Networking Insight

When All Else Fails, Dress Professionally

How many times do you plan on attending a networking event or a business meeting and you don’t know what is appropriate to wear? I am sure that this happens a lot. Take the time to do some research so you wear appropriate attire.

With networking events, take a look at the host’s Website for information or pictures. If you can’t find anything, then contact someone on the board or ask someone you know who has attended in the past.

The same can be said about a business meeting at someone else’s office. Ask this person what is appropriate. Many firms have business casual policies so a full suit is not usually necessary.

It may be difficult to find out ahead of time what to wear at an event or meeting. Therefore, err on the side of wearing professional attire. You can never go wrong with over dressing, unless of course you wear a suit to a baseball game! 

By dressing professional, people will tend to take you more serious. Also, if it is in your nature to wear professional attire, then by all means dress this way whenever you want.

Your reputation and brand is very important to don’t be caught wearing too casual clothes when everyone else is dressed professional. While you will definitely stand out, it will be for the wrong reasons.

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Developing Brand You

The following article that I wrote appeared in a recent Soho Magazine. You can also read this on Sohobiztube.com.

Developing Brand You

In order to make a name for yourself, you need to brand yourself effectively and efficiently. The 11 drivers below will help you to think about ways to align your unique message with everything you do.

1. Develop a subject matter expertise: Pick a topic you’re passionate about and learn all there is to learn about the subject. Spend time becoming an expert so you become the go-to person for this topic.

2. Publish articles: To further brand your subject matter expertise, take the time to write and publish articles that demonstrates your expertise. Seek out online or offline publications and pitch your articles.

3. Speak to groups: Demonstrate your expertise by talking to business associations and corporations about your subject. Be proactive and approach these groups.

4. Publish a blog: Much like writing articles, a blog can even further brand yourself as an expert because you can freely share your thoughts. With blogging, you can instantly become a subject matter expert by the very nature of blogs.

5. Set up a personal Web site: It is important to have an online home for yourself. Set up a personal Web site that you can use to further brand yourself.

6. Create a personal e-mail: Similar to a personal Web site, you need to create a personal e-mail that will always be available for people to contact you regardless of your job. It is recommended that you buy your own domain around your name and create an e-mail based on this domain.

 7. Create personal note cards: To come across as a professional, it is recommended that you send out handwritten notes from time to time. Rather than sending these on generic cards, you should consider buying personalized note cards and envelopes with your name, address and e-mail.

8. Prepare a personal introduction: Before you meet anyone, you need to spend some time putting together a personal introduction about yourself. When you meet people or introduce yourself to groups of people, you can then effectively and professionally tell individuals about yourself.

9. Focus on your appearance: First impressions and follow-up, in-person meetings are an important component of developing your brand. Spend the time developing your own unique signature look whether it’s a special nametag or piece of clothing.

10. Create a unique e-mail signature: Your brand should extend into every piece of communication so you can consistently portray yourself. In your e-mail signature, be sure to include any piece of information that reinforces who you are such as your Web site, blog, LinkedIn profile or tagline.

11. Portray a good demeanor: If you aren’t a genuine person, all your efforts won’t pay off. Make sure you are nice, help people and follow through. Without an appropriate demeanor, a negative perception of you could overshadow your positive branding efforts.

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Book Review: I Hate People! by Jonathan Littman & Marc Hershon

I Hate People!: Kick Loose from the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What You Want Out of Your Job was written by Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon. Jonathan is the author of several non-fiction books including The Fugitive Game, The Watchman, and The Beautiful Game. Also, he is the co-author of IDEO’s The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation. Marc is a branding expert who helped create the names for Blackberry, Swiffer, and many other influential products. Also, he is a comedy veteran who has worked with Dana Carvey, Bill Maher, and Robin Williams.

The book is broken up into the sections:

Section 1: The Ten Least Wanted
Section 2: Flying Solo
Section 3: Office Life
Section 4: Spaces and Places

I Hate People! is a comical but serious book on how to identify and deal with those in the office that are annoying and getting in your way such as the underminers, micromanagers, and backstabbers. The book provides you with multiple techniques to help you get past these people so they don’t continue to be a problem.

One of the techniques talked about in the book is to become a Soloist, which is working alone or with a few handpicked talented people. You can still work this way while in a large company. Also, the authors talk about Digging Your Cave and Island Hopping as methods to save your sanity and find space and time for yourself.  These are creative techniques that I never would have thought about.

I Hate People!: Kick Loose from the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What You Want Out of Your Job Is a unique self-help book for the working professional. The authors bring in numerous examples and methods used by business managers and executives from well-known firms such as Proctor & Gamble, IBM, and Google. So, they have done their research to come up with some of the content for this book.

If you are looking for ways to get ahead in the workplace, then this book may be worth a read. It will help you to deal with others in your office and provide you with some techniques to thrive.

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Soho Social Media Workshop - August 12 in Chicago

Update: Event has been postponed

The founder of Sohobiztube.com and Soho Magazine (mag that I write for) is coming to Chicago with the following social media conference.

Title: Social Media Workshop: Develop Your 90 Day Social Media Strategy
Host: Soho Naked Biz Growth
Date: August 12, 2009
Time: 8:30am-4:30pm
Location: IIT, Kent College of Law, 565 W Adams Street, Chicago
Cost: $125 (includes breakfast, lunch, and 10 page Social Media Strategy Draft)
Sponsors: Sales Results, Inc, Trivera Interactive, Inc., RF Reed & Associates Marketing Agency

Click Here for More Information/RSVP

Develop a 10 page, 90-day Draft Social Media Strategy for your business, or to share with your marketing, PR, or social media consultant. SOHO's presenters will "build upon" and answer your questions on how to Listen, Offer Value, Engage and Monitor your social media community. Topics include: Building Community, Listening, Engaging, Monitoring, Marketing and Strategies. You will also walk away understanding the difference between embracing the mindset, channels and tools of social media

Speakers Include:
- Jason Weaver of SWAY Inc.
- Staci Arellano, former Voxanna with Sony
- Cd Vann of Sohobiztube.com
- Scott Baitinger of Mader Communications
- Rishi Shah of Flying Cart
- Steve Glynn of Spreenkler The Agency
- Barb Rozgonyi of Cory West Media & Chicago Social Media Club

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Facebook Romance: Kelly Marries Kelly

Have you searched Facebook to see if anyone else shares the same name as you? Well, Kelly Katrina Hildebrandt was bored one night and decided to search Facebook for her name. The only name that popped up belonged to Kelly Carl Hildebrandt.

Kelly reached out to Kelly and they hit if off and now they are getting married this October. What a great story! Also, Kelly Katrina doesn't have to worry about changing her name!

To read more, go to Same-name couple to wed after Facebook meeting.

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10 Ways to Get People to Like You From the First Encounter

Let’s face it that we all want to be liked. In business circles, you usually only have one chance to build a relationship from the first encounter. You need to connect with other people for the conversation to continue. The below 10 strategies can work in your favor and help you to build relationships:

1. Smile – Shows that you are approachable and creates a comfortable environment
2. Show interest – Ask good questions and show that you truly care about what other people are saying
3. Ask how you can help – Offer to help after you learn more about other peoples’ needs
4. Don’t interrupt – Let people talk about themselves before you jump into the conversation
5. Make introductions – Make a point to introduce people to others in the room who you feel would connect and benefit from one another
6. Don’t bring up controversial topics – Avoid talking about topics such as politics and religion that make you choose sides
7. Find similarities – Try to find similarities during your conversation, which will help you to connect on another level
8. Share personal information – Sustainable relationships are built on both a business and personal level so let people know more about who you are
9. Be positive – No one likes to be around a negative person so stay upbeat and don’t air your complaints
10. Have fun – While it is important to take relationship building serious, have fun meeting and connecting with people because you will meet some very interesting individuals

What other ways can you get people to like you?

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Be Nice and People Will Follow

Do you like to be with people who are not pleasant to be around? Most likely not. Make an effort to be nice to others at all times. Of course, you need to be genuine so don’t fake being nice if that is not your personality. However, if you are generally not a nice person, then you will have a very difficult time building relationships.

Also, if you have an issue with someone, then don’t air it out publicly. You don’t want to make people uncomfortable. Take the time to talk privately with this person. Again, try to be nice in your interaction.

If word gets out that you are not a nice person, then it could be damaging to your reputation. You may never be able to recover. People want to be around others who treat them with respect. As long as you do this, you will be able to build a loyal and trusted network of friends and colleagues.

Your brand is very important so do whatever you can to have a positive one. Positive brands attract people and open up opportunities. Put yourself in the best position to meet new people and build quality relationships.

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Facebook Has 250 Million Users and Climbing

According to Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, the site has 250 million users. In fact, Facebook added 50 million in about three months. Clearly, Facebook is one of the fastest growing social networks out there. What is amazing is that it doesn't seem to be slowing down.

In comparison, Twitter did twice as well as Facebook last month attracting unique visitors. However, Twitter still has less than 20% of Facebook's hits. Twitter is a very different tool than Facebook so the site shouldn't have to worry about anything.  At the same time, it is interesting to see how fast Twitter is growing. It will be fun to see what is the next popular social networking tool.

To read more about Facebook's growth, go to Facebook Claims 250 Million Users.

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Seven Ways to Ruin a Relationship

It is amazing to me how some people act towards others. Because of these actions, relationships are ruined and may never be resored. Below are seven ways that one can ruin a relationship as it relates to networking:

1. Always a taker, never a giver – Happens when you constantly ask people for help and never help in return

2. Rude and uncaring – Happens when you don’t respect others both in person and in private

3. Speak badly about others – Happens when you constantly speak badly about others behind their backs

4. Negative energy – Happens when you are always complaining about something, therefore, you are unpleasant to be around

5. Treat referrals with disrespect – Happens when you mistreat referrals from others in your network

6. Embarrass others – Happens when you publicly embarrass and humiliate others

7. Dishonesty – Happens when you are caught lying or cheating

What other ways can you ruin a relationship?

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Book Review: Luck by Design by Richard Goldman

Luck by Design: Certain Success in an Uncertain World was written by Richard Goldman, who after 25 years, retired as an executive from Men’s Warehouse. Richard started on the sales floor with only one location in Houston. By the time he left in 2002, the company had 680 affiliated stores across the U.S. and Canada and annual sales over $1.27B.

Richard is recognized as the marketing expert behind the success of Men’s Wearhouse. Along the way, Richard has been very active in educating others in business as well as volunteering for several notable causes. Luck by Design: Certain Success in an Uncertain World is Richard’s story about how he actively created his success in business and life after growing up in a small mining town.

The book is broken up into the following chapters:

Chapter 1: It’s In Your Hands
Chapter 2: Life is Misadvertised
Chapter 3: Everything Counts
Chapter 4: We’re All Playing for the Same Thing: Time
Chapter 5: You Are Going to Have to Work
Chapter 6: Manage Yourself First; Then Manage Others
Chapter 7: All Outer Problems Have Inner Solutions
Chapter 8: Life Is a Continuum of Beginnings, Middles, and Ends
Chapter 9: Designing Your Luck; Finding Your Place

Within each section, the author dives into real world examples and shares what he has learned along his journey of creating success for himself, Men’s Wearhouse, and others around him.

Luck by Design: Certain Success in an Uncertain World is an enjoyable and practical read because you not only learn about some of the success of Men's Wearhouse and one of its executives, but also how to chart your own future of success.

It is not every day that you get to learn first-hand from a successful executive. If you want to take advantage of Richard’s experience and advice, then this book is worth reading.

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