Taking Advantage of Networking Events

My husband and I attended a networking cocktail hour sponsored by Media Bistro at Uncorked last night. Open to media professionals, it was an opportunity for fellow Austinites to gather over some great wine and to discuss their latest business ventures. The event proved a good use of my time as it offered me the chance to:

• make a few friends with similar interests
• meet some other female business owners
• get a better pulse on the Austin business outlook
• give some advice to freelance writers
• make some agency connections that may yield business opportunities for Scribal Warriors

Have an upcoming networking event? Below are some suggestions for getting the most out of your attendance.

The Guest List

If available, find out who will be in attendance. Create a mental list of attendees that you want to be sure to meet. It's rare that you'll be able to meet everyone, so be sure that you use your time wisely to maximize your contacts.

Attire

Both the event venue and the personality of the hosting organization will typically provide clues as to the appropriate attire. When in doubt, business casual is always a good option. You will be meeting potential employees, employers, or business partners and you what to be sure that you make a great first impression.

Business Cards
Never attend a networking event without a business card. There are many online providers that allow you to create cards for free so there is no excuse. Don't make a new business contact have to try and remember your name or have to write down your information. Even someone who isn't employed can create a professional card for networking purposes. Include your contact information, licences and credentials, and your area(s) of expertise.

Two Drink Minimum Maximum
Many networking events are held at a venue where alchohol is served. While it's commonly acceptable to have a drink during a professional social event, it's never acceptable to over consume. Slurring, stumbling, or the liquid courage to share inappropriate anecdotes are not the lasting impressions you want to leave with new contacts.

Be Ready to Approach Others
Networking events are not for the shy at heart. Be prepared to walk up to strangers and start with a smile, handshake, and introduction. Open the conversation with a question about them. Give them an opportunity to let you know what they do, how long they've been doing it, and what they hope to be doing in the future. Knowing more about them will allow you to tailor your own story. Share information that is relevant to them - whether that's as a potential employer, potential employee, or merely as professional contact. Approaching others will let them know that you are friendly, confident, and have something of value to offer.

With these simple tips, you can be sure that your next networking event leaves you with fond memories, a pocket full of business cards, and new business opportunities.

U.S. Economy Supports Business Best Practices

EXPAND SLOWLY AND STRATEGICALLY

While most business owners prefer to start a new endeavor during a booming economy, many of today's most recognizable companies were actually started during recessions. From HP to Hyatt, these entrepreneurs took a great business plan and applied great business principles to grow their business in spite of the challenging economic environment.

A recession can actually be a great small business springboard. Today's economy may restrict an entrepreneur's choices for development leaving best practices as the only options. For example, easy access to funding might tempt a business owner to open a second location or fund an advertising campaign prematurely. With loans harder to come by, a business owner is forced to crunch numbers to strategically fund expansion only when it will be self-sustaining. You may grow slowly, but you are less likely to go into the red while doing so.

Limited start-up funding for Scribal Warriors has forced me to strategically consider every penny of investment. Anxious to start earning revenue as soon as the domain was purchased, I wanted to start online advertising right away to build brand awareness. I'm now grateful that I didn't have money to fund that option. Delaying my first campaign will make my marketing dollars go further. I'll be driving traffic to a more developed website that is ready with robust content and an impressive online portfolio - more likely to convert site visitors to paying clients.

Unpaid Gigs

While trying to find creative ways to feed myself more jobs and projects, I have often used Craigslist as a resource. CL's Gigs section ranges from event staffing needs to "models" for adult media. The gigs are publicized one-time or temporary needs. Another gig category is for writing. The posted writing gigs vary from poetry submissions to blogging to movie script collaboration. What's frustrating is that the majority of these gigs are unpaid. While some of the posters are college kids or aspiring artists or fellow entrepreneurs who understandably have little to no cash, others are merely greedy companies that are looking to get a service for free. Their compensation is typically "no compensation" or for the more generous ones, they offer "chance for publication."

Writing is an art form. It's also a skill. Why are artistic skills which often require natural born talent, not appreciated as much as other skills that are more easily duplicated with a course of study? Can you imagine hiring engineering grads and offering them the compensation of "chance to construct public building". While I know it's not a perfect comparison and while I acknowledge that the market is flooded with artists (be it singers, actors, writers, poets), I still think that we are undervalued and definitely underpaid. This is one artist who doesn't want to starve.

The Website Seven

While this advice is not an earth-shattering discovery of customer's online behavior, I thought it was a great reminder from Jerry Bader of seven basic elements one should consider when developing your business website. 

(Excerpt from: SiteProNews)

1. Communication
People are always asking us what's wrong with their websites, and the answer in the vast majority of cases can be summed-up in a quote from the movie, "Cool Hand Luke" (1967): "what we have here is a failure to communicate." Communication is the key to success, and that doesn't just apply to your website, it applies to almost everything you do both inside and outside your business-life. 

If your website isn't communicating on both a rational and emotional level, if it doesn't provide the psychological and emotional context of your marketing message, then exactly what is it doing?

2. Audience
I can't think of too many people who actually like being sold. In fact, sometimes customers get so irritated by sales tactics that they end up not buying the thing they came specifically to your website to purchase.

Solving the problem is merely a question of altering your perspective; the average buyer is predisposed to dismiss and ignore high-pressure tactics, and meaningless sales pitches. So instead of treating customers like customers, try treating them like an audience. Audiences want to be engaged, enlightened, and entertained. And that is the most effective way to make a sales impact.

3. Focus
All too often websites inundate their Web audiences with facts, figures, statistics, and an endless list of features, benefits, options, and whatever else the sales department can think of throwing in. All that stuff just confuses people.

Focus your message on the most important elements of what you have to say. If your website can embed that singular idea in an audience's mind, then it has done its job.

4. Language
The words used, and how they are put together provides meaning; they inform personality; they provide mental sound bites; and they make whatever you are saying, worth remembering.

Language is one of the critical elements of 'voice', the ability to convey personality; and writing without a 'voice' is instantly forgettable.

5. Performance
Even the most articulate prose can be lost in a befuddled delivery. Communication is more than words; it's a combination of language, style, personality, and performance.

Things are rarely what they seem. Even our memories are a stylized version of what we've actually experienced. Creating a memorable impression is about managing the viewer experience, and providing the right verbal and non-verbal cues that make what is being said memorable.

6. Personality
Every business has a personality. The first problem is, few medium-sized companies ever attempt to manage that persona, and as a consequence, the buying public forms its own opinion. And that opinion is often not the way you want to be regarded.

The second problem is companies either don't have a firm grasp of who they really are, or they know, and they are afraid to promote it. If your company's identity isn't worth promoting, it is time to think why that is, and change it. The bottom line is, a company without a personality is a company without an image, and that makes you instantly forgettable.

7. Psychology
The most important feature you can provide your audience is psychological fulfillment, not deep discounts, fast service, or more bells and whistles.

The real reason people buy stuff is that it makes them feel something. Cosmetics make women feel attractive or sexy, while cars make men feel they've achieved some level of status. Even services make people feel important, as in "I've got a guy, who does that for me." Finding the psychological hot spot in your marketing, and promoting the hell out of it consistently and continually should be your primary marketing goal. All those features and benefits are merely the excuse for a purchase, not the reason. 

The Case of Ethical Entrapment

As a new business owner in a competitive industry, how do you quickly land new clients? Like any underdog, you have to work harder, be creative, and hope to get lucky. If this doesn't work for you, try ethical entrapment.

Background: For the past couple of months, I've periodically been working through Elance to fish for some projects. Elance is a large online marketplace for freelancers and those seeking to hire providers for project-based work. Buyers post a project description and then service providers can choose to submit a brief proposal and bid. (There's much more to be said about the process and the Elance business model, but I will rant about that another day.)

About the Defendant: After being discouraged from not winning multiple bids, I determined that I had to find a new way to distinguish myself amid the myriad of providers. Bottoming out my pricing had been one successful strategy, but sometimes even that wasn't enough. I came across a project for an attorney that was merely to reformat a 15 page real estate contract which was attached to the project description. The contract had a few typos, but the greatest need was for consistent formatting. 

The Case: Taking initiative to tackle a project that I'm surprised anyone would pay someone to do, I edited the document, improved the layout, and provided consistent formatting throughout the various sections, subsections, and sub-subsections that are typically a part of a long, legal document. Taking less than an hour, I then submitted my proposal which basically consisted of "Ta da! Here it is" and gave the lowest bid allowed on Elance - $50. Knowing I had not only provided him a much more professional looking document, but that I had also corrected overlooked content errors, I smugly sat back awaiting a buyer message along the lines of "Wow, thanks!"

The Charge: I did hear from the buyer. But rather than accolades about my clever initiative, what I heard was a brief lecture on ethical entrapment. (*snicker* Yes, an attorney lecturing about ethics.) He then said that fortunately for me he didn't care (ah, reality-check) and just wanted it completed quickly. He would formally award me the project. After waiting a week, I sent him a payment reminder. He finally transferred the $50 ($45.62 after Elance fees) and left me an overall positive rating of 4.2/5.0, with reduced marks on professionalism. 

My Plea: If providing a high quality product on time for the lowest price possible without obligating the buyer is considered ethical entrapment, then I plead guilty. But I won't be calling that attorney to defend me.

Everyone Loves an Underdog

Watching the SuperBowl as our friends cheer for the Cards without any previous cause for loyalty, I'm reminded that our generation oft enjoys rooting for the underdog. When the least likely individual (or in this case, team) overcomes insurmountable obstacles to achieve greatness, we rush to relive the story in the theatre or to read the unauthorized biography. Underdog success stories give each of us hope. That we, too, can achieve great things even when the odds are stacked against us.

It's this sentiment that leads me to believe that 2009 is going to be a great year for new entrepreneurs. Challenging economic times will yield new risk takers and unlikely new business owners. Americans will be inspired to achieve in spite of credit limitations, unemployment surges, and fluctuating fuel prices. So as the clock ticks down on the fourth quarter, I find myself also screaming for Arizona. 

Tick, Tick, 0:00...Well, they did give it a darn good go. Still love the underdog.