The Ideal Networking Group Revealed

What’s popular and what’s not for small business owners looking for networking opportunities? And what are the key factors small business owners consider when evaluating a networking opportunity? 

That’s what we set out to find out in our recent Networking Survey.  

If you’ve been in business for a while you’ll already know how many different networking opportunities there are out there.  Here are a few of the most common models you are probably familiar with: 

• Closed Referral based Networking Groups like Business Networking International (BNI) with regular (typically weekly) compulsory meetings and only one member from any profession in each Chapter.
    
• Informal networking events, a bit like a cocktail party where everyone mixes and mingles freely. Sometimes there is a speaker and sometimes not.
    
• Speed Networking events. A lot like speed dating.  You have a limited amount of time (typically 2 or 3 minutes) to introduce yourself to another attendee before a bell rings and you move on to the next introduction.
    
• Meal time events with a speaker. Attendees all sit at tables over the course of a meal and listen to a speaker.  Networking opportunities typically limited to other people at your table and informal networking before and after the event.
    
• Structured,meeting style events where all attendees have the opportunity to introduce themselves to the other attendees in a structured format.
    
• Facilitated networking where a facilitator uses some form of process designed to help introduce and connect attendees in an easy and unthreatening manner.

 So what’s hot and what’s not?  Here’s what our 500+ survey respondents told us. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier each year..already there are Christmas parties and functions appearing in the calendar and the Christmas marketing has well and truly started. So here are 5 SMART Tips to help you make the most of the Christmas networking opportunities.

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With all the excitement and very long hours in the Networking World office over the past few weeks getting ready to launch our new Good Karma Alliance.. I have definitely been like the plumber with the leaky tap. No blog posts, no tweets, even my daily Strategic Alliance ideas have fallen by the wayside for the past couple of weeks. So here are ten ideas in one blog post to make up for it. Enjoy!

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Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures really are the most powerful way for small business owners to grow their list, boost sales, increase credibility and reduce costs.

A good alliance strategy is a WIN for both parties to the alliance and a WIN for their customers or potential customers.  If you can't find those three WINS then you need to reconsider the alliance.. But this week I want to share with you an idea and a case study that you may not have thought of.. I like to call it The Fourth WIN!  

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Why is it that we spend thousands of dollars on advertising to people on the other side of town but never take the trouble to introduce our business to our neighbours?

Here is an innovative idea that is currently being used by Jim’s Bookkeeping that can also help BNI grow their Chapters and referral base {and of course it's not limited to Jim's Bookkeepers or BNI members)

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This morning I lost a couple of hours following an Internet trail that led me somewhere really exciting.. into the world of collaborative consumption.

It all started with a Blog post from one of my favourite marketing Gurus Seth Godin..  Seth was promoting a book called The Mesh  The Mesh outlines how sharing resources and information creates an entirely new class of commerce.  You can read the whole post here  

Well The Mesh seemed in line with the concept of Strategic Alliances and Small Business Owners working together to create WIN WIN outcomes so I decided to go and order a copy and that's where the two hour trail (and the reason for this Blog post) began... 

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First of all what's a Power Team?

Basically 8 – 12 complementary businesses who work together to create a complete interrelated marketing system.

For example in the wedding industry a Power Team could consist of a photographer, a wedding dress designer, a cake shop, a travel agent specialising in honeymoons, a marriage celebrant, a wedding planner, a limousine hire company, a florist and a reception centre.

 The result is synergy on steroids. What is synergy? The definition I like the best is "synergy is when one plus one equals three". In other words, when a team produces more than the sum of each individual's efforts could produce if they worked on their own. So what happens with the POWER of 8 - 12 Business owners?

The members of a Power Team operate three distinct but interrelated marketing systems.
   

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I got the idea for this blog from a lady that I met at a networking event on Tuesday who makes and sells these adorable nappies. Thanks for the lovely email  Tasha.

You said you'd love some strategic alliance ideas for your nappy business.  So here we go with 20 ideas not just for baby products.

First have a think about distributors or channel partners..

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Today's Ask Brenda Question is one that I am asked really often so I thought it was time I put the answer into print.

What's the difference between a Strategic Alliance and a Joint Venture (sometimes referred to as a JV)?    It's a bit like asking what's the difference between a dog, a Pug and a Great Dane. 

Let me explain.

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Need to turn audio recordings into documents?

Today's cool tool is a really useful piece of FREE software that helps you transcribe audio files into documents. 

• Interview someone? – turn the interview into a PDF
• Prefer to talk instead of writing your Blog posts or a chapter of your latest book?
• Make videos and want to provide a written transcript as well?

Express Scribe is free professional audio player software for PC or Mac designed to assist the transcription of audio recordings.

You can install it on your computer and control audio playback using “hot keys” on your keyboard.

You can make it go slow, speed up, repeat bits… just like if you were having a live person read you a document so that you can type as they read.

I know this is still a manual version (i.e. a real person still has to do the typing) but I have used it on a number of occasions, the wonderful Gwenn (my VA) uses it and it really helps.

Want  some other alternatives? 

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