The Profit Puzzle of Business 02/13/12

I recently had several business associates ask me about finding a good model for a business plan that they can use for their franchise. Being able to market your business is, to a large extent, based on understanding your business. Understanding your business begins by creating a plan. One of the best models I’ve seen is one that I have used and recommended for years. It’s called the “Profit Puzzle.” It was developed by a good friend of mine – Don Osborne. Below are the key cate...

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Using the G.A.I.N.S. Exchange to Connect More Effectively 09/01/11

Sometimes one of the most difficult parts of networking is getting the conversation started and really engaging people so they are genuinely interested in talking and networking with you. In this short video, Penny Georgevich explains how to effectively connect with people by using the G.A.I.N.S. (Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Networks, Skills) Exchange (also referred to as the G.A.I.N.S. Profile)–particularly when it comes to the are of “Interests.” If you’ve used the G.A.I.N.S. Exchange...

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"New Year’s Resolutions and Networking" 12/13/10

A friend of mine, TR Garland (pictured with me in the photo at right), just wrote a great blog entry which contains some very timely information for many people across the globe and I’d like to take the opportunity to share it with you today as a guest blog. Enjoy . . . “New Year’s Resolutions and Networking” by TR Garland In about 30 days, the majority of people around the world are going to be faced with the same thing we’re all faced with once at a certain point every single year. N...

Success Is Not an Entitlement 09/09/10

Yesterday, I received a rather disturbing email message from someone berating me for sharing what he felt were some aspects of my success via my FaceBook Fan page (mostly relating to discussions about my business travel and corporate meetings I did from my lake home over the summer). I have to say it brought me down a bit so I went to my library and picked up a book I wrote about 7 years ago called Masters of Success. I read a piece in it that I wrote called “Success is Not an EntitlementR...

6 Ways Your Referral Source Can Turn a Referral Into a Customer 07/12/10

Let’s say that upon getting a business referral, you simply take down the name and contact information of the potential customer from the referral source. Sometime later, you call the prospect and introduce yourself: “Hello, Ms. Prospect, my name is John Businessman. Larry Source recommended I call you. I’m an accountant . . .” Handling referrals this way, as you might expect, gets minimal results. Your chance of converting the referral into a customer will be greater if your referral sou...

If You're Not Inviting, You're Missing Out 07/08/10

Inviting prospective referral sources to an event you’re attending, hosting or participating in as a featured guest, exhibitor, panel speaker or award recipient is a great way to enhance your contact with them and build credibility. If you’re not inviting your prospective referral sources to events, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to keep them informed of activities you’re involved in. When the event is one where you have a chance to share your expertise or where you are being reco...

Save Time and Money by Source Seeking 06/14/10

Are you looking for a networking approach that will help you save time and money? Yes? . . . I had a feeling you’d say that. Source seeking is a great way to save time and money, increase your number of sources, discover some of your best sources and opportunities, and broaden your knowledge of your sources’ networks. It involves contacting your prospective sources to identify people they know who can help you achieve a particular goal. For example, you may ask a source to name someone who can help ...

Being a True Leader 04/26/10

One of the subjects I get asked about often in interviews is leadership. I’ve learned quite a bit about leadership through my role as founder and chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business referral organization. But I’ve also been extremely privileged to be able to build relationships with and gain insight into the subject from some of the world’s top leaders in several fields and industries. One of the first people who comes to mind when I think about what it means to be a true lead...