Why I’m Renewing My Subscription To Teaching Sells Without Thinking Twice

I’ve hesitated to write a review of Brian and Tony Clark’s Teaching Sells for the last three months because I wanted to see if it would pass the most important test of all for me: Would I actually renew my subscription?

The answer is, emphatically, Hell yes.

Of course, you have to understand I’m a little biased when it comes to this recommendation. You see, I’ve been following Brian Clark’s blog, Copyblogger, from it’s early days (less than 600 subscribers) to now (30,000 subscribers). More importantly, I’ve been following his directions on how to write persuasive copy, and it’s paid off in spades:

• I’ve landed on the Digg.com frontpage 4 times
• I’ve learned how to make posts that people love to comment on
• My sales copy has improved (and so have my sales) Read more

Interview With Web Writer James Chartrand

As the temperature this week in not-so-sunny Raleigh, North Carolina has been somewhere in the range of “negative DAMN!,” I decided to venture up north to Canada where it was warmer. And by venture north, I mean I sent an email. And James Chartrand of Web Content Writer Tips replied. I’m glad he did, because before I could thank him for his reply, he went and got on the front page of Copyblogger. Now he’s too busy to answer my emails (and by too busy, I mean he still answers them just fine). Snarkyness aside, here’s the details of the drive-by interview … Read more

The Easiest Way To Become An Early Riser (And Love The Process)

If you’ve ever felt that there weren’t enough hours in the day, I’m with you. When I started my business it was the same way. Late nights and the constant, relentless grind were wearing me down. But as I studied people who were really building big businesses without burning themselves out in a blaze of glory, I saw a pattern for their success: they woke up early, and (as the saying goes) got more done by 9am than most people did all day. Read more

Confidence: The Networking Strategy That Works Every Time

If you want to make people hungry to network with you, then you need to radiate professional-strength confidence right from your first impression. But confidence isn’t always easy to summon up, especially when you’re trying to network with those higher up on the food chain. So you want to make sure you use these 3 tips to banish those butterflies and approach those higher ups with a$$-kicking confidence. Pull up a chair; class is in session. Read more

Interview With Self Made Chick Christine O’Kelly

Christine O’Kelly, successful copywriter and blogger at Self Made Chick and Create Business Growth has stopped on by the Million Dollar Leverage virtual office and shared some of her tips for making more money in less time. Get ready to take some notes on the strategies that have made her six figures on a shoestring and put her real-world experience to work for you. Read more

How To Build A Huge Network Without Traveling Anywhere

One of the questions I get asked the most when it comes to networking is how I get to know so many people so quickly. I can tell you the primary reason: I don’t travel to anywhere to do my networking anymore. I do it all online, and much more effectively than I ever could by shuffling luggage over to seminars or networking events. It’s a lot easier than the traditional method of networking, and by the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll know how to do it too.

First, Why “Old” Networking Styles Will Never Die

There will be some people who think I’m about to go on a rant and tell people to abandon face-to-face (FTF) networking. Those people would be wrong. FTF is here to stay because it works, and in a significant number of situations, it’s your only bet. Multi-million dollar deals will still be made in FTF situations, on the golf course, at dinner, or over drinks. That’s never going away, and you’ll do well to leverage that as much as possible. But FTF is only one little slice of the networking pie. Failing to leverage the power of the keyboard will only slow your business growth.

3 Painful Limits Of Face-To-Face Networking

As effective as FTF networking is, it’s often slow and requires a lot more follow-up than it should. Consider these three limitations that an FTF strategy locks you into:

1. Getting access to your target contacts in the first place. If you’re aiming high (and you should be), the people you’re trying to connect with are likely to have some competition around them – other hopeful networkers who are vying for a slice of the targets’ time. It’s likely you’ve been at events where you just couldn’t get in front of the people you wanted to speak to, no matter how hard you tried.
2. Getting your target contacts to focus on you. If you’re at an event and do manage to speak to the people you want to connect with, it’s likely that they will have other things on their mind: namely, the things they want to get out of the event. Or how much work they have left at the office. Or how they wish they were home with their kids instead. A million things could be going through their minds during the brief opportunity you have to talk to them, and each of those things is going to dilute your ability to be memorable.
3. Getting your target contacts to continue a conversation with you after the event. During the event, your target contact is going to meet a lot of people. Chances aren’t stellar that they are going to pick up a conversation with you after the event is over. They will have a million things going on when they return home, and unless a conversation with you will take one of those things off of their plate, getting back to you will likely become “something they’ll get around to when they have the time.” You know how that ends.

Again, I’m not criticizing FTF networking because you’ll be want to use it when appropriate. But in many cases, online networking can go a lot faster.

How To Use Online Networking To Overcome Those 3 Limits

Here’s a simple, “spiral up” strategy for rapidly growing your online network starting today. It relies heavily on the “givers get” philosophy I wrote about earlier and it’s incredibly effective.

1. Look at your current warm contact list, the people who you can touch base with freely at any time, and who would feel comfortable receiving referrals from you. Shoot them an email and ask them what they’re up to these days. Get to know the projects they’re working on, and find out what issues and needs they currently have that are holding them back.
2. If you know of people who can help them out, offer to make an email connection for them. They’ll likely say “Hell, yes!”
   1. If you don’t know of anybody yet, let them know that you’re always meeting new people, and you’ll keep an eye out in case you run across someone who can add value to their business. They’ll appreciate the gesture. Keep your eyes out, and when you find a good contact, then go to step 3.
3. After the “Hell, yes,” send an email to the two contacts, doing these two critical things:
   1. Introduce each of them to each other and give some relevant background for each of them.
   2. Explain why you’re connecting them – in other words, what you think each contact can contribute to the other.
   3. Ask them both to keep in touch to let you know if the connection is useful.
      (At this point you’ll probably get an appreciative reply.)
4. Afterwards, follow up with each of them and ask if there are any other types of people you can connect them with. In that same email …
5. Let them know you’re expanding your network. Then ask them if, given what they know about you and your projects, they know anyone that they might want to introduce you too. The important thing: Ask for an email connection, similar to the one you sent for them, rather than a verbal one. The reason you want an email introduction is twofold:
   1. First, because you can ask the sender to highlight the most relevant details about you and how they can add value to the recipient’s business, and
   2. Second, because you can later reply to that email with as much relevant information as you can after you’ve done some research on the person. That gives you a lot more leverage than being on the phone making small talk.

You can repeat this process with your new contacts over and over again to move up the networking “food chain.

The Verdict Is In: Givers Get

These five simple steps have allowed me to amass a solid contact list of people who add value to my business and can add value to the businesses of others. Building a network this way ensures that everyone in it is receptive to me and sees me as an adder of value to their business. And that’s where you want to be.

Remember, the #1, unbeatable way to stay memorable and top-of-mind for a contact is to make some aspect of their life/business better. That makes you unforgettable. So, use these five simple steps and you’ll overcome the three limits of FTF networking:

• Instead of struggling to get face time with someone, you’ll have a nice warm introduction that is meaningful and relevant to the recipient,
• Instead of fighting for focus, the relevance of the introduction will capture the attention of the recipient, and
• Instead of hoping for a follow up, you’ll be able to reply to your CC’d email introduction and add additional relevant information, as well as ask for a quick phone call to get to know each other.

Now It’s Time To Put It Into Practice For Yourself

Contact one person a day for the next five business days and get a taste for just how well this system works. Be sure to post your success stories in the comments, too, so I can see what results you’re getting. Get to it!

And if you’re new to this blog, why don’t you sign up for email updates (or the RSS feed) so you get all the articles in this better networking series?

You know what to do,

Dave

How To Start Building Your Networking Plan

Think of the person you most want to network with – you know, your dream contact, the top of your list. What are the odds that you’re just going to get a phone call from him/her out of the blue? I’ll tell you what the odds are – zero. As in not going to happen, not by itself. If you want to get on a first name basis with those A-Listers you have your eye on, you have to have a networking plan that you can take specific action on week after week. Here’s how to do it. Read more

5 Must-Have Skills For Million Dollar Networkers

Are you short-changing your business by doing half-assed networking?

Networking Giant Bob Burg once said that those who master networking “do the little things right, consistently.” Imagine someone describing you as a “networking giant,” because you’re doing the little things right, too. It’s time to make certain that you’re using the skills that will move you upward, so read on; class is in session. Read more

Become A Master Networker By Changing These 3 Beliefs

If you thnk that networking requires natural talent, tons of time and a grueling travel schedule, you’re missing out on a gold mine of opportunities to grow your business rapidly and shave years off of the time it takes you to achieve your financial goals. Let’s take a quick look at 3 core beliefs you may have that are costing you money every single day. Read more

Interview With Our Favorite Snarky Marketer, Naomi Dunford

Building a successful business isn’t for the faint of heart, and it isn’t easy. But there are a lot of things you can do to make it easier, and one of those is to open your ears to people who can tell you not just what to do, but what they did to make their business grow. Today’s guest on Million Dollar Leverage is Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz, who consistently pulls no punches when it comes to talking about entrepreneurship and marketing (and who recently hit the Digg front page with her snarky advice on both). Read more

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