A Circle of Friends - Nichepreneurs and the Power of Relationships
A Circle of Friends - Nichepreneurs and the Power of Relationships
Relationships are key. To succeed as a Nichepreneur, you want to surround yourself with quality people and form strong relationships with them. I’m talking about real relationships here, ones based in mutual respect and honesty, not exploitive ones devoted to the ‘what’s in it for me?’ concept.
The relationship you form with an industry peer may yield no immediate tangible rewards. However, you benefit immensely from sharing knowledge, getting to know other professionals on a personal level, and forming connections that may be of benefit at some point in the future.
It’s impossible to over-emphasize the value of relationship building. Remember, people make business decisions based upon many criteria, one of the most crucial being their relationship with you. If someone feels like they know you, like you, and even value you as a friend, they will be far more likely to send business your way than if they only know you by reputation -- or worse, if they don’t know you at all.
Places to begin new relationships and reinforce existing ones include:
Industry Conventions
Every industry has an annual convention, and most have semi-annual regional meetings. These are great places to meet colleagues and peers. Pay special attention to those individuals who appear to be influential -- they may be ‘kingmakers’, people with the ability to send lots of business your way.
Tradeshows
Tradeshows may be held in conjunction with an industry convention or it may be a stand alone event. One of the last bastions of face-to-face marketing, tradeshows allow you a chance to get up close and personal with players of every size, from the smallest company to the largest mega-corp.
Networking Events
BNI (Business Networking International - bni.org) and other networking groups create opportunities of professionals from a wide range of fields to connect and get to know each other. This allows you to expand your circle of influence in unexpected directions and encounter people you may never have met otherwise.
Local Community Group Meetings
Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Clubs and other local community groups offer a critical opportunity, especially for the fledgling Nichepreneur. Small, generally friendly circles of local professionals, these groups offer the chance for new speakers to hone their skills and practice effective networking.
Online Industry Sites
Increasingly, professional and personal networking takes place online. MySpace and other social networking sites have transformed how musicians, writers, and other creative types do business. The same is starting to be true in the professional world. Find out where your colleagues, peers, and target audience hang out online and establish a presence there.
Creating and reinforcing strong relationships should be a strong priority for every Nichepreneur. The better connected you are, to your industry, your community, and your target audience, the more successful you’ll be as a Nichepreneur.
It’s critical to remember that people judge you by the quality you keep. Don’t be afraid to be selective in your attachments. You only have one reputation, and you’ll want to protect it as much as possible. Other people are looking at you the same way: make sure you present yourself in such a fashion that your colleagues and peers will be proud to be associated with you.
A Circle of Friends Nichepreneurs and the Power of Relationships - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Friedmann's Website.
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Even though Nichepreneurs generally operate their businesses all on their own, it’s critical to remember that, to quote the old saying, “No man is an island!” I can’t tell you how often this has proved true, in my own career and in that of many of my Nichepreneur peers. Success comes in large part from forming strategic relationships with people in a position to help you refine and enhance your Expert Identity.
Relationships are key. To succeed as a Nichepreneur, you want to surround yourself with quality people and form strong relationships with them. I’m talking about real relationships here, ones based in mutual respect and honesty, not exploitive ones devoted to the ‘what’s in it for me?’ concept.
The relationship you form with an industry peer may yield no immediate tangible rewards. However, you benefit immensely from sharing knowledge, getting to know other professionals on a personal level, and forming connections that may be of benefit at some point in the future.
It’s impossible to over-emphasize the value of relationship building. Remember, people make business decisions based upon many criteria, one of the most crucial being their relationship with you. If someone feels like they know you, like you, and even value you as a friend, they will be far more likely to send business your way than if they only know you by reputation -- or worse, if they don’t know you at all.
Places to begin new relationships and reinforce existing ones include:
Industry Conventions
Every industry has an annual convention, and most have semi-annual regional meetings. These are great places to meet colleagues and peers. Pay special attention to those individuals who appear to be influential -- they may be ‘kingmakers’, people with the ability to send lots of business your way.
Tradeshows
Tradeshows may be held in conjunction with an industry convention or it may be a stand alone event. One of the last bastions of face-to-face marketing, tradeshows allow you a chance to get up close and personal with players of every size, from the smallest company to the largest mega-corp.
Networking Events
BNI (Business Networking International - bni.org) and other networking groups create opportunities of professionals from a wide range of fields to connect and get to know each other. This allows you to expand your circle of influence in unexpected directions and encounter people you may never have met otherwise.
Local Community Group Meetings
Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Clubs and other local community groups offer a critical opportunity, especially for the fledgling Nichepreneur. Small, generally friendly circles of local professionals, these groups offer the chance for new speakers to hone their skills and practice effective networking.
Online Industry Sites
Increasingly, professional and personal networking takes place online. MySpace and other social networking sites have transformed how musicians, writers, and other creative types do business. The same is starting to be true in the professional world. Find out where your colleagues, peers, and target audience hang out online and establish a presence there.
Creating and reinforcing strong relationships should be a strong priority for every Nichepreneur. The better connected you are, to your industry, your community, and your target audience, the more successful you’ll be as a Nichepreneur.
It’s critical to remember that people judge you by the quality you keep. Don’t be afraid to be selective in your attachments. You only have one reputation, and you’ll want to protect it as much as possible. Other people are looking at you the same way: make sure you present yourself in such a fashion that your colleagues and peers will be proud to be associated with you.
A Circle of Friends Nichepreneurs and the Power of Relationships - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Friedmann's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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