February 4, 2010
Networking is all about building quality relationships but how many times have you had a coffee meeting that goes absolutely nowhere? You know how it is … an hour wasted while the other person tells you all about themselves and their business with no mention of how they may be able to help you.. Or worse still they try to sell you something whether or not you are even in the market for their products or services.
Or perhaps you meet in the hope of creating a strategic alliance, you agree that you may be able to refer business to each other, but nothing ever happens.
And then there are the ones who are there to pick your brains and you find yourself in free consulting mode.. “Hang on a second” you find yourself thinking, “My clients pay me for this information and I am buying you coffee while I give it to you for free. What is wrong with this picture? “
If any of this sounds familiar then you may enjoy Brenda’s SMART coffee Recipe
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Networking Articles | Tagged: coffee, Networking, smart, target market | 
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Posted by Brenda Thomson
January 28, 2010
I was just reading a promotion for a Networking Event:
“you will meet at least 50 people! Bring lots of business cards and come prepared with a 30 second introduction about you and your company. “
Now I have to confess that that sound to me like one of my networking nightmares.. Second only to cocktail style party events where everyone knows everyone (except me) and I find myself hiding in a corner talking to the only other person who doesn’t know anyone and slinking off home as early as possible. Not exactly a great investment of time or money.
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Leave a Comment » | Networking Articles | Tagged: business, money, Networking, networking event, speed networking, time | Permalink
Posted by Brenda Thomson
January 22, 2010
Many small business owners approach networking with a plan that typically looks something like:
“Attend one networking event a week and connect with five people at each to create a quality relationship”
But which people do you want to meet and why…We recommend you network with your strategic plan clearly in mind. Networking is simply a strategy to help you achieve your business goals – it is not an end in itself. Knowing clearly what you want to achieve in your business is a critical first step in SMART networking and one great time to get your SMART networking plan in order is at the start of the new year.. So lets get started… Here are three simple steps to creating a SMART Networking Plan
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1 Comment | Networking Articles | Tagged: business success, innovations, kickstart, marketing, Networking, resources, small business, smart networking plan | Permalink
Posted by Brenda Thomson
December 17, 2009
The end of one year and the start of another is a great time to review your networking for the past twelve months and determine where you should be investing your hard earn dollars and precious time for the coming year. If you are looking for new places to network a great place to start is with the Networking World directory. A number of our subscribers have asked me “How do I make best use of the directory?” So this week I wanted to answer that question.
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1 Comment | Networking Articles | Tagged: directory, Networking, networking group, networkingworld | Permalink
Posted by Brenda Thomson
December 3, 2009
The brainchild of event coordinator Josie Kearsey from Klass Events “Make Me Gorgeous” and “Secret Girls Business” are events created especially to give small business owners whose target market is specifically women the opportunity to showcase their products and services directly to their target market in a fun, friendly and effective way.
Networking World CEO Brenda Thomson interviews Josie and some of the girls involved. This is the story of their Strategic Alliance in Action.
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Posted by Brenda Thomson
November 11, 2009
Brenda Thomson interviews SAS member and multiple award winning business owner Ludwina Dautovic of The Red Tent Woman about how she has used networking and strategic alliances to achieve her business success.
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Leave a Comment » | Networking Articles | Tagged: alliances, Brenda Thomson, business success, Ludwina Dautovic, Network, networking events, small business, Strategic Alliances, The Red Tent Woman | Permalink
Posted by Brenda Thomson
