This week on TNNW...

The Sixth Law of Relationship Capital

By Adam J. Kovitz, CEO, Editor-in-Chief

The ten Laws of Relationship Capital are divided into logical groupings: the first two Laws discuss who can and cannot possess Relationship Capital, the next four Laws deal with mechanics, the seventh and eighth Laws concern themselves with Intellectual Capital and its relationship to Relationship Capital and finally the last two Laws focus on Financial Capital and its relationship to Relationship Capital. Therefore, we continue this month with the last of the “mechanics” discussions, which will certainly appeal to any of those who have ever dealt in the areas of organizational development, industrial psychology, business analysis and valuation and/or management/supervision....more
Sponsored by SalesConX

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Business Networking...Church Style
By PETER BIADASZ, Southern Plains Bureau Chief
Anyone anywhere can start a business networking group. Recently I have been invited to several networking groups that have had their beginnings in local churches. Some of these meetings are denominational, some non-denominational, and some multi-denominational. While many people prefer to keep their professional and personal lives separate, some have no problem co-mingling every segment of their lives. As a result, church networking groups, whether they be monthly breakfasts or weekly luncheons, are a growing segment of business networking groups.

Networking Wisdom from NJ-Based Entrepreneur
By LYDIA SUGARMAN, Entrepreneurial Editor
I met David Stein at the annual World Golfs Gala dinner in early February this year. After two or three decades of business experience, he has a lot of wisdom and insight to share, albeit sometimes in a curmudgeonly joking manner!
Sponsored by Founder Contact

LawLink.com
By SCOTT R. FORCINO, Esq., Legal & Real Estate Editors
This month I had the pleasure of reviewing www.lawlink.com, a new, free, online social Web site that connects attorneys from one end of the country to the other.

Business Building Conversations
By CANDY WEBB, Network Marketing Editor
There are two key concepts that every networker needs to understand, and to refine some additional skills to do well. First, learning how to INITIATE conversations, and Second, learning how to EXTEND conversations. This is, of course, absolutely vital for any business endeavor that requires bringing new contacts or leads into your business either as customers or business partners.

Twitterpated!
By CHRIS KAUZA, Technical Editor
Have you heard of other people “Twittering” and wondered what it's all about? About a year ago, NPR did a profile on Twitter and so I thought I would give it a serious look. And even though it just sounded like a silly little application designed to help someone be “anonymously nosy”, it had some extra credibility since NPR was covering it. Boy was I surprised at what I learned!

Customize Your Referral Strategies
By IVAN MISNER, Ph.D., Networking Success
One of the things I often tell people is to remember what Tony Alessandro calls, the “Platinum Rule”: Treat others the way they want to be treated. This rule applies to every transaction and every relationship you have—with your referral source, with your prospect, with your customer, with anybody.
Sponsored by qAlias

Five Signs Your Networking Efforts Are Failing – and What to do About It!
By GLEN GOULD, Mastering the Membership Maze
I don’t like rubber chicken. My bet is you don’t either. I particularly don’t like spending $15 to $25 for a rubber chicken lunch and feeling like the only value I received was, well, rubber chicken. But how does one know when the networking net worth is less than the time invested and the value of Michelin Chicken?

Power Thought of the Week
By PATRICIA PARHAM, Ph.D., Power Thought of the Week
Business Processes Transformations - Changing business processes and technologies is a way to create transformation and potentially increase business income. How do you use the internet in your sales, marketing and delivery? What functions would it be more economical to contract for or outsource? If there’s any part of your business which is not “best in class”, seek those who are known for excellence in this area and capitalize on their expertise.

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This week on TNNW...

Respect Yourself

People, Power & Possibilities

By Donna Fisher, TNNW Contributing Writer

Someone once said, "People do business with people they know and trust." I've always said that it's easy to "meet" a lot of people. However, the important thing is to CONNECT with them and build trust. So, let's review what it takes to develop trust and connection with people:

1. Listen and really hear what they're saying, connect with what they're saying, see if you can relate (in some way) to who they are and what they're saying.
2. Be sincere. Be real. Be respectful. Don't embellish, over promise or say nice things to manipulate or look good.
3. Be honest with your words and actions. Be a person of integrity and do what you say you will do. This is the quickest way to generate trust. Show people that they can count on you for what you say.
4. Be sincere. Express how you care about people by being truly interested.
5. Respect people by speaking in a positive and constructive way regarding others. Do not participate in gossip or sharing information inappropriately.
6. Be appreciate and respectful of the trust that people place in you.
7. Respect yourself because that's where it all starts. The more you respect yourself (your values, talents, etc.) the more natural (and automatic) it is for others to respect you. Your respect of self creates an energy field that attracts respect. Also when you respect yourself, you have less need to have your attention on yourself and you have more attention and energy to give others.

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Respect Yourself

Marketing your Business in a Recession

By Rita Wilhelm, Contributing Writer

With a struggling US economy, many entrepreneurs and sales people are finding that they need to change the way they market their business.

You yourself might be asking the question on how best to use the marketing dollars that you have in your budget. Where can you get the biggest bang for the buck?

I have some good news for you. And by the way, stick those marketing dollars back in your coffers, because the strategy I’m about to share with you is virtually free. Well… it is going to take an hour or two a week of your time, but other than that, it’s free.

I want to make the case for you, that spending time each week on your social media marketing, is very smart business.

So what is social media? Social media is an umbrella term that refers to the technologies and practices that are used to share information, opinions, and thoughts online.

Social media can take many forms, such message boards, blogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and videos.

With 70% of people researching online before buying a product or service (which includes local service businesses), and 51% of internet users spending most of their time reading and watching personal content that is created by other people, you’ve got to have an online presence. But, it’s not just about having a website. You need to make sure that your business is in the path of where your target audience is spending their time online.

Here’s another little known fact. According to ongoing research from the Online Publishers Association and Nielsen//NetRatings, US Internet users will spend less than 5% of their online time using search, versus nearly 50% of their time on content sites (social media). Yet, most marketers are putting most of their online marketing dollars into paid search.

Marketing Experiments did a 12 month study, in which they compared the effectiveness of a Google Adwords campaign, to a social media marketing campaign. They created several sites in different niches to gather data from. They compared:

1) Hiring an employee at $10/hour to blog, create content, and in to work to drive traffic to the sites.

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2) Using Google Adwords to drive targeted traffic. (They paid up to .75/click in their adwords campaign).

Result: Social Media Optimization yielded a 1427% greater return on investment!

WOW!

The numbers speak for themselves. But before you jump into social media marketing, be sure that you do your homework. There is a right way to network, and there is a spammy way to network. You want to educate yourself so that you are being effective in the way that you use these online communities.

With a potential recession looming, it’s smart to put your marketing efforts where you get the greatest return on investment. Social media marketing may well be your solution.

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Marketing your Business in a Recession