Business Networking| Relationship Marketing

Recent Success Stories - Archive

Here are some more success stories since July 19, 2008. I am archiving the past stories on my blog in here so see my profile for other stories:

A web developer picked up a new client to build and optimize a website;
;
One of our members requested to be connected with someone who had training material on leadership and sales. Both of those connnections were made from within our ranks;
One member posted an event and had 5 people RSVP within minutes;
Several members found out about face-to-face meetings and joined live group meetings this past week;
A custom jewelry maker connected with a non-profit catering to teens to do a fundraiser and was thrilled to make the connection;
One member expressed appreciation for the personal attention she gets when she comes into Perfect Networker Online;
Another member who had previously been active with Plaxo was very impressed with the quality of people we are attracting to Perfect Networker, and found relationships in here already more productive

We have grown from 198 members three weeks ago to 351 as of today, all but one through referrals from our members. Please take the time to personally invite someone you care about today to join us. If everyone here invited just one person who joined our ranks we could double the results we are getting for the rest of our community.

Posted by Glenn K. Garnes on 08/22/2008 at 05:07 AM

Permalink

Putting Social Networking to Work for you.

We are not waiting until people figure out on their own how to use social networking to its fullest as a business resource. Join us for our in person workshop on this subject and find out how to make business networking really work for you using one of the most powerful tools we have seen in a long time.

Check out our events calendar in Perfect Networker Online for more information. http://www.perfectnetworker.com/network.

Posted by Glenn K. Garnes on 08/02/2008 at 09:58 PM

Permalink

“The Go-Giver” A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea.

If you have not picked up a copy of Bob Burg's latest stroke of genius, you need to stop and do that right now. The Go-Giver was actually authored by Bob and his partner in the book, John David Mann. It presents in very compelling fashion the notion that givers gain, and does it in an easy to read parable.

We liked this book so much that it's included in the Referral University Mastery Program as a "gift"!

Our thanks to both Bob and John for their excellent work.

Also, to hear an audio interview of Bob about The Go-Giver please visit http://www.tipsonsuccess.com.

Posted by Glenn K. Garnes on 02/17/2008 at 10:09 PM

Permalink

A Project for Networking Professionals.

One of the biggest heistations people have when they start a new business is approaching friends and family members about it. Nobody wants to work with family and friends because they're too judgmental, they're trying to protect you from yourself, you've burned bridges with them, or any number of other excuses that we regularly bring up. Indeed, I have found that we have these excuses better rehearsed than we do our presentations on the products and services we offer, which may explain why we don't do well in approaching our friends and family.

I used to buy into the concept of not prospecting family and friends, but I recently sat down and really thought about, and what marketing is supposed to be about, and realized that people who don't approach friends and family members really are wasting one of their most potent resources when it comes to launching and growing a business.

What I have found from my own experience is that I was hesitant to contact people I'd been in touch with about other deals, and people who I only called when I was selling something, and that made me think that it wasn't that friends and family are not great resources, it's that I had done nothing to nurture those relationships over the years, so that they had essentially become worse than strangers. At least strangers don't feel neglected when you only call them to sell something.

I also realized that I was approaching them improperly, which was immediately putting them in a defensive posture, which of course made the entire exercise unproductive. I knew that I had done a poor job here, and that I had only myself to blame for it, since I did nothing to improve the situation.

The fact is that your unwillingness to approach people you know is a problem that requires a remedy for reasons unrelated to your business. If the relationships you have are not strong enough for you to rely on them then you simply have not done enough to deserve the attention and support of the people you know, and you need to change that. And, consider that if you did a poor job in the past you're probably perpetuating that right now with people you are just meeting, which makes the problem even worse.

I am as guilty as anyone of letting my network lie fallow, and the only difference between me and so many others is that I admit it, but more importantly, I'm doing something about it. I've made a commitment to adopt a plan to redevelop, grow, and nurture the relationships I have with others, unconditionally. What I mean by that is I'm going to do it whether it helps my business or not, because it's the right thing to do. In the back of my mind, I know that going through this exercise will help my business, but that's not my primary motivation right now. I'm going to go out this year (this is not a New Year's resolution - I hate those things) to see how many people in my network I can be of service to first, before I ask them to do anything for me.

I'm also commited to developing and re-developing the skills necessary to create win-win relationships with the people I know, and will meet this coming year. And, this time next year, I expect to report back on my results. I already know what the results are going to be, and that makes me more excited than I've been about anything in a long time.

Now, I would recommend that you not wait until my year end report to do something yourself about your own network. I'd love to have some "workout partners" on this exercise, so that perhaps the stories we could tell next year would inspire that many others. So, if you're interested in joining me on this networking journey, let's get started. It doesn't cost you anything except the ability to motivate yourself to do something you know you should be doing anyway.

If you're interested in this project and being part of it, all you have to do is get out and do it, and if you'd like to be in contact with me about it, feel free to email me at glenn@glenngarnes.com. I'll work with you, or just root for you whichever you prefer. I would also suggest that you join the Perfect Networker community by subscribing to our e-Newsletter on the front page. That will keep you in the loop, and provide you with continuing resources and support for this very worthy project.

Good luck to everyone this coming year in whatever you commit to do. I hope nurturing your relationships with others is one of your priorities!

Read Less...

Posted by Glenn K. Garnes on 12/28/2005 at 07:40 AM

Permalink

Endless Referrals

I got an early Christmas present this year, and it came in the form of Bob Berg's lastest release, "Endless Referrals, Third Edition". Bob apparently read a press release about my WhoIRecommend.com directory, and liked the concept enough to acknowledge me for thinking of it. He sent me his book as a gift, and I sat down on Christmas Eve and read it cover to cover. It was incredible.

Bob has provided the absolute nuts and bolts and taken the mystery out of the "how to" of networking. This book is the ultimate blue print, road map, or in this day and age, the ultimate GPS system for going to where networking can take you.

I love the focus on practical things you can do to implement the theory that so many other authors have laid out. Bob is an excellent teacher in this regard, and from the brief interaction I've had with him so far he practices what he preaches, which is very refreshing!

Get it and don't put it down until you're done reading it. Get the CD version too. It will make good company on the commute to and from work!

Posted by Glenn K. Garnes on 12/27/2005 at 05:05 PM

Permalink

Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >