THE SEASON IS THE REASON, By Gayle Hallgren-Rezac

Because of the upcoming holiday season, as I go around the Pacific Northwest meeting new networkers and business professionals wanting to network better, I am reminded about this great article that Gayle Hallgren-Rezac sent and wanted to share it to show how we are connecting to others here in the Pacific Northwest and western states. May it spark ideas and help you meet those that you can positively impact, as well as those who can positively impact you. – Lori Richardson, Northwest Bureau Chief, The National NetWorker

THE SEASON IS THE REASON
Positive Networking® Tips for the Holiday Season

By Gayle Hallgren-Rezac

One of the most common questions that people ask us at our networking seminars is, “How do I follow up with someone I haven’t spoken to in quite awhile?” You are in luck! One of the very best ways to reconnect is during the upcoming holiday season. People aren’t surprised if you invite them to an event, if you send them a card, or drop them an email. You don’t need a reason; the holiday season is the reason.

If you’ve stopped sending greeting cards, start again. Write a personal greeting or note. A nice touch is to choose a greeting card produced by a charity such as your local Children’s Hospital. Or try this website www.sendoutcards.com for one of the most efficient ways to send out cards by old-fashioned snail mail. Avoid email cards unless sending to close friends.

Turn your ‘closed’ office party into an event for your customers. Staff and customers often spend years talking to one and other, exclusively by phone or email. Even if they work a block away from one and other they may have never have met in person! Invite customers and clients so everyone will now have a ‘face to go along with a name.’ It’s a huge bonus to on-going customer relations. Note: Everyone should wear nametags.


Eat before you go. Ah yes, the juggling act when mingling and jingling: the hors d’oeuvres-wine-handshake-business card challenge can be too much multi-tasking for most of us. Think how liberated you will feel if you go to an event and can circulate with your hands free. Save the rum balls and shortbread cookie raid for your visit to the relatives.

Send gifts that are memorable. While you may want to give a logo-ed corporate gift or gift basket, sometimes a unique gift is greatly appreciated. One of the most personal gifts you can give (without getting personal) is a book—business or non-fiction. Make it something that you have enjoyed and that you think the other person will get value from as well. And they’ll even have time over the holidays to read it.

Just say yes. Go to all the events you are invited to this holiday season even if you have more than one event on a single night. Take the time to make an appearance and say hello to your host. Don’t be a no-show. This is too good a time of year to miss the opportunity to reconnect. You don’t need a reason: the season is the reason.


Gayle Hallgren-Rezac is Vice President of Marketing for Shepa Learning Company, and co-author of Work the Pond! Use the Power of Positive Networking to Leap Forward in Work and Life by Darcy Rezac with Judy Thomson and Gayle Hallgren-Rezac (Prentice Hall) Book is available www.amazon.com To sign up for their free weekly Positive Networking Tip please go to www.workthepond.com
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THE SEASON IS THE REASON, By Gayle Hallgren-Rezac

Glen Gould of Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Networking Activities 2007

Glen Gould, Director of Small and Medium Sized Business Development, has an entire array of networking and educational events on the calendar for next year, including the Small Business Matters series and more sessions of the successful Power Networking events. In fact there are 12 events already scheduled for January and February alone. Keep your New Years business development resolution and put these events on your calendar today.

Glen is also the Southeast Bureau Chief for TNNW. You can reach Glen at GlenG@TheNationalNetworker.com
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Glen Gould of Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Always Thrill the Customer

You may wonder if the car dealer has gone overboard with his service and perhaps he has in a way. The customer can decline his offering at any time but at least he is there to offer it. You can go overboard with your willingness to please but you cannot go overboard with a good customer service policy. You really want to over deliver your promises but you do not want to under promise what you will do. There must be value attached to everything you do for the customer. If they do not perceive a value in the service, then you will not keep that customer for life. I recently had a contract with a company in the Bay Area; their motto was "To Thrill the Customer Everyday". Each person that came on board was also asked to take the motto and implement it in every way possible. As a result, this company is doing extremely well in a slumped economy. The customer service they offer goes beyond just doing the job, the quality of work, the professional attitudes, and the insightful solutions make this company tops.

Service for customers will help to you maintain and develop additional business relationships. What I mean is that customers will continue to do business with you because they know what they will get, plus they will give referrals by word of mouth. The important part is that not only should your service thrill the customer but your work should also be of excellent quality. Service and value cannot be matched by anyone that does not have the customer at heart. I remember going into a store not too long ago to get some garden supplies. This company was fairly large and had a few branch offices. This particular store had three employees that were sitting around chatting and reading a paper when I walked in. I started searching around for an item I needed and NO ONE bothered to get up and ask what I was looking for. I finally had to ask and they just pointed to where it might be. I just walked out and went elsewhere. I also let the owner know that his customer service was bad and no matter how much cheaper his prices were I would never shop there again.

In this case word of mouth worked really well. I let everyone know of my bad experience and his business was rarely full of excited customers. He could improve his profits tremendously if the customer service alone were to improve.
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Always Thrill the Customer

Branding is Part of Networking

Brands can become the de facto standard but you need to make sure that you define your brand in your own terms in a positive way. Everyone has heard of Kleenex or even Aspirin. These are both brands of a product that have become a word for the product itself. You can likely think of others that fall into this category. The products these companies produce are used by so many people that the brand name and product become like one. It is unlikely that most companies will achieve this high a level of brand recognition but you can use some of their techniques to create your own brand. Before you begin branding your product or service, you need to identify what it is that you are trying to brand. If it is you, then all the communications and information must relate back to you. If it is a product, then things like packaging, logo, design, and text all need to point to the product in a consistent manner. Being consistent through your design means you bring that consistency to every networking event you attend.

You can also make a brand out of a service. A company that simply services the consumer in some manner such as carpet cleaning can create a brand. Have you ever heard of COIT? They have carved out a brand name for themselves in the cleaning industry. They did this through quality service, customer focus, and a consistent message. They also are relentless in the marketing and PR programs that support the brand. Even though they have spent a fortune on branding themselves, you do not need to go that far unless you want to have more than a local or regional recognition. You are your brand, carry it with you at all times - share it with others.

Branding and keeping up with the brand is a lot of hard work. It means keeping on top of all communications to customers, making sure that service is top notch, and bending over backwards to keep a good name for yourself whether you are in the office or at an event.
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Branding is Part of Networking