This works in Internet Explorer and Firefox.

However, there are alot of people running around with Microsoft Office 10, and there is a good chance that one of them will send you a Word Document or Excel spreadsheet without even considering the issue of compatiblity.

Well, you may be surprised that Microsoft released something called the ‘Microsoft Office Compatabiltiy Pack’.  Find it using your search engine and make sure you are downloading from a proper microsoft site.

This will now give you a conversion tool to allow your older version of Office to read the newer format. And it cost you no more that the few minutes to read this and downlaod the software. – Result.

WorktheRoom is my philosophy for better business networking. It is the strategy that drives my business and I share this with my contacts to drive their business too. The WorktheRoom structure allows me to follow a simple roadmap, but it all falls apart when you consider the 40 second slot. You see, within the rest of your networking, you are talking mostly one to one. When conversing with groups it is mostly during the rapport phase. But the 40 second slot is the one blatant plug or sales pitch which can go against everything. The biggest challenge being you are presenting to a large mostly uninterested group (who are devouring their breakfasts and thinking about when they will say in their own slot)

Look around the room and you will find

• People I have never met before
• People I have only met at this location
• People I have met a other locations
• People I have shared a chat with
• People I have shares a one-2-one with
• People I that I have regular contact with
• People I have done business with.
• What about any competitor in the room?

In fact people at every stage of the building a relationship process. Yet you have just one message that you can deliver to them. So you must decide;

• Who will you target from this group today?
• What results or actions do you want?
• What will the ‘others, you do not target’ think?
• Why will they remember you against the person next to you?

Maybe you are looking for the one-2-one. Which is the implied reason for the pitching in the first please. So you will need to tell me who you want to meet. However, I need to know what is in it for me, so what will we talk about and what will I get out of this. Can you offer me something that I can only get from speaking with you?

You may be looking for referrals, in which case you need to tell me what type of referrals and remind me why I should make the effort to help you. The best way to do this is to give an example of a previous referral. That demonstrates your skill in a real example, proves you have already been referred before and gives that warm feeling that there is little risk in putting your name forward.

Don’t miss any low hanging fruit. It can happen that there is somebody in the room who needs your service today. So, don’t make your offering too vague, make it clear what you do. I have often found people come up to me to explain why they will not be purchasing from me today. This is fantastic news, because I NEVER asked them to buy anything from me. They are actually saying, John, please solve this issue so I CAN buy from you! – This also reminds me of that saying ‘You never get a second chace to make a first impression’

For most of us it will take numerous meetings and 40 second slots for many people to accept us and look at our offerings. This is where the majority of your audience will reside. The greater part of your target market will not know they need, or can benefit from your goods and services until you are able to tell them. So, in the meantime you need to make yourself the Guru in your field. You want people to approach you when they need your help, or they see a need with which you are associated. Give hints, ideas, or challenges from your industry, and make it easy for them to follow you up.

Most people should vary what they say. Look at the audience and consider how many of the people heard what you said last time. Will telling them the same thing again re-enforce or push them away. Of course you can give the same message, but do so in a different way, include a different example, or lead in.

If you have the confidence to leave out the punch line, then you are not only brave, but you will have lots of fun. Tell a story, give a problem and explain the situation, but leave off the punch line or solution. Those interested will soon come to you. However, I do not suggest you do this every time as it can be annoying after a while. For those that connect it does create the need to be spoken to.

My last thought on this post could possibly undo all I have already said. You are going to attend many meetings over the year, and have many 40 second slots in front of the same people many times, even if they do not all hear every one. So, why not look at your 40 second pitch as one in a series. This opens up whole new opportunities for you to bring a bigger message to your audience over time.

So go away and plan your campaigns, I look forward to hearing about them!

My smart way to combat this is to put a picture on my business card. So, at least everybody else will find it easy to remember me!  Maybe they will follow the lead and soon I can have photos of all my contacts on the laptop to remind me what they look like.

Ok, so you need a photo. Well that has to be easy because cameras are everywhere and we all have them including in our phones etc.  I can put my digital camera on delayed shot and run of loads till I have the right ‘face’ or use the web cam.  It does not matter if the lighting on the photo is a little off, because clever software like Photoshop allows you to edit, crop and change the brightness/contrast until you have what you need. No, No, No, NO NO NO.

Please let us start again. This photo will be for people to recognise you, and if you follow my lead it will soon be on your business card, your email signature, your Facebook, LinkedIn and website profiles. So why not have a good photo taken in the first place – with proper lighting. That requires no ‘touching’ except a few re-size operations. Have the photo taken with the assistance of a professional portrait photographer. Let them concentrate on taking the photo – you on assuming the appropriate pose. You may want to really make good use of the session and take a couple of jackets. Do you want one with or without a tie? Just the head shot is great for small profile photos, but you may want a three quarter length sitting or standing pose too. So, just like a fashion model, turn up with a few things to wear.  They will run off 40-50 or more photos till you have the right look. I suggest you take them away and ask a few people’s views before you settle on ‘the one’ – Don’t forget to take note of the photographer’s recommendations too.

My last tip is that you may want to ‘practice a few expressions before you go’, because what ‘feels’ like a broad smile, may not look the same when checked in the mirror. (Maybe I should have been vainer during my formative years?)

Now, with a much better photo to work with, you can resize your picture to create all those different versions and be proud.

I have split my business propositions into a number of micro sites, so each can concentrate on its own specific needs and market. You may receive an email from any of my ‘companies’. But then I get an email from inportnantlookingperson@gmail.com!

Now you may not be proud of your company web site, especially when you think I am going to point out all its failings. However, I am much more concerned if you do not use a decent email address. Why, well these are my top reasons, see what you think.

• What sort of fly-by-night person are you not to invest in a proper email address.
• Which ‘student’ put together your web site and did not have the knowledge to set up your email accounts.
• Do you realise that Gmail, BTInternet and Yahoo have no decent guarantees for their service. They may loose all your emails and never really apologise.
• The big Internet companies will use anti-spam to clear out unwanted emails, to stop their systems being flooded. It is only a consequence that they will do it for you. However, you will discover that some legitimate email will fail too.
• Don’t expect too much back service to help you setup and make best use of your email.
• These mass email companies are often used by spammers, and individual servers are frequently blacklisted. So you will find the odd email never arrives.
• Trying to prove you are not spam without the option of sender protection measures on such services is pretty impossible.

So what can you do with a proper email address on your own domain?

• Use multiple addresses, like sales@, info@. Give forms on your server and online orders their own separate email addresses.
• Advertise a different email address on your web site for public use, and keep a personal email for your own messages. You can ‘see’ where people found you.
• Use SPF and Domain Keys, to stop spammers using your domain name to send spam.
• With a better reputation for your domain name you can use html and other quality email layouts without being trapped as spam.
• You can have an accounts department, and admin even though they may be the same person.
• Emails with your domain name will be more quickly identified with your company and your web site.
• If you change your internet provider, are you concerned you will loose your @btinternet email.
• You own the domain, your have the right to that email, and only you can close the account.
• If you wish to make use of Microsoft Exchange Email, Web Mail, Email to your blackberry or Iphone. You are not tied to any one email provider. You can always move your ‘email domain’ to another provider who can deliver such services.

It is all about seeing and being seen, to keep up the contact so you are in mind when people are looking at your services. However, do we sometime think we are becoming a slave to networking without knowing where we are going?

Well, my marketing friends will all say that nothing is really worth the effort without a measurement. The principle is simple. An Action works fails or makes little impact. Unless you know which outcome it produces, how do you know whether you should continue it?

If the action works, then we probably want to do this more. If it fails we should stop and maybe try a little refinement if we can not measure either.

Now, this article was going to be on a slightly different subject, however, as I started writing it, I found myself going in another direction. Let’s face it; we all do this all the time. Good intentions put us on one track and circumstance pushes us another way. What a cool way to prove my point.

So, before we start on a process we need to be able to give ourselves a clear action with a clear expected goal. We have to take practical steps to stay ‘on message’ or the results will be useless.  We then need to ensure that we can measure the number of actions and the number of times the goal is achieved, then at the end of the week we can tot up the results and make plans for the next week.

Good networking

Today I met with a handsome and intelligent young man. I knew he was an expert in his field and that I had no current need of his services.

He knew this as well, yet was happy to chat with me for a couple of hours or more. Why? – Simply because

• We were happy to bounce some ideas between us, which will certainly lead to some homework on my part. You could say that we had done the rapport and were prepared to be candid and open.
• We both wanted to know more about the other’s business because you really can not learn enough in a 10 minute slot.
• We both saw that there was good potential to sell into each others contact lists. So we look past the personality and into the contact list. What 4N describes as selling through the room, not into it. The principle that is as the core of BNI.

And so I went home with a big smile of satisfaction.

The name of this person, well I am not going to release that here, but he will be plugged elsewhere quite soon.

So, the take away nugget?
To never underestimate a contact. – Everyone has a value to you. It just may not be so obvious or so immediate.

Good networking

Take two, because this is the second meeting this year, following the very successful event earlier this year.

There are some 1300 business expected and up to 200 business stands will be filling the hall just off J24, Bridgewater. To increase the opportunities for business, there are four speed networking sessions during the day. So there will be plenty of chances to WorkTheRoom.

For those wanting to learn more, there are 12 seminars across two seminar rooms.

This event is a good example of networking groups working together with participation from BNI, Business Link, GWE Business West, Business Network SW, NRG networks, Business Scene, FSB, BSN, 4Networking, the business league, TBX1 and local chambers of commerce.

If you are going to the event and wish to meet up with me, then drop me an email and we can arrange a time.