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This is the final guest blog in the three-part series featuring Frank DeRaffele’s article, “Creativity vs. ‘Innovativity.’” To read the beginning and the middle of the article, please CLICK HERE for Part 1 and CLICK HERE for Part 2. “Creativity vs. ‘Innovativity’” by Frank J. DeRaffele Jr. ( . . . Continued) Recognizing ‘Innovativity’ Innovation in our businesses is extremely important. New ideas help us to run our businesses more efficiently, market m...

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Last week I posted the first part of a series of guest blogs sharing the article “Creativity vs. ‘Innovativity’” by Frank DeRaffele.  Below is the continuation of where the article left off last week. “Creativity vs. ‘Innovativity’” by Frank J. DeRaffele Jr. ( . . . Continued — CLICK here to read Part 1) So how do we save ourselves from this Ninja?  Enter the Samurai of Innovation. This Innovative Samurai (dressed in white, by the way) cuts through the creativit...

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Today is the day big day that those of you who’ve been following my blog series on the referral process have been waiting for . . . the day I’m going to talk about the final step–the step we all anticipate most:  Step 8–Closing the Deal. By the way, feel free to catch up on the previous steps in the easy, eight-step referral process at any time by reading my blog entries about steps 1 & 2; step 3; step 4; and steps 5, 6, & 7. Step 8.  Close the Deal Now that you have your proposal do...

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My friend Frank DeRaffele Jr., whom is also one of the co-authors of my upcoming book Business Networking and Sex, shared with me a great article he recently wrote called “Creativity vs. ‘Innovativity’” and I’d like to share it with all of you who read this blog. Frank makes some very interesting points about the importance of balancing creativity and innovation in regard to small business and I think small business owners and entrepreneurs everywhere will benefit from reading this artic...

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In my last blog, I discussed step 4 of the eight-step referral process and in the weeks prior to that, I went over steps 1, 2, and 3.  Today I’m going to cover steps 5, 6, and 7. Step 5.  Report Back to Your Source Report back to your referral source and let her know the outcome of your meeting (unless, of course, she went along with you).  Ask her to follow up with the prospect to find out about his impression of you.  Let her know how important it is for you to make her look good to the ...

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My friend, sales expert Dr. Donna Ligda, has just released a new e-book called Sales Success Now which features 10-minute interviews with leading experts who spell out their single best sales strategy or tactic and explain how to easily implement it. I’m interviewed in the book about how I’ve leveraged trusted relationships to open over 5,000 chapters of my organization worldwide and, because of my contribution to the book, Donna has offered to make a free copy of the book available to my blog readers! To...

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been explaining the easy, eight-step referral process in increments. Today I will be going over step 4 and if you’d like to review the previous steps I’ve already covered, simply click on each of the following links:  step 1, step 2, and step 3. Step 4.  Meet with the Referral Now comes the move you’ve been waiting for: your first meeting. You might close the deal on your first call, but it’s unlikely.  Instead, you’re probably going to be getting a...

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Business Networking and Sex is the book that my co-authors (Hazel Walker and Frank DeRaffele) and I have coming out next January and in this short video, we talk about an interesting research finding that will  be published in the book. There’s one specific question that we are asking BusinessNetworking.com blog readers to weigh in on and it’s this: Which gender–men or women–do you think spends more time networking, and why is it you think that? When you watch the video you’ll see that ...

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The referral process (CLICK HERE to read a short overview of the referral process) can be broken down into eight easy steps. In a blog entry I posted last Monday, I explained step 1 (Your Source Discovers a Referral) and step 2 (Research the Referral).  Today, I am going to talk about step 3. Step 3.  Check Back in with Your Referral Source After learning all you can about the prospect’s company through your outside research, it’s a good idea, especially if the referral appears to be complex or of very ...