Networking Insight

How to Boost Your Business through Referrals by Steve Fretzin

One of the best ways to build your business is through referrals. Unfortunately, for most business owners and salespeople, referral business does not come without some hard work. If only there were easier ways to increase clients through referrals. How much would your business increase if you were provided with one referral from every existing client?

Even better, what if your existing client provided you with a quality introduction to a new prospective client? The difference between a referral and a quality introduction is simple, but significant. A referral is a lead passed on from a client which typically includes just the individuals name and contact information. However, this lead ends up as a glorified “cold call” most of the time. A quality introduction, on the other hand, is a completely different opportunity. It’s a more personal introduction by your client that includes an endorsement about why this client relies on your products or services, and most importantly, how you helped the client to solve a problem or achieve results.

Next, we should eliminate the “head-trash” that we all burden ourselves with every day. I define “head-trash” as the reservations, fears, and negative past experiences that keep us from thinking and acting clearly to achieve the results we desire. For example, if you aren’t currently comfortable when asked for a referral from an associate, chances are you won’t feel comfortable asking for one yourself. Another important factor in removing “head trash” is your confidence. You must truly believe that you are the best and most qualified individual in your industry to do the job.

Now, put the two parts together. Eliminate your head-trash by believing that you are helping others by asking for the referral. Then, upgrade the introduction by preparing your existing client for your introduction. For example, after asking a client for an introduction, he might say “I have a great lead for you. Here’s his name and number.” Now is the time to move the referral to a quality introduction by asking a few background questions about the prospect, and replying, “Thank you, would you do me a personal favor? Would you call your friend and give them a little background about how we met, why we started working together, and the results you’ve achieved since working with me? Also, at the end of your conversation, would you make sure that he will accept my call?” In most cases, your existing client is more than happy to comply with this request.

Try to eliminate “head-trash” and give this approach a try with your happiest and most loyal clients. You’ll see the difference in the introductions you receive, how receptive they are to meet with you, and most importantly, their interest in doing business with you.

About Steve Fretzin

Driven, focused and passionate about helping business professionals reach their full potential, Steve Fretzin is a Chicago area premiere business coach, speaker and author. He provides one-on-one coaching, group training and seminars through Sales Results Inc., a company he founded. In addition to Sales Results Inc., Fretzin oversees Team Discovery, LLC, the American Club Association, and Networking Monkey, LLC, the number one ranked portal on Google for Chicago area networking events.

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What are the Benefits of Building Strong Business Relationships? by Jaguar PC

 

Whatever your line of business, the ability to build strong, long-lasting relationships is likely to be a key factor in determining whether you will be successful for any length of time. Like relationships in any area of life, finding the people you want to be close to and build one with can take a long time, and it might need a lot of effort on your part to ensure that it continues to work.

What are the key relationships that businesses should look to establish, why are they so important, and what are the best ways to maintain them?

Customer Loyalty

If you don’t have a relationship with your customers or clients, then you don’t have a sustainable business. It really is as simple and as brutal as it sounds. It doesn’t matter whether you are a B2B or B2C company; if you can’t get this right then you’re nowhere.

Why is customer loyalty so important?

When you are looking for new customers, you need to be able to demonstrate what you do well. What is the better option? The business that has had a core of customers loyal to them for months and years, or one that doesn’t have many regular customers? We know who we’d be dealing with.

Building customer relationships is easy, and is based primarily around providing quality products or services, and being a great communicator. Get those two elements right, and you’ll be well on your way.

Building Business Bridges

One type of relationship that businesses often neglect are those with other businesses. While you’re not going to want to buddy up with a fierce competitor, there are ways you can work with other business, for example those in your local area, so that mutual benefits are enjoyed.

This might mean giving recommendations to customers who are seeking the service of another business, or even marketing a selection of their products or services through a referral or affiliate program. Mutually beneficial business relationships will be formed quickly and easily if you’re willing to reach out and talk to others.

Making Your Business Grow

Such relationships can have a huge impact on the growth potential of businesses. Let us look at businesses in a local area, for example. By forming a local business council, for example, these companies can work together to find ways of better targeting the local community so that everyone receives greater exposure. This will often happen as a consequence of a major retailer, such as a supermarket, moving into the local area, but there’s nothing to stop it being a powerful alliance at any other time, either.

Taking the point further, small businesses could agree to work together in shared space, or split the costs of common sundry supplies, for example, both of which will free up cash for the business to use to stimulate growth or invest in other areas.

The Opportunity is There

Opportunities to benefit from such relationships are staring businesses in the face, there just seems to be a reluctance to take advantage of it. If your business has the chance to work with another which will have benefits for you both, reach out, discuss your ideas, and move forward. It could be the most productive thing you could do for your business.

This article is written by Jaguar PC, providers of managed VPS hosting with 24/7 professional support and daily backups.

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Getting Tangible Business Out of Networking by Steve Fretzin

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting with one of Chicagoland’s top networkers. This gentleman is very well connected and admired by many business people. He enjoys meeting new people and is the kind of person who gives selflessly to almost everyone he meets. After about thirty minutes of discussion, he confessed something very interesting to me. He said that he wasn't getting enough tangible business for the time he was investing in his networking.

This problem is an unfortunate reality about networking that most people face. While giving is still the most important element of networking, doing so without a smart strategy can lead to poor results. To better understand a strategy as it relates to networking, consider a talent scout. A talent scout doesn’t randomly head out into the world searching the streets for a new actress. He also understands that true talent is rare and that most of the people he meets will not end up becoming a star. In networking, we encounter the same challenges as the scout. Approximately 90% of the people we connect with are not going to end up becoming valuable strategic partners. They simply may not have the right set of contacts or business focus that you need in a strategic partnership. In order to properly scout out the best and brightest people to partner with, here are the four key criteria for a solid networking partner:

1. Must be Likeable – In order to create a long term and productive relationship with another business professional, it is imperative that you actually like one another. Finding someone that you could be friends with will help out tremendously in building trust and becoming friends.

2. Must be Trustworthy – While it may be difficult to discover in an initial one hour networking meeting, try to give your new prospective partner a few tasks to work on for you. This will help you to better understand their ability to follow up and stand behind commitments. Missed calls or rescheduling multiple appointments are warning signs that this person may not follow through very well or have enough time for you.

3. Must be an Expert – One of the worst feelings you can have is referring the wrong person to one of your friends or clients. If you have a clear understanding of someone’s skill sets and their ability to follow through, it will help you determine if they are referable. Look for online recommendations, testimonials, and an overall track record of accomplishments.

4. Must have a Network – As you can imagine, it’s difficult to obtain referrals if your new friend doesn’t know anyone. Find a new strategic partner who is “wired in” to the marketplace. Although the average person has an average of over 200 connections, someone with many high level connections will fast track your success in building your business. As a best practice, create a mental or physical check list as you’re meeting new people. Rate them on these four criteria to help you determine which new connections will provide you with the most value. As an avid networker myself, it’s my nature to meet with everyone and try to help them all out. While this approach might be a terrific karma building exercise, it’s not the most effective networking tactic. Keep in mind that your most precious asset is your time. By networking with intelligence, you will manage your time and expectations of others more successfully to achieve the best results.

About Steve Fretzin

Driven, focused and passionate about helping business professionals reach their full potential, Steve Fretzin is a Chicago area premiere business coach, speaker and author. He provides one-on-one coaching, group training and seminars through Sales Results Inc., a company he founded. In addition to Sales Results Inc., Fretzin oversees Team Discovery, LLC, the American Club Association, and Networking Monkey, LLC, the number one ranked portal on Google for Chicago area networking events. In addition, Steve is the author of Sales- Free Selling, which explores the lives of three business professionals who are struggling to make it in a competitive and negatively-charged environment where traditional methodologies of selling are simply not working.

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9 Steps For Creating The Best Odds For Success by Bill McBean

When you run a business, there are always some certainties as you look into the future. You know your best competitors will work to become better. You know your customers will demand more. You know you'll have to work smarter and harder every day to improve your bottom line.

You should also know that this year brings with it new taxation and new regulations that may add expenses and affect the way you operate your business. And of course, you face the usual headaches and worries that come with the day-to-day business of "running a business".

However, if you take a long hard look at a few critical pieces and put a plan in place right now, you can have a much more prosperous year. A suggestion would be to break down your planning into what you need to do internally -- with processes, employees, yourself, etc. -- and what you need to do externally -- with customers, marketing campaigns, and so on.

Below are 9 steps that can help you to increase your odds for success this year:

1. Evaluate your leadership

2. Do a top-to-bottom walk-through of your systems and procedures

3. Kick off a cost-cutting, gross-profit-building mission

4. Re-engage employees

5. Set some realistic, specific goals for the year ahead and really go for it

6. Boost your product/service offerings

7. Revamp your marketing campaign

8. Find new ways to impress loyal customers

9. Get knowledgeable about economic/tax changes and how they'll affect you

Bill McBean is author of The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don't, spent many of his nearly forty years as a successful business owner in the automobile industry where, among many other achievements, he purchased several underperforming dealerships and turned them into a successful business enterprise with yearly sales of more than $160 million. Since selling the company to the world's largest automotive retailer, AutoNation, McBean has been involved in several new businesses, including McBean Partners, an investment and business mentoring company, and Net Claims Now, which provides administrative services and support to the restoration industry. For more information please visit http://factsofbusinesslife.com and follow the author on Facebook.

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How to Network Without Being Face-to-Face by Emily Green

In today's fast-paced and technology-driven world, your options for staying in touch with your friends, family, and business contacts are nearly endless. Whether you are traveling for business, running errands, or enjoying a vacation away from home, you can use multiple apps from your smartphone to communicate and network with others while on the go.

Smartphones have definitely evolved into powerhouses these past few years. Moreover, it seems as though everyone, young and old, have adapted to a life complete with a technologically-advanced smartphone. Even top CEOs have implemented smartphone technology into their daily schedules, from mobile payroll to standard communication. It is amazing that this technology still even functions as a phone; they are essentially small-scale computers.

In addition to popular social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, there are numerous other mobile apps that contain unique features you can download.

Most social networking apps are available for smartphones with iOS (iPhone) or Android operating systmes, the latter of which is available across most wireless providers. GSM wireless provide T-Mobile even supports Internet connectivity for the App Market on the iPhone, given that the iPhone is unlocked and you have a T-Mobile SIM card.

The Best Business Social Networking Apps

1. Aloqa

The Aloqa app is ideal if you travel constantly for business or for pleasure. Aloqa helps you find local places and people of interest at your current location. Using your smartphone's GPS feature, Aloqa can direct you to the nearest eatery, or to the nearest venue where you're unsure to find others who share common interests.

2. MeetMe

MeetMe is ideal for entrepreneurs or business professionals who often meet potential clients or business contacts at public venues. When meeting contacts from neighboring towns or cities, MeetMe suggests meeting places that are halfway between you and your contact's location. MeetMe then emails each party with the appropriate directions to the meeting spot. MeetMe is only available on the iPhone, but users from other GSM carriers such as T-Mobile can insert their T-Mobile SIM card into any unlocked iPhone to take advantage of this app.

Other mobile social networking business apps to check out are LinkeIn, Phonebook, Hashable, and Hurricane Party.

The Best Personal Social Networking Apps

1. Banjo

The Banjo app consolidates all your social networking accounts to prevent you from cluttering your smartphone with multiple apps. In addition to combining social networking accounts such as Twitter and Facebook, Banjo even has the ability to alert you when your contacts are within proximity.

2. Milna

Milna uses your smartphone's GPS feature to communicate with other Milna users in your local area within a 5-mile radius. For example, if you want to meet new people in your area, you could host a barbecue at a nearby park and invite other Milna users. You can also update other users about traffic accidents or other major events that happen near your location.

By staying on top of the latest and best social networking apps such as those mentoned in this article, you will never have to worry about losing touch with friends, family, and other contacts ever again.

What are your favorite social networking apps? Did we exclude any social networking apps you love to use? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section provided below.

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A Look Inside the Life Cycle of the Social Customer by Sam Mauzy

Smart businesses use social media to listen to their consumer marketplace in order to present themselves to their customers in innovative ways that will drive conversion rates through sales and creating brand loyalty. However, while social media interactions are in themselves simple, the process of building a social business involves a complex customer life cycle, often utilizing multiple sections of the business and requiring a flexible and responsive attitude to changes in technology and customer behavior. Your business needs to be social-media savvy in order to get customers engaged and keep them coming back to your brand.

Capture

Social commerce has five main stages which make up the life cycle of the social customer. The first stage is capture. This stage is not about conversions to sales. Instead, it is about generating new sales leads. This can be achieved in an almost limitless number of ways, but all of them boil down to getting and maintaining the attention of your target audience. For social businesses using e-marketing strategies, 75% of new leads are generated through social media platforms.

Educate

The second stage is education. This process begins inside first, and then progresses outside. Firstly, you need to establish what the core features and values of your brand are, and ensure that all of your communications adhere to and promote these. The type of social business you wish to be will heavily inform your social marketing strategy. Once you have established this, you need to find ways to communicate your brand to potential customers. For example, if you want to present your brand as young, vibrant and dynamic, you might make greater use of YouTube videos and channels to promote your products and services. If you want to raise awareness of your services as professional and customer-friendly, make sure that you have positive reviews on websites that you know your customers will use, such as Yelp.

Membership

The third stage of the customer life cycle in social e-commerce is membership. Once you have engaged your customer and educated them about your brand and what it can offer them, you should encourage them to join a community of customers with whom they have something in common and provide them with compelling and relevant content to keep them coming back to your brand. This may take the form of forums on your business website, a regularly updated blog, email newsletters, Facebook updates. Constantly monitor and take into account feedback from your community so that it can inform your content creation strategies going forward, and respond rapidly to tides in customer opinion. A total revamp of your brand may seem like an extreme strategy, but the ephemeral nature of social media makes this more possible than you think, and may be key to keeping your customers engaged.

Purchase

The fourth stage in the cycle is purchase. Once you have engaged your customers and got them to psychologically 'buy in' to your brand, the next stage is to convert this loyalty into sales. Make it as easy as possible for customers to purchase in the way that they choose, whether this is through Amazon, your company website, or a third party. Get customers who have purchased to post reviews, and share them across social media.

Sharing

The final stage in the customer life cycle for your social e-business is sharing. This stage can't take place until the customer has been involved in the entire process outlined above. For example, customers posting reviews on TripAdvisor must have gone to the attraction, location or destination that they are reviewing. Make sure that the views your customers share are easy for other customers to find, by putting 'share to social network' buttons on all your media pages and incentivizing sharing through competitions and loyalty reward schemes.

Sam is a blogger and contributing writer for the digital marketing agency Quick Sprout where he works alongside Neil Patel. 

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Seven Truths About You by Brian Tracy and Christina Tracy Stein

Seven Truths About You

By Brian Tracy and Christina Tracy Stein

Authors of Kiss That Frog: 12 Great Ways to Turn Negatives into Positives inYour Life and Work

Your natural state is to be happy, peaceful, joyous, and full of excitementat being alive. In this natural state you wake up each morning eager to startthe day. You feel wonderful about yourself and your relationships with thepeople in your life. You enjoy your work and derive a great sense ofsatisfaction from making a contribution that makes a difference. Your primarygoal should be to organize your life in such a way that this is how you feelmost of the time.

As a fully functioning, fully mature adult, you should be doing things everyday that move you toward the fulfillment of your potential. You should feelgrateful for all your blessings in every area. If you are unhappy ordissatisfied in any part of your life, something is not right in your thoughts,feelings, or actions, and it needs to be corrected.The starting point in unlocking your full potential is to realize that you alreadyare a prince or princess, deep down inside.

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. -- AbrahamLincoln

No matter where you are today, or what you have done or not done in thepast, you need to accept seven essential truths about you as a person:

1. You are a thoroughly good and excellent person; valuableand worthwhile beyond measure. No one is better than you or more gifted thanyou.Only when you doubt your essential goodness and value do you begin toquestion yourself. The inability to accept that you are a good person lies atthe root of much of your discontent.

2. You are important, in many, many ways. To start with, youare important to yourself. Your personal universe revolves around you as anindividual. You give meaning to everything that you see or hear. Nothing inyour world has any significance except for the significance that you attributeto it.You are also important to your parents. Your birth was a significant momentin their lives, and as you grew up, almost everything you did was meaningful tothem.You are important to your own family, to your partner or spouse, yourchildren, and the other members of your social circle. Some of the things youdo or say have an enormous impact on them.You are important to your company, your customers, your coworkers, and yourcommunity. The things you do or don't do can have a tremendous effect on thelives and work of others.How important you feel largely determines the quality of your life. Happy, successful people feel important and valuable. Because they feel and act thisway, it becomes true for them.Unhappy, frustrated people feel unimportant and of little value. They feelfrustrated and unworthy. They feel "I'm not good enough," and as aresult they lash out at the world and engage in behaviors that hurt themselvesand others.They don't realize that they could be a prince or princess inside.

3. You have unlimited potential and the ability to create yourlife and your world as you desire. You could not use your entire potential ifyou lived one hundred lifetimes.No matter what you have accomplished up to now, it is merely a hint of whatis truly possible for you. And the more of your natural talents and abilitiesyou develop in the present, the more of your potential you can develop in thefuture.Your belief in your almost unlimited potential is the key to becomingeverything you are truly capable of becoming.

4. You create your world in every respect by the way you thinkand the depth of your convictions. Your beliefs actually create your realities,and every belief you have about yourself you learned, starting ininfancy. The amazing thing is that most of the negative or self-limitingbeliefs and doubts that interfere with your happiness and success are not basedon fact or reality at all.When you begin to question your self-limiting beliefs and develop beliefsconsistent with the incredible person you really are, your life will begin tochange almost immediately.

5. You are always free to choose the content of your thoughtsand the direction of your life. The one thing over which you have completecontrol is your inner life and your thinking. You can decide to think happy,fulfilling, uplifting thoughts that lead to positive actions and results. Oryou can, by default, end up choosing negative, selflimiting thoughts that tripyou up and hold you back.Your mind is like a garden: if you do not deliberately cultivate flowers,weeds will grow automatically without any effort on your part. If you do notdeliberately plant and cultivate positive thoughts, negative thoughts will growin their place.This simple metaphor about the garden explains why so many people areunhappy and don't know why.

6. You are put on this earth with a great destiny: you aremeant to do something wonderful with your life. You have a unique combinationof talents, abilities, ideas, insights, and experiences that make you differentfrom anyone who has ever lived. You are designed for success and engineered forgreatness.Your acceptance or nonacceptance of this point largely determines the sizeof the goals you set, your power of persistence in the face of adversity, theheight of your achievements, and the whole direction of your life.

7. There are no limits to what you can do, be, or have exceptthe limits you place on your own thinking and your own imagination. The biggestenemies you will ever face are your own doubts and fears. These are usuallynegative beliefs, not necessarily based on fact, that you have accepted overthe years until you no longer question them.As Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest, "What's past isprologue." Everything that has happened to you in the past has been apreparation for the wonderful life that lies ahead of you in the future.Remember the rule: It doesn't matter where you're coming from; all thatreally matters is where you're going.

For more information please visit http://www.briantracy.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.

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5 Tips to Help Your Team be More Creative by Mark Miller

5 Tips to Help Your Team be More Creative

By Mark Miller, Co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life

In today's challenging economic times, creative thinking is more valuable than ever. Not creative for creativity's sake -- creativity to solve real business problems. Many of the ideas of the past are no longer relevant. As a seasoned leader shared with me recently, "The half-life of ideas is decreasing rapidly." So what's our response? We need more and better ideas. The good news: creating new, value-added ideas is what teams do best. However, creativity in a team environment is not automatic. There are some things that leaders can do to increase the creative output of their team. Here are a few ideas to get you started . . .

Expect it -- When you establish the role of your team, be sure to highlight the expectation that the team will create fresh, new solutions to the problems you face.

Train it -- The skills of creativity can be learned. To learn them, they must be taught. Schedule time to conduct training for your team. This can take many forms. It can be as brief as a micro session on effective brainstorming (before your next brainstorming session) to multi-day training sessions and everything in between. The point is simple -- train your team on the skills of creativity.

Practice it -- Creative thinking and problem solving are skills -- just like golf, tennis or a foreign language.  Like any skill, you get better with practice. Look for opportunities for your team to practice the skills you've learned. Practice builds competence and competence builds confidence.

Recognize it -- The actions that you reward will be repeated. That's human nature. That's one reason you need to recognize not just the successes but the effort as well. Not every creative endeavor will be successful. That's normal. If you've been operating in a culture in which creativity has not been valued, recognizing creative effort will be even more critical. People are paying attention. They want to know if it's really safe to voice new ideas.

Model it -- People always watch the leader -- whether we want them to or not. Do your people see you embracing creative ideas? Do they see you engaged in the process of creating new ideas? You can accelerate the adoption of creative thinking as a skill if you personally get in the game. If you don't, you'll need to temper your expectations of groundbreaking new ideas from your team.Teams are probably at their best when they're engaged in the creative process. They are leveraging their collective wisdom and experience to create what previously did not exist. One of the most satisfying and productive things leaders can do is create the conditions to harness this creative potential. Start today and get ready to be amazed at what your team will do!

Author Bio

Mark Miller, co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, is vice president, training and development, for Chick-fil-A. During his career he has served in corporate communications, restaurant operations, quality and customer satisfaction, and numerous other leadership positions. He began his Chick-fil-A career in 1977 working as an hourly team member. He is the author of The Secret of Teams and is the coauthor of The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do with Ken Blanchard.

Follow Mark Miller on Facebook and Twitter

For more information please visit http://greatleadersgrow.com and http://greatleadersserve.org.  

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How to Evaluate Your Leadership Style By Ken Blanchard

How to Evaluate Your Leadership Style

By Ken Blanchard, Co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for LifeToday

I'm going to give a short, one-question quiz. Here's the question: How do you rate as a leader?I don't ask this question flippantly. It is a question I've asked countless people at the leadership seminars we conduct. As leaders, most people rank themselves as being very close to a minor deity or at least Mr. or Ms. Human Relations. Seldom do leaders give themselves low marks. Strangely enough, when the tables are turned and people are asked to rank their boss's leadership style, we often find many supervisors graded as being adequate, merely OK, or at worst, office autocrats who depend heavily on the often-referenced "seagull management" technique as their sole line of attack -- they leave their people alone until something goes wrong, and then they fly in, make a lot of noise, dump all over everyone, and fly out.

More often than not, we find that leaders lull themselves into thinking they are top-flight leaders because they think they use a supportive or coaching style, which someone told them are "good" leadership styles. Not too surprisingly, this isn't the way they are seen by those in their department, office or store.

To get a true and accurate answer about the question above, it is necessary for you as a supervisor to honestly determine how your employees perceive your leadership style. These are the folks who know you best. They have first-hand experience with your leadership style and operate on their own perceptions about it. They are the best judges of your managerial effectiveness. However, getting an employee or subordinate to give his or her honest feedback on your leadership style is difficult. People fear being the messenger who will get shot for bearing bad news. Hence, they are naturally reluctant to be totally candid.

Employees are sharp observers. In the past, they may have gone to their leader and made an honest suggestion such as, "Ken, I think our Thursday afternoon meetings are a waste of time." If the supervisor answers with an outburst by saying, "What do you mean a waste of time? Are you kidding? Those meetings are important," it doesn't take a genius to figure out that one thing the leader doesn't want to hear is the truth.

It is important to remember that when people you supervise tell you what they honestly think about your style of leadership, they're really giving you a gift. When someone gives you a gift, what is the first thing you should say? "Thank you," of course! Then it's a very good idea to follow up by saying, "Is there anything else you think I should know?" When a person learns that you won't become defensive or hostile when he or she gives you an honest evaluation about your style, you'll find that you'll be given many nuggets of truth which are extremely valuable. My advice would be to encourage people to give (feedback) at the office, and to give often!

Just remember, what you think about your own leadership style really doesn't matter. In addition, there is no one correct style, nor is there a "good" or a "bad" style. Rather, style is judged by those immediately influenced by it. It's your people's response to your style that matters. If you are getting the right response consistently -- high productivity and morale -- then you're doing just fine. If not, then perhaps it's your style that needs changing, not your employees.

Author Bio 

Ken Blanchard, co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, is cofounder and chief spiritual officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies. He is the author or coauthor of 50 books that have sold more than 20 million copies, including the iconic One Minute Manager®. Connect with Ken Blanchard on Facebook and follow him on Twitter here and here.

For more information on the book please visit http://greatleadersgrow.com.     

 

How to Build Your Personal Brand as a Top Performer by Al Switzler

How to Build Your Personal Brand as a Top Performer

By Al Switzler, co-author of the New York Times best-seller Change Anything

Years ago, while consulting with a then Big 6 accounting firm, I heard a senior partner say of a manager, “He is so technically gifted. I wish I could take his brain to client meetings and leave the rest of him at the office.” Clearly, this manager was branded as being interpersonally challenged. That type of reputation is potentially damaging for any career. Other examples of equally unhelpful personal brands include reputations for unprofessional dress and manner, procrastination and sloppy work. 

The bad news is these “brands” become part of the company gossip. As a result, some employees don’t have a chance to hear or rebut what is being said of them. In fact, our research shows 70 percent of employees who are aware they need to improve at work can’t tell you what exactly they are doing wrong or how they are going to change. However, the good news is with the correct knowledge and skills employees can improve their personal brand. 

So, what can employees do to build their reputation as a top performer?

When we began studying top performers nearly thirty years ago, we asked thousands of employees and managers to give us the names of the three people in their organizations whose opinions, work habits and abilities they most admired. 

Next, we closely observed these highly valued individuals. We analyzed the behaviors they routinely practiced that made them so respected. We found that across organizations as different as sawmills, government agencies, tech startups and charitable nonprofits, top performers practice the same three vital behaviors: they know their stuff, focus on the right stuff and build a reputation for being helpful.

1. Know their stuff. Top performers put regular effort into ensuring they are good at the technical aspects of their jobs. They’re not necessarily generalists, but work hard at honing their specific craft.

2. Focus on the right stuff. In addition to performing their craft well, top performers contribute to tasks that are essential to the organization’s success—the bottom line. Top performers earn direct access to critical tasks that the company values and excel at completing those tasks. 

3. Build a reputation for being helpful. Top performers are widely known and respected by others not because of their frequent contact, charm or likability, but because they help others solve their problems. By doing so, they become invaluable resources.

If employees want to build their personal brand as a top performer, they should adopt these vital behaviors through the use of a multifaceted change plan. The results may not be fast, but research shows those who implement a plan that includes the six sources of influence found in Change Anything increase their chances of success tenfold.

About Al Switzler 

Al Switzler is the four-time New York Times best-selling author of Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success (Business Plus, April 2011). He is also the co-founder of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and trained more than 600,000 people worldwide. www.changeanythingbook.com

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