Niche Partners Blog Spot » Money and Relationships

57,100 contacts in 2 weeks?

Thursday, June 7th, 2007

Hi

If you’ve been in business for even a little while you will have heard of the benefits of networking. Many people shudder at the thought because it conjures up images of dragging yourself to go to networking events and then force yourself on people so they will take your business card and hopefully sign up as a customer on the spot. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth if you want to effectively network to grow your business.

The networking leper

Do you recognise this person? Maybe it has been you? The one who races around handing out as many business cards as they can, only stopping to give you a monologue about their business. The one with a clear area around them as people try to get as far away as possible from them?

If this sounds like you, don’t worry. That’s how most people new to the idea of networking behave. And they are always disappointed.

The networking magnet

So how do you become as effective networker? I get all of my business and business opportunities from networking and I put this down to to one thing. When I meet people, whether socially or at a networking event, I go there with the thought “How can I help this person I have met?” If I can’t help them,” is there someone I know who can help them?” In fact, I usually carry around a small notebook so I can write down what I can do to help them so I remember to follow them up with the help they need. It’s the philosophy of “The more you give, the more you receive” or “Pay it Forward”.

The same concept applies with on-line networking. I’ll be talking about this a bit over the next few weeks (I have an exciting project coming up - the success of which will depend entirely on my ability to network!) . But first let me tell you about a networking tool that has been around for a while but which I have only explored in the last 2 weeks.

Linked - In

A few weeks ago I was invited to join Linked-In. The idea is based on the 6 degrees of separation idea. You know, that everyone in the world in separated by only 6 degrees. This person knows this person , who knows that person etc. This means that if you want to meet someone (such as I am looking for a really good copywriter who is a woman), in the off-line world I would ask people in my network if they know a good copy writer or if they know someone who knows one. Because they have been referred through a friend, or a friend of a friend, then you are more likely to trust them. That’s just how friendships (also known as networks, work).

Linked -in does this, except on-line. You invite people to join your network, they invite others and then you find yourself with an extended network you doidn’t really realise you had. All connected through friends so you can ask for personal recommendations.

57,100 contacts in 2 weeks

In the last 2 weeks I have invited people who I am in regular contact with to join me in Linked In. Look at the screen grab below. In 2 short weeks, I have 57,100 people I can contact through friends and friends of friends. WOW.

linked in

As with all effective networking I have grown this network by using the philosophy of giving before I receive. When a person is added to my list that I know, I take the time to write a recommendation for them. If I have used their services, dealt with them as a colleague or if they have been a client, I can usually find something to say in their favour. This is really valuable as people searching for their services will be able to read my recommendation and be more likely to contact them about working together. The nice thing, is most people return the favour.

Why not check out my profile below and feel free to ask to join my network.

I’ll be really interested to hear of any experiences you have had with using Linked In or other similar services. As always, please tell me your ideas by leaving a comment below.

Cheers

Janet

Posted in Money and Relationships, Out-Sourcing, Business Networking | Comments Off

The Next Thing In Reality TV is?

Tuesday, May 29th, 2007

HiLast week I received a message from another Aussie Internet Marketer, Frank Bauer. Frank told me that he was auditioning for an Internet Reality TV show and could I vote for him? Immediately I thought of Reality TV like Big Brother and I must admit I was surprised. Frank has never struck me as an exhibitionist. So I messaged back that I would be happy to vote for him – as long as we get to see him naked in the shower!

Hmmmmm. Not that type of Reality TV. More along the lines of The Apprentice meets YouTube.

After I voted for Frank I browsed around the site – what a great concept. Joel Comm, New York Times best seller and Internet Marketing Legend, has created a competition for the “Next Internet Millionaire”. Twelve contestants will receive an all expenses paid trip to learn from the masters of marketing while they compete for cash, prizes, and the ultimate joint venture with Joel Comm.

The thought of reality TV horrifies me (too much invasion of privacy for my liking) but the prize is too tempting for me. I have had as one of my goals to visit The USA this year to meet and learn from the many inspiring Internet marketers there. I just hadn’t worked out how to get there yet.

The chance to spend 2 weeks learning from the best with such a small and intimate group is an amazing opportunity – so yes, I’ve taken the plunge, dived in, and auditioned to be one of the final 12!!

I need your help to win Audition is by video. I didn’t want to create a boring talking head video so I thought “What is happening in my life at the moment that I can relate to becoming the Next Internet Millionaire”?

The result? Check out my 2 minute audition video

“Why Becoming The Next Internet Millionaire Is Like Learning To Ride A Surfboard”

Yes, I do a spectacular wipe out but never give in until I can finally stand on my own (well, sort of).

I’d appreciate your help because to win – I need people to vote for me.

Simply click here to cast your vote for me now and vote 10 for Janet Beckers “The Surfin’ Mama From Down Under”.

but meanwhile - here is a sneak peak at my video.

P.S. I’d love to hear your comments. Let me know what you think by leaving your comments below my clicking on the comments link.

Posted in Money and Relationships, Selling Online, Next Internet Millionaire | 2 Comments »

The 6 Laws of Money Part 2

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

Hi

Last week I introduced you to Jim Chambers from The Institute for Organizational Leadership at www.iolglobal.com. Jim teaches that there are 6 Laws to Money which every business must obey in order to succeed. Last week we covered the first 3. If you need a refresher, you can read that article here http://nichepartners.biz/blog/2007/04/03/the-6-laws-of-money/.

Today we are going to look at the final 3 Laws of Money and see how important they are to the success of your Internet business.

Law 4: The only way to get to know someone, is to spend time and attention on them.

Sounds like the first law of marriage doesn’t it? In last week’s article we covered that all money comes from people (law 1), people will only give their money to people they trust (law 2), and people will only trust people they know (law 3). We talked about the different ways that you can help people get to know you on-line and to learn how to trust you.

There is a mistake that many people make when they start an on-line business and they fail because they are breaking the Fourth Law of Money. They are not spending time and devoting attention to their customers and potential customers.

Have you bought the Internet Lifestyle Myth? Did you start your on-line business believing that you can lay on the beach and just check your bank account each afternoon? It’s a lie. You can do this, but you aren’t going to make a lot of money. At some stage you need to spend some time and attention on your customers and potential customers. You need to invest time developing a relationship and trust. Sure you can automate a lot of your communication (and you really do need to or you’ll go mad) but you need to make a commitment (by the way, this is who we use to automate our emails http://www.nichepartners.biz/recommends/aweber).

Lets refer back to marriage. If you spend a lot of time and attention to your new love to start with, you can be pretty confident that you will be rewarded with their trust, a relationship and hopefully their commitment. But what if after a little while, you stopped putting in the time? It’s pretty likely they’ll stop trusting you, commitment will waiver and hey, they might even forget who you are! The same with your online business. Don’t start a relationship if you don’t intend to maintain it! For example, I have numerous websites of my own or with joint venture partners. Some of these, I haven’t put the effort into creating an ongoing relationship with potential clients. I don’t have a newsletter or blog attached to those sites. I don’t expect to make as much money through those sites but that is a conscious decision. I run 2 newsletters and 2 blogs (and will start a third in a few months). I have committed myself to writing weekly to each of these lists and providing real value. I want to develop a relationship with you and others as these 2 (soon to be 3) areas are my real passion. I will only commit to what I know I can deliver. Look at your own business. Are you spread too thin? Are you delivering value routinely to the people you want to create a relationship with? Are you obeying the Fourth Law of Money?

Law 5: If you spend time getting to know people they will open new business opportunities.

Did you know that most people you get to know will know at least 20 people who are in very similar circumstances to themselves and who could also use your service or product? Think about that. You do not have a relationship with those 20 people but that one person you do know does. If you have committed the time and attention to earn the trust of that one person, they will refer those other 20 people to you. And because they have been referred by someone they trust, you automatically benefit.

If you have spent the time developing a relationship with a person on your mailing list, how often do you ask them to refer new business your way? You can do this simply by using a tell-a-friend script on your web site (this is the one we use http://www.nichepartners.biz/recommends/viralfriendgenerator) , or simply asking people to forward on your newsletter. Here’s a more powerful way. Email each customer (you can set this up to run automatically) and ask them explicitly to refer a new customer to you. Tell them upfront that you intend to offer them such great service that you expect them to refer people to you. Make it a separate part of your communication with them, not buried in your newsletter. If people trust you, they just need to be asked. You can also reward them for their referrals. There are many ways to do this but a simple way is built into the tell a friend software I recommend at http://www.nichepartners.biz/recommends/viralfriendgenerator.

Law 6: Shortage of money is directly proportional to a shortage of relationships.

This is the law that really ties the Laws of Money to the bottom line. If your business is not making money, or has started to slow down the first thing you need to do is look at your relationships. When talking from an on-line perspective you need to look at 2 things first: The size of your mailing list (how many people have signed up for your newsletters) and how responsive that list is. If people reply to your emails and purchase the products you recommend in your emails, then that list is responsive. Well done, you’ve done a great job at developing trust. If your list is not responsive, you better have a good look at how you are communicating with your list.

The other relationship you need to look at, is the relationships you have with other people in your field. These are people who can help you grow your on-line business and refer new customers to you. These relationships are essential for you to spend the time developing (applying the Fourth Law of Money).

I hope Jim’s 6 Laws of Money have given you food for thought. The underlying theme of all of the 6 Laws of Money is relationships. Taking the time to develop and nuture relationships is what will make the difference between an on-line business that struggles and one that really thrives.

Here’s to your success. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Why not leave a comment to share with others.? Simply click on the comment link and type away. I will read and respond to all your comments.

Cheers

Janet

Posted in Money and Relationships | 2 Comments »

The 6 Laws of Money

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

Hi

Last week I was on a mastermind call with 6 other successful entrepreneurs. I’m very lucky to be part of this group as the breadth of knowledge of the members has really helped me to grow my business. In another post I’ll talk about the importance of a mastermind group and how to set one up, but for today I want to share with you what I learnt from one of our members, Jim Chambers. You can check out Jim’s Institute for Organizational Leadership at www.iolglobal.com.

Jim teaches that there are 6 Laws of Money which every business must obey in order to succeed. I’ll discuss 3 of these today and talk about the next 3 next week. It is interesting to see how you can relate these to your on-line business.

Law 1. All money comes from people.

Sounds silly doesn’t it? Too often when we deal with companies we forget that there is a person at some level in the organisation who has made the decision to spend money with you. With our on-line businesses, it is so easy to think of people who spend money with us as a faceless customer as we never get to meet them. Never forget that every transaction you make, there is a person’s name attached.

Law 2. People only give their money to people they trust.

People do not usually trust others instantly. Think about purchases you have made recently. If it was an on-line purchase what was it that made you feel comfortable enough that you were happy to hand over your credit card details? What made you trust them? Had you known of them for a while or did you purchase from them the first time you visited their site? If you did purchase from them when you had no previous relationship I want you to really think about what is was about their business that made you feel you could trust them. Trust them to actually deliver the goods and services they promised.

It is very likely that you were referred to their web site by someone else - someone you trusted. Maybe you checked them out as to what other web sites said about them - this is social proof. Very possibly, the web site owner provided that social proof for you, by providing lots of testimonials on their site by a wide cross section of people, so you could find someone there who you could relate to and trust their opinion. You may also have been impressed by their long list of credentials. These are all things you can use on your own web sites to help potential customers to know they can trust you.

Law 3. The only way to get someone to trust you is if you get to know them. You need to have a relationship

When people think about Internet Marketing, relationships is not usually the first thing they think of. In fact, the Internet can often seem like a place that does not allow a relationship to develop. I disagree with this very strongly. Every successful On-line entrepreneur I know points to relationships as the key to their success.

We’ve already talked about using other people’s relationships with your potential customer to help create trust (by referring you and through testimonials). You also need to develop that trust further by entering into a dialogue with your web site visitors. Take the time to reply to emails from clients (or get your assistant to) and start talking to your visitors through an email newsletter. Every contact you have with people who visit your web site or who have joined your mailing list should provide great value. If you help them by giving helpful information and great tips, they will learn that you can be trusted. Then they will feel comfortable to buy from you often.

The important thing with developing these relationships is to be yourself. People need to trust the real you, not someone who you think you should be. It doesn’t take much to sense that you are not comfortable with yourself. So if you usually call a spade a bloody spade, then do the same when you communicate with your email list (within reason). Remember in each email you are really only talking to one person, the person who has opened that email and is learning to trust you. That person who Jim mentioned in The First Law of Money.

I hope this has given you some food for thought. Next week I’ll share the last 3 Laws of Money with you - the last one is very likely to surprise you. I’m sure you have some thoughts of your own on this topic. Why not leave your comments here to share with others? I will reply to every comment you leave here for me so it will be nice to hear from you.

Cheers

Janet

Posted in Money and Relationships | 1 Comment »

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