Build Connections That Last A Lifetime

Build Connections That Last A Lifetime
By Maribeth Kuzmeski
It's official: We survived 2009. But you're probably not spinning around in your office chair, throwing confetti in the air to celebrate. That's because though you may have survived, 2009 was an especially difficult year for business.

The New Year offers an opportunity for a fresh start. And while cutting prices or updating your marketing plan might help get the job done, Maribeth Kuzmeski, author of The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationship and Win Clients for Life, says that 2010 is the year of the connector-that the connections you make and the relationships you build will be the true game changers.

"Relationships are more important than ever, particularly when it comes to doing business. And thanks to social media, mobile technology, and the ever-expanding internet, it's easier than ever to connect with others," she says.

This month will look at eight tips to help you make more meaningful connections in the coming months.

Improve Your Social Networking Skills
In today's business world, social networking can't be ignored. We promote products on Facebook, network through LinkedIn, and get our news updates via Twitter. And while social networking is a great way to connect, it can be easy to forget that what you are aiming for are meaningful connections.

Making meaningful connections via social media can sometimes take a little extra work and a different approach. Kuzmeski says that using a few simple rules of thumb can help make your social networking more efficient.

1. Choose to connect with people who have similar interests or who are working in your particular field. And when someone you know, want to know, or need to know connects with you online, you should always reciprocate.

2. Don't let your online connections get lost in cyberspace. Just because they are online doesn't mean they can't turn into quality connections. Find ways that you can connect through other avenues like conferences, retreats, or occasional in-office visits.

Remember: It's Quality, Not Quantity
While the connections you make through social media are important - especially when you can transform those connections into relationships - you have to be careful not to get caught up in a more, more, more mentality, where you are constantly striving to get more friends on Facebook or to tweet more often during your day.

Kuzmeski says that you can be more successful if you use your time to instead revamp the connections you already have by making them more meaningful and personal.

"Concentrate your efforts on turning your connections into more personal relationships: Your goal should be to make connections outside of your computer screen. And since sales conversions are more likely face-to-face, consider hosting an event for your followers.

Twitter users call this a tweetup, according to a definition by "PCMag.com." A tweetup is a gathering of users brought together via Twitter. For example, at conferences, Twitter is used by attendees to arrange to meet after the show for discussion, cocktails, and parties.

"This year, make a concerted effort to focus on the quality of your business relationships," Kuzmeski says.

Be A Voicemail Non-Conformist
If you've worked in business for any amount of time, you've probably played a game of phone tag or two (or 20!). When we attempt to connect with people over the phone, we're usually faced with having to leave a voicemail. But just because you're connecting with a voice mailbox doesn't mean your connection can't also be meaningful. Kuzmeski says learning how to make the most of those voicemail messages can also help boost your connections.

"Treat your voicemail messages just like you would an actual conversation," says Kuzmeski. "Keep them short and sweet and stay on point. Practice your message before calling to make sure it is compelling. Say something unexpected that may get the listener's attention -- have lots of energy and enthusiasm when you call.

You might even want to try smiling while you are speaking - it will come through in your tone of voice. Be sure to give the recipient of the message your reason for calling and a reason why he or she should call you back. And always clearly state your contact information -- then clearly state it again. There's no easier way to break a connection than failing to give others a way to connect back to you," she says.

Build Your Own Harvard Network
People who have gone to Ivy League schools like Harvard typically look out for one another. They connect with each other, hire each other, and refer potential clients to one another. The same can be said for many high-status schools in the nation. It may be true that alumni networks are more valuable and important to the success of graduates than the education they received.

So what do you do if you didn't go to a prestigious school? The principles are the same for any network of people.

"Those with similar interests, backgrounds, commonality and relationships will look out for each other, work with each other, and help each other," says Kuzmeski. "It is human nature. So, if you don't already have a network, find one. Join a community group, alumni group, or industry group and get involved. Create advocates and make yourself a known entity in the group through your activism."

Create Your Powerful Connections List
In order to form new and more powerful relationships, it's a good idea to first begin by determining who are, and who can potentially become your most powerful connections. Ask yourself: Who do I need to be able to connect with to build my business successes?

"Create a list of at least 20 potentially powerful connections," Kuzmeski says. "Now you know who to reach out to. It isn't 1,000 people. It is a manageable 20 who will connect you to others. But who wants to connect with you? Lots of people do; it simply takes finding out what's in it for them."

Leverage Your Connections
Effectively leverage your business network by creating a large enough network, regularly staying in touch with them, and helping them get to know you, what you do in your business, and the kinds of people with whom you work. But most of all, concentrate on getting to your network and developing a relationship focused on them.

"Thankfully, for salespeople everywhere, strategies for leveraging themselves exist," Kuzmeski says. "It takes a plan, but leveraging current relationships can be the miracle answer to the typical grind of prospecting. Advocates, centers of influence, and your customers will give you referrals and introductions that are critical to expanding your reach and incremental sales growth."

True Connections Happen Eye-To-Eye
Just because there are a lot of new and improved ways to connect with people, it doesn't mean we should rule out good old-fashioned face-to-face contact. Sure, social networking is great, and when used the right way, it can be a great tool for you and your business. However, if you want to really connect with people, it is important to make it a priority to schedule face time.

Sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with someone you would like to strengthen your relationship with. Think about those on your powerful connections list, people you truly care about-the ones who will mean the most to you in the year ahead-and then make it a point to see each one of them in person at some point in the next few months.

"Of course you're busy," says Kuzmeski. "We all are. But you can't let that be your excuse for not making the time to connect with people in person. You have to make the time. Whether it means clearing out a couple of weeks out of the year to devote to traveling to see clients, or even breaking early from a conference to catch up with an important colleague, you should make it a priority," she says.

"You need to establish a solid in-person relationship with people in order to gain their trust. And once you've done that, you can use all the other tools as a way to continue your relationship throughout the rest of your busy year."

Make Amends When You Mis-Connect
It's bound to happen at some point: You send an unintended e-mail to a client. Or you tweet something that at the time seemed funny and edgy, but instead offended a few of your followers. Or you forget to follow-up on a referral you've received because it got lost in your inbox for three months. What do you do? Mark these connections down as technology casualties and move on?

Kuzmeski says that option is a big mistake. Whenever you've made a mistake-online or otherwise-you should take immediate action to rectify the situation. Take down the offending tweet, send out an online apology, and pick up the phone to apologize personally.

"The online world has provided us with increased opportunity," she says, "but that also means an increased opportunity for making mistakes. If you've offended someone, whether it be an employee, colleague, or a client, it's important for you to react quickly to make amends. Recognizing you were wrong and offering an apology will go a long way in helping you reestablish any trust that you've lost."

Source: Maribeth Kuzmeski is the founder of Red Zone Marketing, LLC, which consults to Fortune 500 firms on strategic marketing planning and business growth. An internationally recognized speaker, she shares the tactics that businesspeople use today to create more sustainable business relationships, sales, and marketing successes. The author she has frequently appeared on TV and radio, and has written articles on marketing strategies for hundreds of publications including BusinessWeek and Entrepreneur.

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Build Connections That Last A Lifetime

Vehicle Signage: A Powerful Marketing Tool

Using your vehicles to advertise your business or organizations makes sense. It gives value for money with a high visibility in the community. Your vehicles become moving billboards. And they work. You will get noticed.

The whole point of advertising is to get the message out to the people who need your products and services. Television, newspaper, direct mail and radio are the traditional ways of increasing your brand awareness. But this is changing. More and more the internet becomes a tool of choice and it is cost-effective with the ability to reach many customers. And so is adding vehicle wraps, lettering or magnets to your vehicle.


Sometimes a full wrap is not needed to have impact and get attention! A partial wrap, vinyl lettering or a combination of both, with the proper design can accomplish the intention of bringing attention to your business.

Apart from the obvious benefits, vehicle signage will enhance your business in many ways:

• Vehicle graphics turn your vehicles into valuable assets. Wherever they go your name goes with them - through the suburban and city streets or out on the highway - people are everywhere.
• Vehicle signage is cost-effective. Though the upfront costs may be higher, think of it as a long-term investment in your business. Then there are the tax benefits; and, not to mention, the advertising benefits.
• Any branding increases community awareness and your business will have an increase in inquiries that you can turn into sales.
• On-car signs last for a long time (so make sure it looks good) and are visible 365 days of the year with no ongoing costs if the vehicles you use belong to you.
• Vehicle signage has a huge range of options from small magnetic signs to full body vehicle wraps.

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Vehicle Signage: A Powerful Marketing Tool

Lessons Learned in E-mail Can Make Social Media More Effective

By John Rizzi

With so many people using Facebook and Twitter, it's easy to forget that social media as a marketing channel is still very much in its infancy. Social media marketers likely feel a lot like e-mail marketers did 10 years ago—unsure of what tactics would prove to be effective, unable to rely on traditional direct marketing metrics, and eager for someone to introduce standards and best practices the industry could begin to rely on. Which begs the question: are there lessons learned in e-mail marketing that we can apply to social media? Let's explore a few that apply.

1. Provide your customers with relevant content.
Regardless of the channel—e-mail, social media, print, television, radio – there will always be one indisputable truth: content is king. And e-mail marketers have been instrumental in training consumers to expect relevant content. That expectation isn't likely to change when your customer engages your brand in social networking. So how do you deliver? Before creating your brand's Facebook page or sending the company's first tweet, understand what your strategy is going to be. What information are you going to provide? Where is the content going to come from? Can you leverage promotions and offers from other channels such as e-mail? Driving your customers to social networks without a plan for engaging them will most likely lead to disappointment, so make sure you have a plan for publishing valuable content regularly.

2. Create many opportunities to share.
Of course, the more valuable and relevant the content is, the more likely your customer is to share it, which is why e-mail marketers have always placed a great deal of importance on sharing tools such as forward-to-a-friend. It's easy today to add social media sharing links to e-mail campaigns, so make sure you are in synch with your fellow marketers. The more opportunities you provide for the customer to share your content, the more likely you are to create new subscribers and customers who want to talk about your brand.

3. Know who your best customers are and treat them special.
Social media may not have the sophisticated segmentation and targeting capabilities of e-mail, but it's safe to assume that any customer who joins your social network is a pretty darn good customer. For the most part, social media users take their networks very personally, which means they are selective about which brands they engage in their community.

Don't take this selection lightly. Instead, treat the customers in your social community as if they were your best customers or brand advocates, because that is most likely who they are. Conversely, you should be inviting the best customer segments of your e-mail list to engage your brand's social networks, where the ability to advocate on behalf of your brand increases exponentially. Push product reviews, special promotions, offers, videos and games to these customers and encourage them to share them in their social networks.

4. Be prepared to justify your investment.
Undoubtedly one of the key factors to e-mail being the most profitable marketing channel is the fact that it is also one of the most measurable. Of course, measuring the success of social e-mail is more difficult, but the principle rule remains the same: establish your key performance indicators up front and analyze them consistently over time, and across channels. It may be difficult to track social media activity all the way through to a sales transaction, but is that the role social media plays in your marketing strategy? It may be better to focus on how social media is influencing brand penetration, customer engagement, and market visibility which can be measured via user reviews, viral campaigns, and fan/follower activity.

5. Take chances and learn from your mistakes
As cost-effective as e-mail is, it has always lent itself to testing new approaches and experimenting with different offers and promotions, all the while analyzing results to understand what is working and why. The same can be said of social media. Many of your early social media campaigns will likely fall flat, but that's to be expected. The important thing is that you continue to test, measure, and improve.

The similarities between e-mail and social media are no coincidence. In fact, many consider e-mail to be a social media tool that simply pre-dates the term. The best lesson to take away from this discussion is how effective e-mail can be at helping to advance your social media strategy. Make sure that you are integrating your e-mail and social media efforts as a means to convert your best customers into brand advocates, and continue to nurture the individual customer as well as your customer community.

John Rizzi is president and CEO of e-Dialog

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Lessons Learned in E-mail Can Make Social Media More Effective