Networking

Conference Value Origin

Conference Value Origin

Garth Beyer

Let’s be forward… often marketing conferences, PR summits, and social media workshops rarely talk about anything you don’t already know. They are more of a review. Are you answering the question of who your audience is? Are you using Instagram the right way? Are you measuring, measuring, measuring?

Check. Check. Check.

At a marketing summit this morning, seated near the back, I could see nearly everyone’s attention wavering. People were surfing the web, emailing or Pinning things instead of engaging with the speaker. The speaker was providing solid, factual, and feasibly insightful information, but none of it was new or risky.

After the session was over I asked a couple of others what they got from the session. They had to rack their brains. (One didn’t come up with anything, but she did note it was a nice review.) Then I was reminded…

We create the value we walk away with from a conference, summit or workshop.

After each session I talked with folk there and took ideas to the edge of reality with them. The people around me became the real thought leaders of the conference, taking marketing ideas to a new level. (All the while making the time and experience worth it for both of us!)

Give this a try next time you’re at a conference that you find yourself not learning anything new. Talk to those around you. They’re feeling the same way, and they’re ready to make the value they went there to receive.

All it takes is, “Do you mind if I interrupt? What do you think about Instagram?”

 

Stay Positive & As It Is With Life, You Get Out What You Put In

How To Get Clients, Customers, And New Consumers

Garth Beyer

New Client Call

What’s the first question I get asked when I tell people I freelance as a PR strategist?

“How do you get your clients?”

Outreach, new customers, more clients is so important to any businesses. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling tennis ball recycling pods or leading an architectural organization or selling cupcakes, you need an income from your actions. Where’s that money come from? People. And where do those people come from? That’s the question I’m answering.

I started out doing freelance work for friends and family. If you can’t sell to your friends then you’re either selling something that’s not remarkable or you’re selling something that you’re not passionate about. Start here because it’s the perfect indicator of whether you should continue your endeavor or not.

No one wants to do work they don’t want to do. You want to do work that isn’t really work, and for that you’ve got to be doing something you’re passionate about. I decided to only work with businesses that I am passionate about. I’ll consult with any business, but the actual product, the creation end of my work, I focus on people and businesses I believe in. Being picky works in your favor (and your clients!).

From there I meet new people, check out new businesses and get involved as much as I can with the community. I go to events that the information at flies over my head. Yesterday I was at an event talking about Microsoft360 and using cloud data. The only thing I understood from the 30 minute session was that Microsoft acquired Skype, but while I was there I met a couple of folk who I could see myself working with.

Once you have a comfortable number of clients, customers and new consumers, now it’s on you to over promise and over deliver. The best way to get more clients is to treat the ones you have now. The best way to lose clients is to be off working to find new ones.

That’s it. Easy to understand. Difficult to execute. So the work of remarkable goes.

 

Stay Positive & Anything Different Work For You?

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Show Up Early, Stay Late

Show Up Early, Stay Late

Garth Beyer

Pick Yourself event

When it comes to work, simply show up on time, do the important work first and end up leaving early.

When it comes to meetings, events, gatherings, seminars, networking parties, ceremonies, workshops, conventions, conferences, and powwows, show up early and stay late.

By showing up early, you have a hand at setting the agenda or at least setting up the room (perhaps so you get to sit by those who have the most influence?), you get to meet the organizer(s) (they are like the secretary, as important to have like you as the boss), and you get more time to make friends with others who show up early (making friends is a reason you’re there, right?).

By staying late, you get to connect with others who attended and are hoping to connect too (you’re not chasing connections), you typically get to meet the keynote speaker or the key influencer if you stick around (you’ll learn what they didn’t get to tell you during their time in the spotlight), and you’ll hear the down and dirty of what people really think (both helping you know who to avoid and how to make things go smooth if you ever organize an event yourself).

The things you learn, see and hear before and after an event is sometimes more fruitful than the event itself.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Take My Word For It. Go Learn, See, And Hear For Yourself

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The Forgotten Factor Of Networking

Garth Beyer

Networking has officially become a buzzword. Not recently, of course. It is, however, getting more criticism. Some folk are refusing to use the term, thinking of networking as an act, a play to be sure you can get what you want from someone at a later time. Some believe networking is full of fake smiles and insincere it was great meeting yous.

It’s hard to argue about it. Networking really is a game of give and take, except, in networking’s defense, if everyone agrees to it, then is it wrong. (Don’t blow that statement out of proportion.) No one goes into networking events unwilling to give and no one goes into them unwilling to take. It’s not a game of cat and mouse, it’s a game of human interaction.

I do have one bone to pick about networking events. More and more I’m seeing those who attend them not enjoying themselves. They talk to those who they think they should talk to. They will stand talking with one person who they know they don’t connect with. They’ll waste an evening searching for a possible future exchange they can make with someone when it’s not there.

I said everyone at networking events are there to give and take, but each has its limits. Not everyone there will be able to help you, yet we think they will.

It’s not hard to pause in conversation with someone who you’re truly not enjoying conversing with to say, “Excuse me, there is another person I wanted to connect with tonight. If you would like to chat again, here’s my card.” And move on.

Networking, sure, is about putting your talents out there for others and looking for others’ talents you can use, but it’s also for enjoying yourself, making friends, not partners.

Friendship is an exchange too. More valuable, I would be willing to argue, than the skills of someone you meet at the event.

 

Stay Positive & Enjoy Yourself, Always

Haaaaaave You Met

Garth Beyer

Here’s a quick networking strategy. I’ve used this strategy dozens of times at events where I know very few people. Always successfully, I might add.

step 1: Find the person running the show. (No need for elaboration, you should know who it is.)

step 2: Ask the person to introduce you to someone. If she’s in a conversation already, interrupt or awkwardly stand next to her until you get her attention.

People running the show have short-term attention spans, they’ll be ready to meet your needs within a minute.

step 3: If the person running the show is good, she will ask you what you’re interested in and then connect you with someone she knows can spark a conversation with you.

Regardless if she is good or not, she’ll still do part two and introduce you to someone.

step 4: Take part in the scariest thing in the world: small talk.

It’s as simple and as daunting as that.

 
Stay Positive & Networking Is Not Standing By People You Already Know For Two Hours

 

Grow A Pair

Garth Beyer

I feel like I’m somewhat qualified, if not required to finally say that.

In the past, I thought telling someone to grow a pair was ignorant, rude and insensitive. Now, though, I wish someone would have told me earlier on. This realization came after I took a phone call earlier today.

An acquaintance of mine sent me a message on Twitter asking if I could spare a few minutes to talk to him about connecting with professionals. He’s in NYC this weekend and set up meetings with an NBC correspondent and a couple of other journalists. (Most need to be told to grow a pair and go make these connections, alas, this friend did not. If you are someone who needs to be told to grow a pair and go schedule meetings with your idols, then be prepared to get told to grow a second time. Read on.)

Without questioning further, I told him I had time this afternoon. He called. He called because he grew a pair and realized that he could use all the help he could get, he realized that while experience is the best teacher, you can still be prepared for the lessons.

He explained his worries, his largest concern being that he would make the NBC correspondent feel as though she wasted her time. A real, natural human concern.

I talked him through it, gave him the rundown of what to expect, ideas for what to ask and the single best way to make her not feel as though he wasted her time. (If you want to know, call or email me.)

Once I hung up, a particular AC/DC song began playing in my head. This acquaintance, this, now friend, has the biggest of them all.

1. Grow a pair and meet with your idols and other professionals in your field of interest. Face to face.

2. Grow a pair and send an email, direct a tweet, make the call to those that can help you get the most out of that experience.

3. Remember that these people you are connecting with didn’t get to where they are now by never growing a pair.

 

Stay Positive & Go Ahead, You Know What To Do

Where’s The Party At

Garth Beyer

Holiday networking parties are fun. Any networking event is, actually.

However, the problem I see at most networking events is that everyone goes there to network with each other and forget about everyone else who is at the same venue but not there for the networking.

I love networking events because everyone at the venue who isn’t there for the event is curious about the event. “Why is everyone in suits?” It’s a great moment to sell yourself, build your tribe and establish trust with someone who will actually purchase what you have to offer. (It’s pretty hard to sell your consulting time to people who are also public relations specialists.)

This is why I divvy up my time at events.

1/2 time: to socialize and get your face recognized with those in your entrepreneurial environment and who are there for the same reason as you.

1/2 time: to socialize and get your name remembered by those you can actually help and who didn’t know about you previously.

You know where the party is. Networking events give you the opportunity to bring the party to other people who are at the venue for different reasons.

 

Stay Positive & You Gotta Fight For Your Right