Ask for What YOU Want and Gain More Business

Why ask others for help and what do you gain from it?

What does asking for help have to do with creating business relationships and making announcements? It has everything to do with it. You have made announcements, donated items, created an awareness of who you are and what you do. You are now in the position of getting more business than you can handle, or worse, not getting enough business in the community. You should then be able to call on prospective customers and ask for their time to help you solve a particular problem. The problem must be one that they will be able to help you solve before you ask for their time. For example, you could call a business and ask them if they could help you answer some questions about handling a situation you have and that you know they have handled well in the past. You will almost always get a yes to setting the meeting.

You should never hesitate in asking others for advice or help on something you say they do well. The person you talk to is impressed and their ego is stroked in a way that is positive. It is a good basis to form a great business relationship. On the negative side, however, you should never come across as being too needy. The needier you seem, the more it will turn off the relationship. You will also find that there are a number of groups in your community that support businesses, such as TEC or the Alliance of CEOs; you should look into other ways to solve problems and gain contacts at the same time.

Gaining outside insights will also put you a leg up when being sought out as a business partner for a project. If you have a give and take rapport with your business relationships, then you will have a great foundation for being accepted and being in the position of being recommended to others. You are, after all, in a big race to win the business.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite, She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen".

Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in June 2005. For more information visit http://BlueprintBooks.com

---

Real Business Networking Doesnt Happen at Networking Events

Real networking isn't about handing out business cards at a... Read More

How Well Do Your Customers Know You?

Know your customer, know your customer, know your customer. Three... Read More

Client Attraction Technique #2: Networking

One of the most cost effective ways of generating leads... Read More

Are You in the Relationship Business?

Are you in the relationship business? Of course you are.... Read More

Effective Networking

The process of finding out about a job, getting interviewed,... Read More

Lesson 61 - When Does Aggressiveness Turn Into Annoyance?

The StoryWhen attending conferences, conventions, or private events, it's guaranteed... Read More

Measuring Value for a Networking Group

How do you measure a group's worth to your organization?It... Read More

The Festive Season: Your Networking Opportunity

The festive season is a great time to sharpen and... Read More

The Secrets to Networking Success

Recently I was interviewed for a book on networking. My... Read More

Networking - How To Do It

Networking is probably the oldest, easiest, most effective and least... Read More

How to be Known

Why business relationships are formed with certain people?If you go... Read More

Have We Met Before? What to Do When You Cant Remember Who Yourre Talking To

You see him from across the room. You know him,... Read More

Did You Market Yourself Today?

"If you build a better mouse trap - the world... Read More

How NOT to Waste Your Time Networking

Ever wonder if networking, referral groups, and conferences are a... Read More

You Can?t Spell Networking Without Serendipity

"Fear not to entertain strangers for by so doing some... Read More

How to Turn Water into Lemonade by Giving a Flavored Answer to a Fruitless Question

I remember the first time I opened the fridge to... Read More

Plan for the Event or Flounder

Rather than being there to eat the food and drink... Read More

Successfully Meeting And Greeting - Ten Strategies For Getting Off To A Good Start

A day in the life of every businessperson is made... Read More

Who Are You and What The Heck Do You Do?

A few years ago, I was attending a family function... Read More

The 4 Attitudes of Awesome Hospitality

Hospitality relates to the Latin term philoxenia, or "the love... Read More

Ten Simple Steps to More Customers with Better Networking

Networking is a great way to meet people in a... Read More

Networking and Trade Shows

The most important reasons people exhibit at a trade show?... Read More

Defining a Quality Networking Group

When it comes to quality, how do you choose the... Read More

Increase Your Sales by 30% Using Internet Collaboration Networks

Small businesses are really excluded from the global economySmall businesses... Read More

Flying High, Flying Far

"What me? Sell myself? You have to be joking!"This was... Read More

Examination of Discovery - Finding the Right Networking Group

Why would I pick this group over another group?How many... Read More

Your Front End

While surfing for traffic or browsing your safelist emails, you... Read More

Land the Ideal Job Using Social Networks

With at least 60% of job-seekers finding employment through networking,... Read More

Good Manners Mean Good Business

Good manners, good networking and good business all have the... Read More

Practice Makes Pefect

What is the problem when people try to describe what... Read More

How To Make Your Next Networking Event A Success

There are people who are natural born networkers - those... Read More

Unforgettable First Impressions Part 3: Time is (Not) On Your Side

You only have three seconds?Connect in under a minute?People decide... Read More

Giving the Gift of Your Name (The Networking Factor)

Although, this is about giving the gift of your name... Read More