Professional development

Business networking events vital to your success

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Do you attend business networking events regularly? If not, why not? They are an effective and inexpensive way to market yourself and your business. You can mingle with other business people in a casual environment, enjoy some food, talk shop, and along the way pick up some new contacts. Some of those folks are right in your backyard, figuratively if not literally.

There are a couple principles to keep in mind about networking events. First, be patient. If it’s your first event for that business networking group, the attendees may not know you. You need time to build rapport and relationships. That will require more than one event, so plan on networking regularly. You will be remembered over time.

Second, like all business relationships, those that are conceived during a networking event should be done so with mutually beneficial intentions in mind. As you will note from the suggestions that follow, you’ll spend a significant amount of time getting to know the other attendees, their needs, and so on. It’s a twist on the old saying, “It is better to give than to receive.” As Zig Ziglar famously said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

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Ingraining the 7 habits of highly effective people

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I recently had the pleasure of attending a seminar based upon Stephen R. Covey’s landmark book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” I was intrigued when I heard about the seminar, because I have a copy of the book. Sadly, it sits on my bookshelf only partially read. I found the book a bit challenging; to me, it reads more like an academic text. Fortunately, the presenter distilled the major themes  – the 7 Habits – into material I could understand and digest.

Here are the notes I took from that presentation. You can see how powerful his suggestions are and why Covey’s book is a must read. It’s impossible to do justice to the book with just a few lines for each Habit.  I encourage you to purchase a copy for the complete discussion.

Habit 1: Be Proactive. Stop and think before reacting. Act based upon sound principles, not emotion (which could be heated at the time). Avoid getting sucked into the emotion of the moment.

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Ring in the new year with a renewed commitment to success

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It’s that time of year again. Time to start implementing all those grand resolutions we make every year. On the professional side, we set new goals for ourselves, hoping again to do better than the year before.

I realize this sounds a bit sarcastic, and in a way it is. But that’s because many of our resolutions, especially those having to do with diet and exercise, tend to fall by the wayside rather quickly. Professional goals usually are taken more seriously, if only because the bottom line is on the line.

If you’re in network marketing / MLM, you have an extra set of responsibilities: that of your teammates. That may sound like a heavy burden, but remind yourself this: the more successful your teammates are, the more successful you are.

Let’s discuss how you can recommit to your teammates, then take a look at some goals for yourself.

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Need to make a decision? Get SMART

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In life, as in business, we’re constantly making decisions. Decisions about what to do next. Where to go. What to buy. How to spend our time.

For the most part, the decision-making process isn’t very long or involved. Some decisions can be made quickly, while others require a bit more thought.

Sometimes a particular task or project is more involved or very important. You don’t want to be too quick about it. Some people have a systematic process for deciding what to do. If you don’t, and you often find yourself mulling over an issue for a lot longer than you should, consider the SMART principles.

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Create a successful webinar

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Webinars have fast become a popular form of presenting. They are relatively inexpensive to host – even free, with the right platform – and let you reach out to the world from the comfort of your home or office.

Those with limited public speaking experience.sometimes find hosting a webinar intimidating, even frightening. It shouldn’t be. In fact, you’ll find it a fun exercise once you start hosting your own webinars. These tips will help ensure your webinars are successful.

1. Treat it like any other presentation. A webinar is essentially a seminar given remotely. The biggest difference (which can work in your favor; more on that later) is that your audience isn’t right in front of you. Even so, you must follow the same steps you take for a standard presentation. They include:

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