Made Moon Blog

Let’s start with a quick reminder:

Networking is NOT forcing yourself or your products on someone.

Networking IS getting to know people, their lives, and their needs.

Networking is NOT selling your products and services at every moment.

Networking IS being progress for the people you connect with.

Networking is nothing new. Most of our relationships began through networking and referrals. Heck, Paul McCartney met John Lennon through networking.

One of the steps in effective networking is to Open Face-to-Face Relationships. This involves creating and sticking to a networking strategy.

Here are seven tips to consider:

1. Proactively seek the right new contacts.

Develop your plan of action and get started without delay. Identify who you want to meet, where you are likely to meet them, and how you will follow up. Invest quality time thinking about the people who can best offer you the right information, contacts, and opportunities. Build relationships with these people by understanding what you have to offer them.

Start by asking yourself: Where are the best places to make face-to-face contact with them? Answering this question will help you decide which organizations you should belong to and which events you should attend. Important point: The organizations that are the best fit will change over time as your business grows and your career develops.

2. Go with realistic expectations.

You are (probably) not going to land a big account or forge an automatic strong link from a five-minute encounter. Networking takes patience! Networking takes persistence! Come to terms with the fact that it is probably going to take more than one meeting for folks to come to the conclusion that you are amazingly with -it and that you offer progress for their lives.

In fact, it has been proven that it takes most people six to eight progress-based impressions to remember and begin to trust a new person.

Keep firmly in your mind that networking may not provide immediate benefits. It may take years to see the results of your networking efforts, or you could open your e-mail in the morning and have a cool opportunity from someone you connected with the day before.

3. Start with people you know and trust.

Shy? Nervous? That’s understandable. Start with people you know and trust. Share your desire to be introduced to quality individuals who would be good for you to know. Get connected to the people your contacts know.

4. Vary your activities.

Grow your list of contacts each week. Start now and do not stop. If you’re planning to hit several networking events in a single day, make sure you take time out to recharge. Plan your schedule so that you have periods of solitude. Also… guard against scheduling a full day of networking activities if you plan to network at an evening event. You’re after quality, not quantity.

5. Successfully let go.

As you and your network grow, you will need to make some changes. Let go of organizations and associations you can no longer maintain properly, or that are no longer relevant. Without forgetting where you came from, allow your network to evolve with you.

6. Have a goal for each event.

Decide what you hope to gain before you go. Write it down. Then get there and work toward it. Commit to staying until you have met and connected with your predetermined number or selection of people. Think about it. Set a target and push yourself. This will keep you from walking aimlessly around the room.

7. Keep a log.

For a month, keep a log of everyone you meet.
Then classify and analyze them.
Which contacts are most valuable?
Where did you meet them?
Who are the takers and who are the givers?
Any time-wasters? Hey, your time is valuable too.

Crack the Networking CODE.

Be Progress (TM).

Recognized as a ‘Sales-and-networking guru’ by the Dallas Business Journal, Dean Lindsay is the founder of The Progress Agents LLC (http://www.ProgressAgents.com) - a seminar company dedicated to empowering progress in sales, service, and workplace performance.

Dean’s best selling book Cracking the Networking CODE: 4 Steps to Priceless Business Relationships has been endorsed by a who’s who of business leaders and performance experts including Ken Blanchard - author of The One Minute Manager, Brian Tracy and Frank Bracken, the President and COO of Haggar Clothing Co.

Jay Conrad Levinson - the author of Guerrilla Marketing, thought so much of Cracking the Networking CODE that he wrote the book’s foreword.

A cum laude graduate of the University of North Texas, Dean presently serves on the Executive Advisory Board for UNT’s Department of Marketing and Logistics. The Dallas Business Journal selected Mr. Lindsay as one of D-FW’s Rising Stars Under Forty in The Business World Today in their yearly Forty Under 40 list.

More info at: http://www.ProgressAgents.com or 1-877-479-5323

Every day, sunlight radiates prodigious amounts of ultraviolet (UV) lightthe culprit behind sunburn, photo-ageing, cataracts, cornea inflammations, conjunctiva, and, more frighteningly, skin cancer.

Staying under the shade just isn’t enough, seeing as UV rays can bounce off any surface like asphalt, water, and snow. Likewise, misconstruing a cloudy day as a safe time to go out could be deadly; UV rays can “peek” through haze or clouds.

Fair-skinned people should do well staying away from tanning beds and sunlamp. These are the most potent manmade sources of UV light.

In nature, UV rays are at their most damaging at midday, between 10 AM and 4 PM. Covering up against the sun could not be any more reiterated during these hours. One should not go out without slathering on sunscreen/sunblock with a high sun protective factor, a minimum of SPF 15, and with protection against both UVA and UVB light.

In much the same way, donning long-sleeved shirts, long pants and other clothing reduces exposure. Sunglasses, the type that wrap around, are recommended. For hats, those with wide brims offer the best protection, especially for balding men.

Any one of these sun protection measures shouldn’t be taken singly. It helps to get optimal sun protection as possible, by putting into action these measures at the same time.

While in the shade, one may as well look for suspicious-looking moles. Changes in shape, size, and color are red flags. One should especially check for bleeding or inflamed moles. Those could be ominous signs too.

Melanomas don’t necessarily emerge always from moles. Cancerous spots have been known, usually arising at the back, legs, calves, or trunk. Even body parts rarely exposed to the sun should be monitored too, like the feet, hands, armpits, etc.

Dr. Harold Farber is a board certified dermatologist and frequent lecturer of skin cancer prevention and treatment. Harold Farber has been a guest lecturer for the topic “Treatment Options for Body Dermatoses.” Dr Harold Farber has a practice in Pennsylvania.

The world of business startups is rife with option. You can buy a franchise or set up your own business from scratch. Both have benefits and downfalls.

The world is rife with franchise opportunities. Many companies you use are probably franchises, from restaurants to cleaning services. A key benefit in buying into a franchise is that you essentially get a readymade business. When you buy into a franchise, many aspects of the business including marketing are taken care of off. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

The two main downsides of buying a franchise however are that There is little room for creativity on your part, and of course the initial outlay. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or even to sell one.

Building your very own company from the bottom up however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. However, your model may not be tried and tested and you will likely have to develop your own support network from the ground up along with your business.

the reality is, the rational for choosing whether to buy a franchise or start a business from scratch are dependent on what your want to get out of the enterprise. There is no one size fits all advise.