A ‘brand’ is a set of promises that a Company or product makes about itself in the minds of a potential buyer. It’s a promise about the results that buying that product or service will deliver for the person that hands over their cash. Brands are built over time and defined by the ‘truthfulness’ of…
Here’s a lovely, practical ‘how to’ list of things to do to network effectively at those sometime tricky social & professional occasions, from Karen James. Tips like- People like to talk about themselves and their business. Good questions would be; ‘How did you get started in business?’ or ‘You have been very successful, what’s your secret?’…
In previous posts (here and here), I suggested that your network will save your business, given the chance and cared for. And I suggested 3 thoughts that will help turn you into brilliant networkers. The three things to think about were- Generosity- people are lovely when they realise you only want to help them. So…
When I’m doing my thing with clients, I’m often asked what the single most important element to networking is. I often answer Be likeable. A person who is warm, generous, open and at ease is more impressive than the most skilled professional with the interpersonal appeal of a criminal psychopath. Think Ronald Reagan vs. George…
‘Stroking’ is an important skill to master, for people who want to be more likeable and socially confident. To keep things simple, a ‘stroke’ in human interaction, is simply a physical or verbal sign that we like, care or understand another human being. The simplest examples abound- [one_third]Physical strokes as follows- Listening attentively A touch of the hand…
I had a great chat with a colleague today. She’s an ex-investment banker. One of the UK’s ’40 people in investment banking under 40 to watch out for in 2011′. She’s smart, funny and worth listening to. As we chatted about clients and business development, networking and lots of other things, she told me a great…
Oh dear, It’s really hard to get this right isn’t it? Yorkshire Building Society creates cards with 6 female employees baking and it gets labelled ‘sexist’. Some businesses don’t do cards but do do cash to charity (The Co-op). And Deutsche Bank just sends out a snow-covered sales pitch about how well their investments have…
My corporate client had a tough message that she wanted to get through to a group of her internal stakeholders. The message was-
Grow up
Take some responsibility
Make the most of this amazing opportunity you have working for this world-leading firm.
She hired me to help her make the point and we decided that we’d adopt the strategy of 1950’s film noir cops, and we scripted a speech together for me to deliver as a part of 4-hour session. I played the grizzled ‘bad cop’ and she, the polished, concerned ‘good cop’ of legend.
Here’s a really interesting article for Linked in novices about using it to build a solid, helpful and valuable network. LinkedIn SVP Deep Nishar’s Three Career Tips For Novice Networkers | Fast Company. From the ever excellent Fast Company Magazine.