I definitely wanted to meet her.

After introducing myself, we chatted for a few minutes and then she said something that completely floored me! This vivacious business woman mentioned that she networks with, and belongs to, no less than 20 business networking groups, including 11 chambers of commerce.

Holy Cow, Batman!!

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Robin Benitez, ‘Networking Queen’ and VP of Sales for a unique and growing company called PreviewMe.TV

As I struggled to keep a straight face, that little voice in my head screamed, “How does she keep up with all that networking without going insane?!”

So I did what any curious entrepreneur would do — I interviewed Robin, determined to find out her secret.   I had a feeling there would be other people who could benefit from her experience, knowledge and approach to networking for business.

Here’s what she had to say.

A native to the San Francisco Bay Area, Robin has built a long and successful career in sales through her friendly, solution-oriented and relationship-focused approach to clients.

You’ve heard that 90% of success is just showing up, and Robin is a perfect example of that.  But since starting with PreviewMe.TV over 2 years ago, she has been doing more than just showing up.  Robin has been building solid relationships with colleagues, clients, and new-found friends based on connecting others with what they need.

She also stepped into various leadership positions and steadily increasing awareness for herself, her company and her products.

Here are Robin’s 3 keys for networking success:

1. Show up consistently. Consistency not only establishes visibility, it also signals reliability, stability, trust, and credibility.
2. Don’t judge people by their appearance, company, or title. Many folks make the mistake of dismissing someone who doesn’t immediately ‘fit’ as a prospective customer.  But you never know who that person might know. It can literally pay to take the time and invest in relationship building.
3. Stay organized.  Robin’s upbringing taught her how to prepare and stay organized.  By planning her day the night before, she encounters few delays and distractions that might easily derail her business.

Organizing Your Networking Efforts

Her planning method involves gathering materials, updating her calendar, and literally planning her route for the day.  This is essential for those days when she has 4 or 5 networking events on her schedule, plus customer appointments.

Here’s another strategy that Robin uses to stay organized that might surprise you: she keeps both an electronic calendar on her desktop at home (Outlook) AND a paper calendar that travels with her.

“Why don’t you use an electronic device?” I asked.

Well, it turns out our Networking Queen is a bit old fashioned and likes to see her entire schedule in one glance.  It feels more secure to her.  Being a visual person myself, I can totally relate!

Another unusual tactic Robin uses involves keeping her to-do list separate from her calendar.  Why?   She found that being able to see her to-do list at the same time as her calendar distracted her from efficiently planning and scheduling her busy life.  Seeing that list pulled her attention away from the priorities of the day.

She syncs her computer schedule with her hard copy on a daily basis.   Because she keeps everything up to date, this only takes a small amount of time.

Following Up – Where the Money Is

We’ve all been told that the key to profits is in the follow up.   Having worked with clients who’ve struggled with this themselves, I was curious to find out how Robin manages this critical business activity.

“How do you follow up with all those people you meet when you’re networking so much?”

Here’s what Robin does: as part of her routine, she takes about 2 hours or less every evening to follow up with the new connections she made that day.   This time of day works for her because it’s quiet and she can focus on what she’s doing.

For those of you who had the immediate thought, “Two flippin’ hours! There’s NO WAY I can do that!” (I know you did) Read on…

Typically, Robin will take each business card she received and review the note or action item she wrote on it.  Next, she’ll go online and learn more about their business, product or service.  Then she will send an appropriate email to that person that includes:

• A thank you or acknowledgement
• Something conversational pertaining to meeting that person
• Mention something complimentary about their business, product, service or website.  It shows you care and makes people feel good.  And this has to be authentic!

She does NOT include anything about her business, and does NOT ask them to take any kind of action – letting people follow up with her at their convenience.  Robin has found this to be the most effective system for building relationships and trust; and as a result, she has grown her business dramatically!

Again, if you initially balked at hearing about the time and effort she takes in her follow up, just imagine what it feels like to be in communication with Robin.   You’re acknowledged, respected, valued, and noticed.  Isn’t that how you want your clients and customers to feel?

And what does Robin do with the business card — ‘cause ya just know its not sittin’ in a stack next to her computer, right?!

Well, it turns out she uses a card scan program to capture their contact information and keeps it in an ACT database.  This tool, and please pay particular attention to this, is then used to schedule the next appropriate step for following up with prospects.  Robin makes sure these tasks get plugged into her desktop calendar, which flags her in the evening when she knows she’ll be using her computer.

Whew!

To recap Robin’s keys to successful networking:

• Show up consistently
• Avoid judging people
• Stay organized

Final words of wisdom from Robin Benitez, the Networking Queen:

• Don’t take yourself so seriously.
• Have fun.
• Entertain and be entertained.
• Make a difference for people.

Thank you, Robin!!!!

A few weeks ago I was on Amazon looking for a book on corporate blogging.  As I scrolled down the page of a particular book, I noticed a section advertising Business and Leadership Seminars in the town where I live, Oakland, CA.

Whoa!

My inner marketing geek instantly took notice.  And having helped many entrepreneurs market their events, I was super curious to find out what Amazon was up to!

Turns out Amazon has a subsidiary called Clickriver which offers a pay-per-click(PPC) service for businesses that provides VERY targeted advertising.  This is GREAT news for the workshop leader!

Stellar Marketing Opportunity for Speakers

In order to appreciate the brilliant opportunity this presents to workshop and seminar leaders, you need to understand one point.  By the time someone gets to Amazon and they’re looking for a book on a particular topic, they are more or less in the “take-action” stage of the buying cycle.

Consider the three stages of the buying cycle:

Stage 1. Gathering information and general research

Example: Linda wants to start speaking as way to promote her business. She goes online and searches for resources on how to get started.

Stage 2. Comparing information, sampling, reading reviews, narrowing down options

Example: Linda finds websites, articles, blogs, and programs that promise to help her be successful. She downloads some free reports and subscribes to a newsletter or two.

Stage 3. Ready to make a choice and take action.

Example: Linda decides to go beyond the free information she’s downloaded and make a small investment in furthering her education. She may buy a book, take a course, or purchase an info-product. This is where most people are when they’re on Amazon. They’re ready to buy something.

And this is your golden opportunity to promote your event to a qualified audience.

What’s so great about Clickriver is that it’s relatively underused at this point, and the bid prices on keywords doesn’t seem to be that much. And if you have an event coming up, it could be a wise investment of marketing dollars to promote it.

I found a couple of very good blog posts that further explain the virtues of Clickriver on Amazon. See what PPC expert, MsDanielle, has to say about it, as well as Affiliate Marketer, Ian Fernando. 

I’m putting together a business blogging workshop this fall and I will seriously consider adding Clickriver to my marketing strategy. In the meantime, if you have an event and take advantage of Clickriver, please come back and let me know about your experience.

Asked, what do you do?
He said, I am blah, blah, blah.
Oh boy, I don’t care.

_{— Marketing Haiku by Cheryl}

Networking done right takes time and practice for most people.  When I started out, I was a little nervous and would fall all over myself when asked that dreaded deer-in-headlights question, “What do you do?”

Over the years I’ve learned to answer – and ask – that question with more elegance and ease.

As a strategy for growing my business, I have gotten great results from personal networking.  I’ve gained clients, colleagues and friends through my efforts, and I truly enjoy it.

But for some, it’s a bit of a struggle and feels downright uncomfortable.  Here are some tips that will help make the best use of your efforts, and eventually produce the results you want – clients, resources and referrals.

1. You are not there to sell anything.  Let go of this false notion. You are there to start and build relationships.  The customers will follow.

2. Remembering names – there are lots of techniques, but if all else fails, just simply say, “Excuse me, please remind me of your name again.”  It sounds SO much better than “I forgot your name.”

3. Another trick I learned from one of my mentors is to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know by saying, ‘Hi, I don’t think we’ve met yet.  My name is _______.”  Please don’t bother with your last name just yet.  If there’s a connection, you’ll exchange cards and they will have all your info.  I personally think it’s a waste of time in networking situations saying your last name.  Make it easier for people to remember you by just giving your first name.

4. Be curious.  In addition to finding out what people do, ask them an assortment of questions like:
a. How did you get started?
b. What do you like most about what you do?
c. Who is one of your mentors?
d. What do you like about this group?
e. How do you deal with your email inbox?
f. Where’s the best place to get pizza around here?

5. Offer assistance and resources when appropriate.

6. When someone offers help, say yes and thank them.  One of the biggest challenges we seem to have is being able to receive graciously.

7. If someone asks you, what do you need? – don’t say, “nothing”.  Oh, how disappointing!  People usually want to help and will wrack their brains trying to figure out a way to contribute to you.

8. Follow up appropriately. Make a phone call. Or send an email.  Set aside time in your schedule to do your follow up activities – usually within 24 to 48 hours after the event.  Keep a record of who you contact, and appropriate next steps.

9. Keep it personable; relax and be yourself.  Starting out can be a bit unnerving and many new entrepreneurs approach networking with the misperception that it’s serious and ‘sales-y’.

10. Make sure you’re in the right place.  Are you schmoozing with your target market?  Or maybe the intent is to foster relationships with peers and colleagues.  You never know when they may need to refer business to you.

Or your target audience, niche, target group, whatever….it’s who you are looking for to be your customer/client.  This can be such a challenge to narrow down that I’ve seen business owners reduced to swearing and tears as they struggle to get a handle on it.

There can be a lot of pressure to get this right.  After all, your ENTIRE MARKETING STRATEGY hinges on it!  WHAT you say, HOW you say it, WHERE you say it…it all depends on WHO you say it to.

The WHO dictates WHERE you market.  In the old marketing construct, the WHO determined what magazines, TV shows, radio stations, events and direct mail you advertised with.  Those channels are still relevant, but they’ve become highly segmented.  Add websites, forums, social networking sites and blogs to the mix and it becomes even more critical to clarify your niche.  Where are you going to spend your marketing time and money?

And I’m going to guess that you may not have the biggest marketing budget to take advantage of, making it even more important to choose wisely and carefully the WHO, WHERE & HOW.  There’s that pressure again!

I’ve only just scratched the surface of this topic and I do plan on blogging further about it because it is such a big part of your marketing foundation.  Think about demographics, geography, socio-economic factors, psychographics (interests, attitudes, behavior and opinions) and their comfort level with technology.  Lots to think about, yes?

But if you have something you want to add, or maybe this is an area you struggle with yourself, let me know how you settled on your niche…or not.  What’s your challenge around defining your target audience?