as the “go-to” person in your niche – another one I wish I was in Australia for. Again you can get all of the details by clicking here.

I hope that you have fun with these and see the benefit of one or more of them – and look at what great networking opportunities all of these things are!!

I have been fortunate enough over the past few weeks to talk to a number of experts on strategies for networking, alliances and social media. I wanted to share with you today some words of wisdom from one of these experts – Sara Blumenfeld, The Nurturing Networker.

“The most common mistakes that I see people making when networking are

1)   Coming to an event to sell, sell, sell. Their attitude is, “It is all about me.”  They monopolize the conversation and try to convince you to buy their product or service on the spot.  It doesn’t even occur to them that a relationship needs to be established first.

2)   Approaching networking with a negative attitude because they are focusing on why it’s not “working,”, why it’s no fun, why they “have” to do it, etc.  Having the right mindset is so important in all areas of life as well as in networking. You need to be clear on who you are what it is that you want to achieve. Have a plan and stick to it so that you are able to be deliberate in your networking. Avoiding the negative speech (and thoughts) is likely to give people a better opinion of you as well.

3)   Failing to keep the commitments that they have made is the fastest way to loose an opportunity for business.  Many people don’t realize they have made a commitment (they don’t think, “I’ll call you tomorrow” is a commitment), or fail to write them down and then don’t remember later.  Think before you speak. Decide in advance what your goals and priorities are so that you will be able to be precise in your commitments. It is better not to commit at all than to say “I’ll try” and then not do it. It is also important to realize that commitments you make to yourself are also important, and when you do not then keep it you are actually blocking your own energy.

4)   Doing little or no follow up with the people that they have met at a networking event. Following up properly goes right along with keeping commitments. You should always keep your word within 24 hours. This is the only way you are going to continue to build relationships and add value to your network.

5)   Not taking good care of the referrals they receive will result in receiving fewer referrals. One of the things that business owners value most highly is a referral (warm referral rather than just a lead) and it is easy to see why. Referrals are the best way to grow your business: they are the cheapest form of marketing, they are targeted, the customer is ready to buy and more likely to be loyal. You are likely to receive fewer complaints and there is a built in level of trust. People will also model the behavior of giving referrals and your business will grow exponentially.”

Make sure to connect with Sara through her website by clicking here.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about speed networking events. She had never been to speed networking but had been to speed dating. We were discussing the similarities.

Whether you are looking for a date ot not, I thought it might be interesting to share a little more on the subject.

Therefore I am pleased to be able to share a guest article today from Carolyn Lee of Quick Connections.

Don’t I know you … ?

Remember that feeling when you’ve met someone for the first time and you’ve felt like you’ve known them forever? There’s a feeling of shared history. Like you know what they’re about.

Internet dating is accelerating the rate with which this type of intimacy is shared. Details about personal lives and interests are often exchanged well before a first date is underway. Great for those who are shy and better behind a screen than in front of a date. But at some point, you’ve got to put down the mouse and pick up your date for a night out.

One big plus for online dating is that it can lead to a feeling of comfort, knowing that you know a fair bit about your prospective date before you’ve laid eyes on them. With all that water under the bridge, it can also leave you wondering what to say when you do finally get to meet face-to-face. After all, you already know about your date’s family, what they do in their spare time, what they do for a crust and who their favourite band is.

As the small talk has already been, well, talked, the ‘newly-webbed’ can find it uncomfortable going in deeper the first time they meet in person. A lot of ground has already been covered, but you don’t want to go in for the big stuff for fear of scaring them off.

“Online dating speeds up the whole process. It takes the fun and intrigue out of dating”, says Wollongong dater Daniela S. “The more you exchange information with someone online, the more you build up a picture of them in your mind. When you meet, something somehow falls down. And some things don’t add up. There are often discrepancies between what they’ve told you about themselves and the person who’s sitting in front of you. I much prefer meeting new people through friends than on the net,” she says. “Give me a blind date or speed dating over online dating any day.”

With dating rituals changing almost as fast as technology, it seems that online dating is simply a natural progression. But is real romance, inexplicable intrigue and the thrill of the chase possible online? Of course it is. There are thousands of couples who’ve met on dating sites and a plethora of advanced flirting tools are now at our fingertips. But many singles who crave a connection may embrace technology but are opting instead for more personal introductions.

Many mums might seem like prudes when it comes to dating, but mine taught me the golden rule of dating – which can equally be applied to sex. She said “if you go and have a 10 course meal, it’s fantastic and delicious, but you don’t necessarily want to go and have another 10 course meal again the next night and the night after that.”

It seems that in this techno age that delayed gratification is almost a thing of the past. In my eyes, anticipation – that warm, sweet, heady glow that builds when you spend time with someone new – cannot be replaced with a Poke, a Wink or a Kiss.

Quick Connections seven top tips for getting to know your date face to face:

• Smile, have fun, enjoy yourself, be in the moment. Be yourself.
• Be warm and open (though not too eager)! Give a couple of compliments.
• Ask questions, be interested and listen to what your date has to say.
• Leave a little for next time you meet – no need to share your life story.
• Dress to impress but not too sexy. Smell good, with just the slightest hint of fragrance.
• Maintain eye contact to show you’re interested.
• Flirt if it feels right – build rapport and attraction.

- Quite a few similarities to some of my networking tips!!- Ruth

I recently came across this story and I wanted to share it with my wonderful readers.

As you read this, I would like for you to consider which wolf you are feeding in your life, your business, your workplace, your family.

Enjoy and think………

A Cherokee Legend

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued:

“The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Your Team

I have spoken before about the power of the team you have. I know for myself that my coach, my mastermind group and the like-minded people I surround myslef with help me to feed the right wolf.

If you would like to know how much difference some help could make in your own struggle, contact me by filling in this form and we can arrange your FREE 30 minute coaching session to see if we can help.

A number of you have told me that you are involved in affiliate marketing in some way so I really had to share this
information

Below you will find a guest article from Jimmy D. Brown, developer of the Mutiple Streams Theme wordpress blog theme.

For more information on turning on ten "built-in" ways to make money from your blog,
visit this website now

The Easiest Way To Outsell Other Affiliates

If you’re an affiliate marketer, then you’re always looking over your shoulder to see if the competition – your
fellow affiliates – are catching up to you.  Or, worse than that, you’re looking up ahead trying to catch up with
them!

At times any market can be crowded, so selling the same thing to the same group of people means you’re lucky to get
just a small share of the market.  Imagine having thirty-five Wal-Mart stores in one small town, all competing with
each other to get the local business.  You get the idea.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  The easiest way to outsell other affiliates is this…

Turn your AFFILIATE offer into a UNIQUE offer!

You see, most affiliates try to sell the product as is. If your prospects are shopping around, they’re going to
skip all the “buy from me” offers.

Instead, they’re going to focus on those offers that give them an incentive to buy. And that means you can outsell
the other affiliates simply by offering a bonus product to anyone who buys through your affiliate link.

I’ve been teaching this concept since 2001 and, all things being equal, those affiliates who put this into practice
will outsell those who don’t virtually 100% of the time.

It’s a very simple strategy.  Let’s break it down into three steps…

Step 1: CHOOSE Your Incentive

Your goal is to make your offer stand out from the crowd by offering an incentive to buy from your link, thereby
boosting your conversion rate. And that means you need to offer a bonus that enhances or otherwise complements
the affiliate product.

Did you catch that?  Your bonus should “enhance” or “complement” the product you are promoting as an affiliate.
That’s what makes for the best incentive.

------------- Case Study -----------

Let me give you a “real” case study (not made up … actually done by one of my customers).  

A customer – who is also one of my affiliates – recently purchased my Multiple Streams Theme wordpress blog theme.
He loaded it to his site.  Then, he invested a little time writing a small report that teaches how to customize
and tweak the theme.  He offered this small report, filled with insider shortcuts and tips for enhancing the theme,
as an incentive to anyone who ordered the Multiple Streams Theme through his affiliate link.

Brilliant.

I’m just guessing, but I bet the report didn’t take him half an hour to write.  He just logged his own personal
experiences.  And yet it has high value to anyone who has plans to order the theme.  

That’s how you outsell other affiliates.  You turn your AFFILIATE offer into a UNIQUE OFFER.  

------------- Case Study -----------

One way to do this is by reading the sales letter for the product and choosing one particularly enticing bullet
point.

Example #1: If the sales letter tells prospects they can learn how to get traffic from social media sites, then
you can create a report called “27 Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Traffic to Any Website!”

Example #2: If the sales page for a diet book promises a month of low calorie recipes to customers, you can
create a supplementary low calorie recipe book and give it away to those who buy from your link.

Example #3: If you’re promoting a dog training book and you see a bullet point about eliminating bad behaviors
such as jumping, incessant barking, digging in the gardening, etc. You can create a report or even a video called,
“The Secrets of Training the Perfect Dog: How to Keep Your Dog’s Paws Off Your Guests, Off Your Counters and Out
of Your Garden!”

The point is, your freebie should be directly related to the affiliate offer. You want your prospects to buy
through your link just because the incentive is so enticing.

What kind of incentive?  You can do videos, software, coaching, advertising, installations, services, etc.  

But, “pound for pound”, the best and easiest incentive to create is a small report.

Step 2: CREATE Your Incentive

Once you decide on the topic, your next step is to create the bonus product. If you’re creating a short report
or video, you can probably finish it in one day. Otherwise, you can hire a trusted freelancer to do it, which
frees your time to focus on marketing the offer!

Tip: You find ghostwriters on sites like WarriorForum.com, Elance.com, and GetAFreelancer.com. You can also ask
for recommendations from your colleagues via your social networks or on business forums.

Step 3: CIRCULATE Your Incentive. 

Finally, your last step is to promote your offer by letting prospects know that anyone who buys the affiliate
product using your link will get the bonus product.

Let your list know.  Tell your blog readers.  Tweet about it.  Purchase advertising.  Distribute free marketing
materials such as ezine articles.  Mention it in sig files at forums.  You know the drill.

Now, there are a few ways to deliver the product:

1.  On the download page. If you’ve developed a relationship with the product vendor, he may agree to set up a
special sales page that promotes the bonus plus a special download page so that customers can download it instantly
after purchasing.

2.  Manually. You can have customers forward their receipts and then you send them the link to the bonus.

3.  Automatically. You can also set up a special email address with an autoresponder, so that anyone who sends you
a receipt gets the download link automatically. (Naturally, some people will try to “cheat” this system.)

And there you have it – the simple three-step strategy you can use to outsell your competitors and put more money
in your pocket.

It’s so easy you could be making more money by tomorrow… if you get started today!

Speaking of “making more money”.  If you have a blog, how would you like to have ten “built-in” ways to increase your affiliate commissions from your blog?
Visit this website to learn more.  NOTE:  The offer mentioned at the
website will no longer be available after Friday, March 19, 2010 at 10PM.  Jimmy is “retiring” it then and
discontinuing all sales.

Hope you find this intersting and useful and I will be back next week with my usual stuff!!

Today, we have a guest article Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System , the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record time…guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your income, visit www.ClientAttraction.com . I believe that her words apply to our business and also to our networking

Patience and Perseverance Are Essential Ingredients to BIGTIME Success

“The day you plant the seed is NOT the day you eat the fruit. Don’t worry, don’t get frustrated, be persistent. It’s on its way to you.” That’s a thought that always stays with me in taking my business (or one of my clients’ businesses) to the very next level. Thing is, we’re conditioned through the media that everything is supposed to happen miraculously quickly in our lives:
“Thinner thighs in 30 days”
“Quit smoking in 2 hours”
“Build your list to 30,000 people in 4 months”
“Sell $100,000.00 worth of products in 2 hours”

Whoa. Slow down for a second!

Yes, I guess these can be done… by some who’ve been at it for years. But what I see is that, for most people, this sometimes sets up completely unrealistic expectations of what we’re capable of, and when our initial efforts don’t meet those grandiose self-imposed expectations quickly, we begin to go into a place of doubt, worry, fear and then inevitably, resentment and anger, wanting to throw the baby out with the bath water.

As solo-entrepreneurs begin to implement BIG steps in their marketing, they often see results immediately, which is comforting. But then, as they begin to stretch beyond their comfort zone and tackle even bigger projects that require some effort for implementation, and it takes some time to do so, sometimes the results need some time to take root. The entrepreneur diligently puts things in place, and it seems like it’s taken a lot out of them.

Then, once all the work’s done, some entrepreneurs turn around and say “So, where are all the results? I mean, I’ve been working my butt off over here! Where are the millions of dollars? I expected to see results instantaneously!” I know I’ve felt that sometimes too, on big projects that I’d never tackled before.

Here’s the process that sometimes occurs:

1) Doubt begins to creep in
2) Then Worry
3) Followed by Fear
4) And then irrational Anger (at themselves, at others, at anything)

Here’s the thing you must remember, as you’re charting new territory in your business:

Understand that it sometimes takes some time for the seeds you’ve planted to grow roots, to sprout, grow and then bear fruit that you can eat. That’s why you have to be diligent about planting them quickly and doing whatever it takes to foster them. At the same time, it’s important to plant as many seeds as possible, so that you have different things cropping up and you’re not relying on just one thing in your business to bring you money.

Instead of being in a place of resentment (which will NEVER attract quickly what you want), remember to keep yourself in a place of Positive Expectation. Here is a mantra I created for myself that hangs above my computer in my office:

“I am positively expecting great results, no matter what I see in front of me. The Universe is rearranging itself for my best interest right now.”

If ever I get caught up in “Why isn’t this happening fast enough?”, getting into a place of self-doubt or blaming the process, I remind myself of this, and things seem to just work themselves out, rather quickly. That’s the Mindset part of the equation. Then, a sign shows up, the project advances and the results start coming in, quicker than I imagined. But if I stay in that place of doubt, worry or worse, blame, it surely gets worse.

You are ultimately responsible for your own successes, your actions, and most importantly how you see your own progress and success. YOU create your future and your results, based on how you choose to see the world and the way you react to life. A person coming from a VICTIM point of view will always see fault in the process. That’s Universal Law. A person coming from a VICTORIOUS point of view will always see opportunity, no matter what’s in front of them.

How do YOU see what’s in front of you? From a victim perspective, or from a victorious position?

Today’s chat relates to your business life, your networking and your personal life – I just love lessons that apply all the way across the board.

I have been thinking a lot recently about how important it is to surround yourself with the right people. There are obviously different people that come into your life at various time and for various purposes.

I think there are a few things that we need to ask ourselves about the people that are around us.

Do they support me?

Do they challenge me?

Do they hold me accountable?

Do they let me be “me”?

Do they push me further than I push myself?

Do they accept me whether I get things right or wrong?

If you are lucky you will find one or two people to fulfil all of these things. Even if this is not the case, look at the people that are around you and make sure you have a good mix of all of these criteria. If you only have people that blindly support you there will be no accountability? If there are only people that push you, you may feel that you constantly fall short of the mark?

Look at the friends, colleagues, staff, mentors, networking partners that you are surrounded by. Do you have a good mix? If not, what can you do about it? Start looking for the differences rather than purely the similarities in people and you will be on the way.

For me, I love being on the crew for events with Chris Howard and Universal Events. This is a group of people I have worked with over some pretty intense events. Many of them have now become very close friends. I know that when I crew an event there will be people around me that will support me, challenge me, hold me accountable and stretch me. At first, it can be a little confronting but the difference that this has made in my life – both business and personal – has been amazing.

If you have not been to Breakthrough to Success you only have a very short time left as the event format is changing. Do not miss out on this amazing opportunity to make some real progress in your life and your business. Click here to secure your seats now.

And in closing, I will ask you this question – do you have a support team around you that would help you to do this…..?

In business we know that we need to constantly develop, listen to our customers and see what we can do better.

I have been a little quiet for a while as I have been doing just that.

I am very excited to amke a couple of announcements to you my wonderful subscribers today and I want to say a huge thank you to those of you who have given me tips, advice and encouragement to get this far.

Website for Business

I am very excited to announce that I now have a website up and running for Your Abundance Now. I would love it if you would head over there and have a look. www.abundantyou.com is the address and I would love your comments and feedback. This has been an exciting and scary step for me and I am thrilled to be finally and officially online.

My gift to you

When you do go to my website you will see that I am offering a free ebook to those who join as a subscriber. As you are already a subscriber you can download the ebook now by heading to this link. The ebook is titled “It’s What You Know and Who You Know” and offers you ten tips to enhance and improve the way that you get business through word of mouth and referrals. Enjoy!

Timing is everything

In business we all know that timing is everything. Timing of campaigns, of sales, of offers, even our opening hours and availability times. As such I have been talking to many of you about the timing of the information that you receive from me. It would appear that receiving a newsletter from me once a month and a blog post once or twice a week works well for you and for me.

I will be able to work with this and will give you the most relevant and up to date information that I possibly can.

Look forward to helping you all this year in whatever ways I can. I trust that you will have great successes from the tips you get from me and I always love to hear a good success story!

Happy Networking!!

It seems that each year as we move from December into January that there is a frenzy of goal setting, planning, vows to do better than we did last year, resolutions that we may or may not keep (statistically we won’t). I was actually listening to the radio earlier this week and the talking point for their listeners was to share the resolutions they had made that they knew they were not going to keep. I actually thought that was very sad.

Business owners engage in this frenzy of goal setting and planning too. I have – and have laid out some pretty detailed plans as to where my life and my business are going in 2010. I am certainly not knocking this as an activity – far from it – I think we need to make sure that we have plans and goals for all aspects of our life and business – including networking. If you would like some help with your goals and plans for the year – either setting them or accomplishing them – contact me for your free consultation and see what I can do to help.

Did you know that 97% of businesses rely on word of mouth marketing in promoting their business, yet less than 3% of them have a plan for it. If you rely on something and do not have a plan, how do you know if you have been successful?

In business, one of the first things that people are advised is to have a business plan and a marketing plan. Having a clear direction for your business and your marketing efforts enables you to in effect keep score and is a great tool for remembering the bigger picture in the tough times.

An alarmingly common mistake that I see when talking to business people about networking is that they have a “We’ll see what happens” attitude to each event and to networking as a whole. To say we’ll see is to expect we’ll see results. It is up to you to have the plan and set the direction so that you can then go out and achieve the results.

Knowing your plan and goals will allow you to:-

• Keep score and measure your success at any given moment
• Spot areas for improvement and implement changes quickly and easily
• Evaluate opportunities to network by focussing on the whole plan
• Approach events calmly and confidently by setting a realistic target to achieve in terms of the new people you will meet, previous contacts you will connect with, follow up meetings you will arrange etc.
• Focus on what you are there to give as you know that is what will lead to achieving the targets you have set
• Measure the return on investment for the networking activity that you do

Here are 10 questions that you can ask yourself in order to begin to develop your networking plan

1.      How much time do I want to spend?

2.      How much money am I budgeting for networking?

3.      Where are the people I want to meet?

4.      How many groups should I join?

5.      Should I be networking online or in person?

6.      How will I measure my success?

7.      How many new people do I want to meet at a small event? At a large event?

8.      How many follow up meetings do I want to confirm?

9.      How many beneficial introductions do I want to facilitate for other people?

10.  How often will I review the plan?

Networking without a plan is like playing football without goal posts…

You might play an awesome game but how are you going to know whether or not you have won?

I know that for myself and my clients, having a detailed plan for networking has helped us to assess opportunities as they arise, evaluate events that have occurred and maximise the potential of every dollar and minute spent developing and promoting my business through talking to people.

My very exciting news is that with my next blog post I will be able to announce my new website – watch this space!!!

Here’s to a great 2010 for all of us!