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A friend of mine booked me to speak at his networking group. In doing so, he was nice enough to introduce me to his counterpart who runs the group (there are many of them) based local to me. Hey, it was the networking thing to do! An introductory email was sent to all parties and the wheels were in motion. All I needed to do was respond and set up some time to speak with this new connection. Well, he beat me to the punch! My new connection sent a follow up email offering several options as to when we could meet. At the time, I was in the midst of business travel and upon my return needed to take a five hour drive for…
Continue Reading “What is Your Networking Attitude?”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking, Networking Questions, Referrals. Leave a Comment
Holiday parties are great! Whether it’s your company party, your client’s party, or a party with family and friends, it’s a chance to have fun and get into the spirit of things. Of course, there are also some great networking opportunities to be had. Especially if you’re a financial planner or advisor looking to help people get a fresh start for next year. Networking at holiday shin-digs may be a bit different from the usual chamber meeting or networking event so here are some quick tips on how to “work the room” while socializing and celebrating. Cheers! Keep it light! Yes, it should be light fare. Probably not the best time to get into heavy conversations about mergers, long term care, annuities, the economy, or…
Continue Reading “How to Network at a Holiday Party”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking. Leave a Comment
Delivering a killer seminar – hands down! Can you think of a better way to showcase your skills, value, smarts, and market your business? Seminars work even better if you have an audience! People that actually want to listen to you, learn from you, work with you, refer you, and even invite others to your next seminar. Does it get any better than that? Heck, it can even be fun! I have an absolute blast when I deliver presentations as part of agency kickoffs, corporate initiatives, new hire trainings, top producer roundtables, recruiting focus groups, or sales meetings. I’m telling you, if I were a financial advisor, insurance agent, broker, producer, rep, manager, or whomever; I would be delivering presentations to audiences on a regular…
Continue Reading “What is the Best Way to Grow Your Business?”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking, Referrals. Leave a Comment
One of the very first things asked of new advisors, brokers, and agents is to compile, organize and ultimately sell to their Natural Market. In case the term isn’t used in your firm, your Natural Market is a list of family and friends (and countrymen) that you can sell insurance products to. Some firms may call your Natural Market your Project 100 (or 200) depending on how many names you have on your list. Catchy, isn’t it? I’ve discussed some of the best ways to work with your Natural Market in the past. But how much attention do you give to your Un-Natural Market? You may not be as familiar with this phrase as I just made it up. Well, I didn’t just make it…
Continue Reading “Your Un-Natural Market”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking, Referrals. Leave a Comment
What do Boxing and Networking have in common? You need to protect yourself at all times! Make sure you don’t put people on the defensive when networking. The goal while networking should always be about learning about someone else with the intention to help them.
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking. Leave a Comment
Believe it! If you don’t have deliberate (and creative) ways of staying in touch and reminding prospects and clients that you’re a valued resource, they won’t call you. Well, they may not call you. Odds are they won’t call you. Everybody is busy and rarely does it occur to your prospects that they should be getting in touch with you. It’s a case of staying top of mind! In the spirit of OOSIOOM (see the catchy title), here are some approaches you can put into practice to jump start your OOSIOOM strategy. Make your calls. Way back when, I worked on Wall Street as a broker which is to say I was a cold caller. This is before the Federal Trade Commission and Do Not…
Continue Reading “Out of Sight is Out of Mind!”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking, Referrals. Leave a Comment
I’m asked by financial advisors (and other sales folks) from time to time if there was just one thing that needs to be done to grow a practice, what would it be? Kind of reminds me of that classic scene in City Slickers. You know the one! Jack Palance (Curly): “Do you know what the secret of life is? One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean ****.” Billy Crystal (Mitch): “But, what is the one thing?” Jack Palance (Curly): “That’s what you have to find out.” Well, I’m not sure what the secret of life is but I do know it takes more than just “one thing” to be a successful financial advisor. So here are six things…
Continue Reading “Just One Thing…”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking. Leave a Comment
Mike Tyson has a great quote. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Yes, it’s one of my favorites! Now, Tyson is no Shakespeare (although he has a lot of great quotes you can look up) but he is going into the Boxing Hall of Fame next month. That’s got to count for something. Of course, what Tyson meant applies to the boxing ring. Once he hits you, scrap your game plan and make sure your life insurance is in order. And his 50 wins with 44 knockouts (28 in the first round) backs up the claim. The same claim can be made for your game plan for networking and generating referrals. I know, I know. You have all the best…
Continue Reading “In Your Face!”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking, Referrals. Leave a Comment
To have a meaningful conversation, you must ask meaningful questions. If your questions are about the weather and other topics that aren’t significant, your conversation will not be meaningful—unless we’re about to have a big storm. Even if you don’t feel like you’re in an environment that is a true networking environment—like a holiday party—it’s still an opportunity to consider the five reasons people network: to get more business, to land a job, to solve a problem, to get ideas or learn something, or to make social connections. The extent to which your conversation is meaningful is directly proportional to the quality of questions that you ask. That’s always what it comes down to. One great way to start a conversation is to mention something…
Continue Reading “How to Start a Meaningful Conversation”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking. Leave a Comment
Networking is about learning from and potentially helping people. That’s it! Networking is NOT about selling a product or service or handing out resumes. If you learn from and potentially help the right people, they tend to help you right back! The essence of networking is knowing what you want (more business, land a job, learn something, solve a problem, social reasons), going to the right places (associations, chambers of commerce, conferences, networking groups, alumni organizations, social clubs), saying the right things (strong intro, asking good questions, delivering an elevator pitch, exchanging business cards, creating interest and engagement), meeting the right people (those that can help you accomplish your goal – economic buyer, hiring manager, referral source), and following up the right way (promptly making…
Continue Reading “How do you Network?”
Posted by Michael Goldberg in Business, Networking. Leave a Comment
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