I recently became aware of a new sales training system called Sales Quenchers that I am very impressed with. Since networking and sales go hand in hand, I think this program will be an extremely beneficial resource for many entrepreneurs and salespeople eager to hone sales skills and increase sales. I’m always keeping an eye out for new and different resources that can help take business to the next level, and Sales Quenchers is the first system I’ve come across that is fully trackable and provides both online an...

Many times, as I am speaking to entrepreneurs all over the world, I will “poll” the audience for answers to some questions. It is a simple tactic that gives me a ton of great information. Asking questions of my audience gives me stats that can be very useful. For example, I’ve found that almost 90 percent of the entrepreneurs I’ve talked to love their work, but only about 15 percent enjoy doing the marketing it takes to get that work. This type of information can be very powerful when I use it...

I recently received an e-mail from someone who read an article I wrote about collaboration and working together.  He said, “The type of networking you talk about describes the way things should work, but in the real world most people seem to have an attitude of what’s in it for me.”  He asked, “How can I prevent wasting my time and efforts on people, only to find that they have this kind of attitude?”  The short answer to his question is this—stop hanging out with the wrong kind of people and start act...

  A BNI member asked me the other day if it’s possible to learn to distinguish the difference between weak referrals and quality referrals. The answer is YES. Below are the things to consider in distinguishing between weak and strong referrals.   There are varying levels of referrals, starting at a level that’s just one step above a cold lead. These types of referrals are ranked in quality from lowest to highest. Number one is the lowest-ranked type of referral (the least desirable) to give and receive,...

I recently spoke at two different events in Southern California and I found it interesting that at each event, questions about whether there is a right or a wrong networking style were brought up by audience members.   It is a given that people can be very different from one another; therefore, there are some very different styles of networking. However, there is one style of networking that results in the ground practically smoking wherever some networkers tread. This style can be referred to as “scorched...

Look around… make sure no one is watching. You just clicked on a link from a business website to a blog article about “sex.” Well, I’m afraid it might not be what you think. Do you wonder whether men and women approach networking differently? Well, I do. So do two associates of mine by the name of Hazel Walker and Frank De Raffele. Sex is about how your body is put together. Gender is about the role you engage in daily. Male and female brains are hardwired differently. According to some expert...

As the 2nd annual worldwide celebration of International Networking Week (www.InternationalNetworkingWeek.com) wound to a close earlier this month, I found myself being reminded of how important it is to pay attention to some basic networking practices when networking internationally.  First of all, you need to make sure you are building a personal network of trust no matter what geographic location you are in.  If you want to build relationships that generate referrals, you have to take the time to gain trust and ...