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A reader recently commented that my articles didn’t “wow” her.

Well, of course not — my intention is not to impress or dazzle people!

My goal is to provide useful information. And useful information can often be “unglamorous” because it is … well… so utilitarian.

For instance, someone recently asked about how best to build a list of contacts for her business.

She has started a new business and attends events to build her contact list. However, she finds that most people at these events tend to stick to others they already know.

Although she’s not a shy person, she found that breaking into these pre-formed groups was difficult.

My response is straight-forward:

1. Start with a clear idea of the kinds of contacts you’re looking for.
2. Look for people you already know, who may be able to introduce you to such contacts — so you don’t have to attend “events”.
3. If you need to (or want to) attend events to find additional contacts, go with a specific “agenda” so you can be focused and actually leverage the power of the pre-formed groups.

Here’s what I mean:

Let’s say you want to become a “preferred vendor” at companies or organizations, so you can provide your products or services to their employees.

You’d attend events with a specific goal of finding and compiling a list of contacts at these types of companies.

For example, if you were a coach or a massage therapist, wanting to find companies that offered coaching or massage at the workplace as employee benefits, that’s what you’d look for and ask about: Are there companies that do this? If so, which ones? And what’s the process to become a “preferred vendor”? And so on.

Here’s where the pre-formed groups can actually be helpful to you:

If you’re able to introduce yourself to the group and ask your question, you’d be able to tap into the collective knowledge and network of the entire group — not just one person.

If the groups seem to “tight”, and you’re unable to (or feel too awkward to) break in, consider asking the meeting organizer or someone at the registration desk to get you started.

In most cases, this works very well, because meeting organizers want newcomers to feel welcome. After all, they want their events to be successful!

Meeting organizers will most likely introduce you to a regular attendee, who will probably know other regular attendees.

And once you meet one person in the “inner crowd”, you can ask them to introduce you to others who can answer your questions and help you find what you need.

As you see, there are no bells or whistles here — nothing to “wow” you!

However, the information is simple to understand, easy to use, and most importantly, gets you the results you want.

After all, isn’t that what you really want?

(c) Copyright 2006, Srirupa Dasgupta Sri Dasgupta helps business professionals get better results from their business networking efforts through focused and relevant conversations. She is the author of the Effortless Networking, and writes regular articles offering business networking tips and related resources.

How do you cultivate profitable relationships?

Well, for starters, what do you mean by “profitable”? Do you mean profitable in financial terms? Profitable in terms of other resources or support you might be able to provide each other? Both?

And “profitable” for whom? For you? For the other person? For both of you?

No, I’m not peppering you with questions just to be annoying! I ask because:

• Your answers will help you recognize opportunities or identify people with whom you might want to build a working relationship more easily.
• It will help you explain to the other person why you’re interested in getting to know them better, and why they might be interested in getting to know you.

This not only provides a solid foundation for the relationship, but also helps you start a conversation with the other person (a good way to start a relationship, don’t you think?!).

For example, I met someone a few years ago at a business mixer, who asked me if I wanted to participate in a mini trade show he was organizing — this, within minutes of meeting me for the first time. I was very interested. So we exchanged cards and agreed to talk further the next day. And that’s how we started our working relationship.

What’s the point of this example?

1. Firstly, this person was clear about what a “profitable” relationship was for him, so he was able to recognize and act on opportunities quickly.

   His goal was to “recruit” regular and committed participants at the trade shows he organized. And, his definition of a “profitable” relationship had both financial and non-financial aspects.

   Financially, he wanted to build relationships with people who were dependable, so he didn’t lose money due to “no shows”. He also wanted people who were interested in participating regularly, so he wouldn’t have to constantly spend time and energy finding new participants.

2. Secondly, he was also interested in mutually profitable relationships, which is why he got my attention right away. I saw the value he was offering me: visibility in the community and a chance to reach my target market for a very modest fee.

Do you see how when both you and the other person agree that you have a common interest you want to explore further, building and maintaining that relationship becomes much easier?

If both of you have a clear idea of what you want to get out of your business relationship, maintaining and deepening it happens naturally. It becomes a joint effort, and the conversations just flow.

Try it out for yourself, and see what happens. (And be sure to tell me about your breakthroughs!)

(c) Copyright 2006, Srirupa Dasgupta Sri Dasgupta helps business professionals get better results from their business networking efforts through focused and relevant conversations. She is the author of the Effortless Networking, and writes regular articles offering business networking tips and related resources.

Far too many of us waste good opportunities when we fail to network effectively because we employ tired techniques at trade shows. The following bullet points should increase your effectiveness and boost your sales at your next trade show:

Attending Only:

Arrive early for the breakfast event, join a nearly full table, and share your business card and brochure with everyone seated at your table.

Listen, learn and begin building these new relationships. Remember, showing interest in others is a good habit to get into.

Be sure to get business cards so you can add them to your distribution lists and then follow-up later to continue the art of relationship building. Remember, in addition to potential clients, building relationships results in referrals and word-of-mouth brand and business development.

Do the same for the luncheon and/or evening hors d’oeuvres.

Visit every booth and learnwhat are the products and services offered, how do they market those products and services, what are their challenges, how successful is their booth at this show and at others, etc. Gaining knowledge is gaining power and this kind of power can be worth thousands in future receipts.

Be sure to get business cards from every business that fits your target market. And, of course, leave your business card and brochure in the hands of the person staffing the booth.

Use what you learn and your list of new contacts to grow your business.

Networking is not about selling; it is about building relationships. Building good relationships leads to win/win situations.

Exhibiting:

Create a booth display that puts your best foot forward. The impression your booth leaves with attendees and other exhibitors represents your brand, your products and your services.

Everything about your presence should say quality, service, credibility, honesty and trustworthiness.

Pre-marketget a list of the pre-registrants and the exhibitors and send out invitations to each person on the list, inviting them to visit your booth. Using a hooka freebie or a raffle, for examplecan increase attendance at your booths.

Send out invitations to attend the trade show and to visit your booth to everyone on your private distribution/contact lists. By doing so, you build attendance for the show, you assist others by alerting them to the show, and you increase attendance at our booth.

Gather business cards in a fish bowl or basket for a raffle,. By placing notice that those entering the raffle give you approval to add them to your distribution lists, you build new opportunities for new relationships and for business growth.

Follow up with every contact made at the trade show. Setting a coffee or a lunch date is a great way to get to know others better and to discover ways you can help each other.

Always add your new contacts to your distribution lists and your newsletter list.No matter how great our booth and our collaterals are or how much money we spend to look first-class, the key is to place relationship building above all other goals and objectives. When we approach others with the idea of learning more about them and wanting to build a relationship with them based on trust and honesty rather than sales, not only do we grow our businesses but, more importantly, we and our brands build a reputation based on values instead of products and services. And I believe that savvy business people ultimately buy first from those with similar values and those they trust.

Whether your organization is large or small, there are lots of ways to raise money. Smaller non-profits can add leverage to their money raising efforts by holding events that encourage involvement from people outside their group, which would be easier than, say, a cookie dough fundraiser, which would be more difficult to garner outside support.

A talent show is a good example of a fundraiser that can gather participation from the entire community. People love the chance to show off their “skills”, and they love the chance to watch other people act silly on stage.

If a local school or hall is willing to donate the stage for a night, this will greatly increase your profits than if you have to rent a hall. Other than signs and tickets (and possibly the hall), there is little investment required for this fundraiser.

What is required, however, are participants. Getting the word out about your talent show is key. Even people who would normally pass at the
chance to get on stage will do so for a good cause. Ask local businesses to donate prizes that can be awarded to the winner of the talent show.

Another idea to increase interest in your event is to try and find local celebrities, such as local news anchors, to act as judges as well as master or mistress of ceremonies.

Because you want to stir interest in your talent show, contact local media well before the event to see if they would be interested in doing a story about the upcoming fundraiser. Remember to focus on the charity or organization that is going to benefit when pitching your idea to the press.

There are at least three ways to make money from a talent show:

1. Ticket sales for those attending the show.
2. Entrance fees for those taking part in the show. If you charge an entrance fee, there should be at least one nice prize given to participants.
3. You can also set up food (candy, cookies, snacks, etc.) and a beverage stand and sell videos of the show to raise extra money at the event.

What you will need for this fundraiser:

• A location. Schools are the best no-cost or low-cost option.
• A master of ceremonies. Think big. The bigger the local celebrity, the more validity - and attendance - your fundraiser will have.
• Signs. You want your talent show to look as professional as possible. This is key, especially if you plan to repeat the event on an annual basis.
• Participants. Scour not only your organization, but get the word out to the entire community as well.
• Prizes. It never hurts to offer the opportunity for participants to win a prize. Ask local businesses for donations.

A talent show is not only a way to raise a substantial amount of money in one night, but it is also a lot of fun for your group and for the entire community.