Monday Minutes #3 – Networking Like a Ninja

Hello and welcome to this week’s Monday Minutes. Each week in this series I am going to share simple tips that you can implement quickly to help your business become more successful.

Monday Minutes This week’s tip is all about Networking Like a Ninja

Networking gets a bad rap. Some people hear the term and run for the hill’s so to speak! But as a business owner you know that meeting and connecting with people in your industry is critical to your success, but are you doing it with purpose? Do you have a solid strategy in place, or do you just “wing it?”

Admittedly, most of us are firmly planted in the wing it category, we avoid it like the plague in some cases. But what if I told you that there are some quick and easy changes that you can make that can put even your most important networking tasks on autopilot. Would that help take some of the pain and fear out of the whole process? Of course it would!

So let’s go….

First thing - outsource the research: Hire a virtual assistant (VA) who can find and connect you with potential JV partners, affiliates, guest interviews, and all the other marketing options at your disposal. Don’t shake your head and say you can’t afford it. If you truly want to grow your business, you can’t afford not to! This will allow you to focus on the important stuff like networking and lead generation. You can get the job done fast and cheap on a site like Fiverr or eLance for a few bucks.

With a list of requirements, a good VA can spend an hour or two on Google and bring back a list of hundreds of people you can then reach out to. What would a list of 100 or even just 10 new JV partners do for your business growth?

You can automate the initial contact too: Create a script or email template to use when you first reach out to potential partners. Your VA can send this in an email or make a call on your behalf, but having the script in place will accomplish two things:

The process will be much faster than if you have to think about what to say.
You’ll be able to tweak the script as you go to get better results. Just like you split test your emails, you can test your outreach process as well.

You can also automate the follow-up: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, create an email or phone script to help speed the process. You or your VA (or your email autoresponder series) can send out a series of emails to follow up on that initial connection.

Why not automate your scheduling too: Use a service such as TimeTrade or ScheduleOnce, you can easily set up your calendar with your preferred times for interviews, webinars and such. Give your JV partners links to book time with you, and the meetings will automatically appear on your calendar. No more endless back and forth to discuss potential meeting times, just a single click, and your potential partner can choose the time that works for both of you.

Here’s a hint: make sure to use your calendar diligently, because if you don’t you want to run the risk of someone scheduling time with you when you already have another commitment.

Will it take a bit of work to get these systems in place? Sure it will!

But once you get everything set up, you’ll find that attracting and working with JV partners, guest experts and others is much easier and more streamlined. Not only that, but with the time you save, you’ll be able to concentrate on creating new products and services. Or maybe just hang out with the kids or take some time off.

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Thank you for reading,

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