Networking Insight

Jason Jacobsohn's Personal Business Timeline: Teen Years

Here is the second post in my Personal Business Timeline series. In my first post, I discussed my Pre-Teen Years. As a reminder, I have put together this series to share with my readers my background and how I developed my business and networking skills.

TEEN YEARS

I entered my teen years with a good group of friends, appreciation for loyalty, and good values.  Middle school was a defining moment for me because students from several schools were brought together under one roof.  When this happened, I met new kids that I had to integrate into my old and new life.  Some of my old relationships didn’t last and new ones began. 

1st Job
My first true job was as a caddy at the local country club when I was about 12. I only lasted about 2 years because it was tough to climb the ladder to become an “A” caddy, which meant that you were guaranteed work.  I spent many days just waiting in the caddy shack and never working.   I felt like I was wasting my time.  I needed something more productive and a job that I was guaranteed to make some money.  The best perk of this job was that I got to golf for free every Monday.  I learned that if you don’t like a job, then you need to move on.  This was an important lesson at a young age.  Also, I learned that if you were patient, you could excel.  However, I wasn’t patient at this job because much of it was based on luck.

2nd Job
I started my first real job when I was 14, which was at a dry cleaner.  Believe it or not, my job was to clean the machines with WD-40 and to remove the lint.  Every once in awhile, I got paid a bonus by finding some loose change in the machines.  Normally, I would give this money back to the original owner, but it was impossible to know because all of the money fell into one place.  However, I did find a diamond ring once that I turned in because someone would be looking for this jewelry.  Since I was taught good values by my mom, I didn’t even think twice about keeping it.  Now, I don’t know if my co-workers actually saved it for the owner or just pocketed it for themselves.  As you can imagine, I really didn’t like this job.  It was not challenging and was probably bad for my health.  Again, I learned the lesson of moving on when you don’t like the work.

3rd Job
After I got tired of breathing chemicals, I decided to get back into the golf industry but this time at a driving range  This job was more my speed because I was constantly working by picking balls up with a ball picker. Not the most exciting work, but at least I was productive.  Of course, this job didn’t last too long either (maybe 1 summer) because they were making cut backs and I made the cut.  The best part of the job was that I got to hit balls for free.  What I learned at this job was to face disappointment and that employers are not loyal so you need to look out for yourself.

4th Job (Almost)
With this job, I decided to try the fast food business, McDonalds.  My friend who worked here got me an interview.  I accepted a position and was set to start on the same day as Homecoming.  Well, I didn’t want to miss it so I told them I didn’t want to start until a later date.  Well, this didn’t go so well so I never actually started working at McDonalds.  For whatever reason, they didn’t want to be flexible.   I learned that if I was going to work that I needed to take it serious and not put personal activities first.  Obviously, there are exceptions.  In this case, I didn’t have a good exception.

5th Job
My next job was my last job in my teen years, which was back again in the golf industry and one of the best jobs around.  I was employed at our municipal golf course to work mainly in the pro shop.  This was a great job because I got to deal with people firsthand.  It was my first job in which I dealt with customers so I learned people skills.  This was the beginning of my relationship building days because I formed some friendships not only with my co-workers, but also with some my customers.  In addition, I learned to be a productive and effective worker.  After awhile, I became real good at ringing in customers’ golf fees, starting them on the first tee, and managing long lines.  I learned to be patient and to do deal with unhappy customers.  I kept this job until I was a freshman in college.

Activities
I continued playing sports into high school, which included golf, baseball, and tennis.  After getting cut from the baseball team my sophomore year and because the golf and tennis seasons were at the same time, I decided to just focus on golf, which was my true passion anyways.  For all four years of high school, I was on the golf team, which was great because I played golf several times a week, some of it competitively.  I didn’t make the Varsity team until my senior year, however, I worked hard and enjoyed competing.  This experience further taught me how to handle pressure while maintaining my composure.  In addition, I picked up another hobby, guitar, which I learned how to play my junior year and still play today.  Since I started blogging, I haven’t had much time to play.

My first true organizational involvement was when I joined the Yearbook Committee and Spanish Club.  I know what you are thinking – that I must have been a dork to join the Yearbook Committee.  Well, I may have been a little but I saw it as an opportunity to be a part of something and to work with other students on a common goal.  This was a great experience that taught me how to work in a team and to build relationships with fellow kids outside of the regular school day.  For the Spanish Club, I just joined because I really enjoyed learning to speak Spanish in high school.

Is Social Networking a Time Waster for the Business Professional?

Do you think that social networking is a big waste of time? Or do you think that it is the next big thing to collaborate and build relationships with people?  There are many case studies out there that would lead us to believe that it is a great way to build personal relationships.  Also, with success of LinkedIn, professionals are also able to build relationships. 

For the most part, all of these tools are for building one-to-one relationships with people outside of an organization. Building relationships this way is great because it does not depend on where you live or work.  However, social networking has made it into the business environment with tools like SelectMinds, Facebook, Sharepoint, and customized solutions. 

Do you think that using these tools is a waste of time for business professionals? Or do you think that they can actually improve the work environment and improve business collaboration?

Check out the following article that provides more detail into this argument: Social Networking: A Time Waster Or The Next Big Thing In Collaboration?

This is an interesting dilemma so please comment on this if you have any thoughts to share.

Five Timeless Effective Relationship Building Techniques

With relationship building, there are many techniques that never get old and will always work. Below are five methods that you should already be integrating into your networking. If not, then start immediately.

1. Focus on Warm Referrals – One of the best ways to meet quality people is to leverage your existing network for targeted referrals.  Ask your contacts for introductions as long as you have a good relationship with them.  Make sure that you are focused and know who you want to meet so you can guide your contacts for making the introductions.  By getting an introduction, your contact has already qualified you and the other person so you have a better chance of forming a relationship.  Just like in sales, a cold lead can be harder to close.  (My buddy Mr. Cold Call would beg to differ.)

2. Be Genuine and Generous – One of the best ways to get people to like you is to be genuine and generous with your time and resources. When you meet people and build relationships, you need to have good demeanor, be trustworthy, and be yourself.  Just be an all around nice person by smiling, offering to help, following through, and caring.  In tandem with being genuine, make sure that you are generous by helping others whenever you can.  This will go along way and make you stand out in business circles.

3. Present Yourself for Success – Even though this may be common sense, people need reminders to look and act professional at all times. Without doing so, you may not be taken serious. Make sure to wear professional attire when appropriate. If you don’t know what to wear, ere on the side of professional; you can’t go wrong.  With any clothes, make sure that you don’t have stains, wrinkles, loose threads, etc.  In addition, make sure that your shoes are polished and presentable.  People notice these little things so don’t let them judge you for something you can control.  Also, act professional at all times by refraining from swearing, slouching in chairs, walking hunched over, or getting buzzed at events.  You need to come across as a professional in all circumstances so use your best judgment.

4. Leverage Your Family and Friends – Who says that all of your contacts have to be built through business networking?  Many of your best relationships will be built through family and friends.  Take the time to find out who your close relationships are tied to and ask for introductions.  The beauty about these relationships is that you don’t need to take any extra time to get to know each other. You already trust each other so you usually will do whatever it takes to help each other.  Don’t forget about these relationships.

5. Build a Positive Reputation – In order for people to take you completely serious, you need to build a good solid reputation.  Take the time to brand yourself in the community and always treat people with respect.  The more positive perception that people have about you, the better for your relationship building.  Reputations can make or break you in business circles. Make sure that is a driver of your success.

Learn how to become an expert in any niche in 30 days or less by clicking here.

If You Don’t Build Relationships Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later

Many people only care about building and nurturing relationships when they actually need someone.   For most people, this is when a job is needed. Therefore, I will focus this post on employment.  I can’t tell you how many people who I meet who just started the networking process because they needed a new job. It takes time to build relationships so this is not the right approach. 

If you want to find a job (or at least start interviewing) fairly quickly, then it will be tough to leverage people who you just met.  While you can get lucky this way, it is not the preferred way to go.

Rather, focus most of your energy on building relationships when you don’t need a job. What this means is that you should find ways to connect so it is beneficial for you and the other people to know each other. If you just focus on a job right away, then it is a one-sided relationship.  Don’t let this happen.

The last thing people who don't know you well want to do is open up their Rolodex.  You need to build trust, credibility, and friendship to leverage other peoples’ contacts.

So, when the time comes that you need to find a job and you have properly built some relationships, you will have a warm group of contacts to tap into.  Since they already know you, they should have no problem helping you.  As a result, you will most likely find a job sooner.  At least 80% of jobs are found through networking so take this serious.

Don’t make your job hunting experience more difficult than it already is by scrambling to get to know people.  As I stated above, it will take time to build relationships so BUILD them NOW so you have them at your disposal FOR LATER.

If you have any comments to share, then please do so to start a dialogue.

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Little Known Ways to Get People to Like You

In order to build sustainable relationships, you need people to like you. Plain and simple.  Below are 5 ideas that you should be thinking about as you meet people and build your relationships.  For some of you, this may be new, and for others, this is a just a reminder of what you should be doing.

1. Constantly Smile – When meeting people for the first time, you need to make a good first impression. Smiling is a way to warm up to people and show them that you are approachable.  Also, smile when you are on the phone. It will come across to the other person.  You need to give people the chance to get to know you so set the tone in a positive way.

2. Use First Names in Emails – People like the sound of their first names so address people with their first names when sending emails.  By doing this, you will come across as personable. Don’t send an email with just the body. Properly address each person. There are exceptions to using Mr. or Mrs. when sending emails.  Use your judgment.

3. Use Closings in Your Emails – Like an email greeting, you want to end an email just as personable.  Whenever you send emails to people, make sure to use a closing such as “Regards”, “Talk to you soon”, “Have a nice day”, or “Thanks”.  You want to be friendly and personable when emailing so it is common courtesy to end an email this way.  Also, under the closing, use your first name.  Don’t just end with your email signature.  This is impersonal.

4. Always Follow-Up After Referrals – Always follow-up with people after they refer you to someone. No matter what the outcome, keep your contacts in the loop. People want to know if they helped.  Without proper follow-up, they may be less inclined to help you in the future. I can tell you from experience that most people don’t follow up with me after I make a referral. The ones that do stand out in a very positive way to me so I am definitely open to helping them again.

5. Always Think of Others – Part of building relationships is to provide value to certain individuals.  Always be thinking of people by sending them articles, events of interest, or other relevant news. It is okay to send out a group email with this type of information, however, make an effort to send information to individuals as well.  Your contacts will appreciate you for thinking of them. Usually, this prompts people to reciprocate the nice gesture.

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What is MTV's Strategy for Social Networking?

That latest corporate giant to enter the social networking scene is MTV, which recently unveiled ThinkMTV. What is unique about this site is that it promotes youth activism.

"MTV said it will reward members that use the site "to do good" with opportunities to meet celebrities, get access to exclusive MTV events, and get exposure on MTV and other national media outlets. Additional benefits include grants and scholarships.  Members are encouraged to use different multimedia tools to engage and educate others about important issues, including cell phones, online forums, broadband video, and digital cameras. In fact, multimedia is a key component of the social networking site."

MTV has a big draw with the youth so it will be interesting to see if this site takes off. Like many social networking sites, I am skeptical.  However, I do believe that social networking is here to stay and will eventually be a part of the Web experience with most sites.

To read more, check out the article: MTV's ThinkMTV, A Socially Conscious Social Network

What do you think? Does MTV have a shot?

Make sure to leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Jason Jacobsohn's Personal Business Timeline: Pre-Teen Years

To get a better sense of how I developed my business and networking skills, I have decided to share with you some of my background from my pre-teen years to launching my blog. In addition to this post, I will roll out posts for Teen Years, College Years, and Post College Years to Launch of Blog. By sharing this content, I hope that you get to know me better.

PRE-TEEN YEARS

I was born in 1973 in Milwaukee, WI, USA.  Milwaukee is known for Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Miller Beer, and Summerfest (one of the largest outdoor music festivals in the world).  Of course, we also known for serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, but I won’t get into the details.

I grew up with one older brother, an oral surgeon for a father, a teacher for a mother, and a calico cat named Cuddles.   

My Father

My father was born in Germany and moved to the U.S. when he was 6 months old.  He was always a hard worker and owned his own dental practice.  While my dad may not have realized it, he was an entrepreneur who needed to build solid relationships to get referrals and repeat customers.   Relationships, and of course skills, were key to his success as a business owner.  In addition, he taught at the local dental school, Marquette, which was also his alma mater.  Again, without my dad building good relationships in his field, he may not have had this opportunity.  The opportunity was great because it furthered his brand as an expert in oral surgery.  So, my dad taught me that hard work and focus on an expertise can provide a path to success.

My Mother

My mother was born in the South (Shreveport, LA) so she had a friendly accent and Southern hospitality.  She was mostly a substitute teacher growing up.  At times this job was tough, but she learned to be patient with the students.  In addition, she was just an all around nice person who everyone liked.  Further, she was always willing to help others before herself.  She rarely put her own happiness first.  Her sweet demeanor led to a great childhood for me.  She taught me to be nice to people no matter what.  I thank her for teaching me these good values early on in my life.

My Brother

My brother was always a hard worker who over achieved at everything whether it was sports or baseball card collecting.  Early on, he became a baseball card collector and seller.  He impressed me because he was making money from this activity.  He had entrepreneurial instincts as a pre-teen.  I wish more of what he was doing rubbed off on me.  Instead of buying and sellng, I was just buying.  I collected Mad and Cracked magazines.  Eventually, I sold the entire collection.  Anyways, my brother, like my dad, also taught me about hard work and how to turn your passion into a business.

My Cat

I can’t forget my cat, Cuddles, who was with me until college.  She taught me about loyalty and how to care for something.  You always hear about how “dogs are a man’s best friend”.  I beg to differ.

Activities

I kept myself fairly active by playing sports such as soccer, basketball, tennis, golf, baseball, and fishing.  I learned about team work and what it feels like to have success and defeat.  Eventually, golf became my sport of choice (and it still is today). What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was beginning to brand myself with likes and dislikes.  People who know me well today know that golf is a big passion of mine.  I encourage you to think back over your childhood and reminisce about what you did to define who you are today.

As I previously mentioned, one of my hobbies was collecting Mad and Cracked magazines.  I would scour flea markets and rummage sales to find old issues.  I worked hard at finding issues and eventually had just about every one that was published.  I learned the art of negotiation, patience, and persistence by staying focused on a goal.  After many years of collecting and growing up, I eventually sold my collection to a friend who in turn sold it several years later. So, I am happy to say that I contributed to the economy in some way.

In addition to sports and collecting, I had loyal friends who I would see on a weekly basis to do whatever we did at that age, which was watch movies, play video games, have sleepovers, etc.  My friends were important to me and really helped to define who I am today.  In the pre-teen years, you develop alongside your friends so you have a direct impact on each other.  It is a good thing that I had well-behaved friends because my life could be different right now.  I truly believe that the foundations for the rest of your life can be set in your pre-teen days.

What Type of Social Networker Are You?

As I was reading a recent issue of Red Herring magazine, I came across an interesting networking classification that was put together by Carnegie Mellon University’s Human Computer Interaction Institute.  Below are seven types of social networkers. Which one are you?  For me, I fall into “The Communicator” category.

The Matriach

She is a person who acts as a central planner for the groups she belongs to.  She puts forth time and effort that other group members are not willing to put forth.  She does not publish information very often but needs help keeping in contact and communicating with people.

The Communicator

He actively keeps up to date with existing connections through viewing and publishing information.  He does not meet new people through online social networks; rather, he uses online tools to strengthen his current connections.

The Addict

She does it all and then some.  She uses online social networking to keep up with her existing contacts and also to forge new connections.  She is a member of so many sites that it is often burdensome to find new content that her friends have posted.

The Escapist

She uses the Internet to escape from the stresses of everyday life.  She will communicate with her current connections, and also try to reconnect with old ones.  Her biggest need is to “get out of the house.”

The Entrepreneur

He seeks to expand his social network not only for social purposes, but for business purposes as well.  He mixes business information with personal information in order to advertise and promote.

The Dater

He seeks to establish new contacts online, with the goal of starting a personal relationship with one of these new connections.  He actively searches, publishes, and reads information in order to fine a compatible connection.
 
The Lurker

He is an active consumer of information but is extremely reluctant to publish content himself.  He is very concerned about privacy, and may not view others’ content if he knows that other people will be able to identify that he has viewed their content.

To read more insights about social networking, check out my Technology Articles.

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How to Grow Your Network and Increase Sales

Building relationships should be an activity that is ingrained into your everyday life.  It is a long-term process that leads to HUGE rewards.  As long as you are persistent and have patience, you can achieve the maximum benefit that networking has to offer.  Of course, you need to be effective and efficient when building relationships. 

So, what is this reward that I am referring to?   It is different for everyone but for most of us it is to generate more sales.  Most people only network so they can ultimately bring in more revenue to their company.  For this post, I will only focus on this networking goal.  Producing sales is a tangible outcome that can be measured from networking. 

Focus on Selling Yourself, Not Your Company

For any product or service, there is a sales cycle, which means that people or corporations don’t make decisions right away. A purchase could take anywhere from a few days to a couple of years, which depends a lot on the complexity, need, and price.  Another reason that sales can take longer is if you don’t have a clear path to the buyer.  It may take you awhile to find your way around a large company to get in front of the right person.  Also, it may take awhile for you to get to know an individual within a company before he/she is comfortable buying from you.

Let’s explore the last sentence a bit more.  People generally buy from individuals who they already know and trust.  So, this should be your goal in trying to make a sale.  Spend time getting to know decision makers so when they need your product/service, they will either purchase from you or endorse you within the company.  When this happens, a sale is usually imminent.

So, when meeting people, don’t ever try to sell your company.  Rather sell yourself so you can get to know each other.  Spend time discussing your interests and skills.  When the time is right, a sale will come naturally.  In reality, the sales cycle will probably be shorter by following this strategy.  Plus, you will most likely get referrals because when people trust you, they make introductions.

Nurture Your Relationships

In the above section, I talked about the begin and end of securing more sales. Now, l will dive into the middle section, which is what will lead you to the sale.  After you meet someone who you connect with, focus your efforts on getting to know this person.  However, don’t go into this relationship only wanting a sale. Be genuine and truly want to build the relationship.  Otherwise, your efforts will be false and not effective.  You need to have passion and want to connect.

With that said, integrate these people into your network by keeping in touch through face to face meetings, electronic means, or phone calls.  Make sure that you invite people to lunch, send them articles of interest, or make introductions.  The point is that you need to stay relevant so find ways to provide value.

Build one relationship at a time so you can provide specific value to certain individuals.  Of course, there will be times when you will send out a newsletter or group email to your network. This is fine as long as you occasionally reach out to people individually.

Provide Value by Helping

As I mentioned above, part of nurturing the relationship is to provide value.   If you don’t have anything to offer others, why would they want to stay in touch? We live in a world with so many people that if you aren’t providing value, then you will get lost in the crowd and have a hard time connecting with others. Thus, you will have lost sales opportunities.

So, how do you make yourself relevant? You need to be very proactive and always look for ways to help and provide value.  As you get to know people, find out their needs. If it isn’t apparent in a conversation, then just ask them.  They will be happy to share this with you because you took the time to care.  Most people don’t show that they care so this will make you stand out.

After you understand some of their needs, offer to help by doing research, making a connection, or reviewing a business strategy. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you follow through and do a good job.   You will be remembered for this kind act and will forever be in this person’s network.  Don’t just do one good deed, do several.  In fact, don’t take count. It should happen naturally and continuously whenever you can help.

Have Patience, Sales Will Come

As you are building relationships, your network will grow and the sales will come when the time is right.  Have patience because it could take awhile for the first sale to come. Over time, sales should come more frequently as your relationships get stronger.  So, remember this following equation:

Sell Yourself + Nurture +Value + Patience = Increased Sales

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“Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken” by Guest Blogger Scott Bradley

Scott Bradley of Effective Networking and Success Tips is the latest blogger who has written a guest article. 

"Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken"

Have you ever run into someone when networking, and they just seem to be trying too hard to impress you? Did they pull the whole “smoke and mirrors” on you…putting a bad taste in your mouth? How did it make you feel?

This quote, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken,” is a quote that I heard 2 years ago from one of my mentors. When thinking about it, and how it relates to networking and connecting with other like minded individuals, it couldn’t be more true.

When networking if you first come off as something that you are not, you will have to work hard to keep that identity going even though it is not you. Besides…why would you want to be someone you aren’t, when you are trying to build a “know, like and trust” relationship with the other person you are interacting with? By doing this, you are already breaking the trust with the other individual before ever getting to know them.

Why put your reputation on the line like that? If you are doing that, don’t you think someone is going to find out sooner or later that you are not what you say you are, or do what you say you do?

I believe the root of this issue that some of us as networkers see each and every day is due to people not feeling secure about themselves as a person. They are not proud about who they are, what they stand for, and what their beliefs are. They are hesitant to stick their head out, because they are worried that “Someone isn’t going to like them!”

They believe that if they aren’t themselves, no one will like them, and because of that it will cause a lot of pain, and since we have learned from Tony Robbins that the greatest human motivator is to avoid pain, the networkers think they have to be someone that “Everyone else wants them to be” even though they are having conflicting feelings about their own personal identity.

When it comes to networking and finding other contacts that you build relationships with, you have to be YOU. Be proud to say who you are and what you do. Be truthful about your past success. Don’t try to hype anything up, just tell it the way it is.

When you do this, rather than trying to get everyone to like you, you only attract and deal with the people who want to deal with you. You don’t have to worry about someone not liking you because you know there are other people out there that have your same interests…you just have to consistently keep sorting through everyone you come in contact with. Trust me, people will respect you for it and you will always have a clean slate with all of those you are networking with.

If you are reading this right now and know that you have some self-esteem issues, read self growth books so you can grow yourself from the inside out. More success, and more awesome contacts don’t come from outside accomplishments, but rather start from the inside of you and manifest outward…As we all have learned from watching "The Secret"

So in the end. Just be you. You got nothing to lose. Just remember to “Be yourself, because everyone else is taken!”