Talk To Lots Of People Every Day

Of all the activities that can make or break any business owner, the willingness to talk to lots of people is the one I see as most critical.

It stands to reason that if you sit behind your desk waiting for the phone to ring, it won’t.

But the willingness to be proactive… to reach out to as many people as you can… is the one way – perhaps the only way – that good things happen (regardless of the state of the economy).

The key is, to talk to lots of people every day. Attend networking events. Use social media to reconnect with old friends and business acquaintances. Never eat lunch alone.

Tell friends, neighbors, church members, store owners, about your business… and what you’re doing to help people. This doesn’t mean that you have to sell to them. To the contrary, you just need to talk to them.

And, above all, when you’re out there talking to lots of people, remember that talking should be only 20% of your conversation… and listening should be 80%... because the more you listen, the more you learn.

Perhaps the headline of this posting should be "Listen To Lots Of People Every Day."

Late For Dinner

When you arrive late for dinner, you may miss out. The good stuff could be gone and you’re left with only soggy green beans and red Jello.

Being a relatively latecomer to social media such as LinkedIn, I thought I’d be missing out.

Through the past several weeks, however, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter when you arrive… just so you do arrive. There are no dates to indicate when you joined and no counter to track how long you’ve been a member. Everyone at all times is on an equal playing field.

Of course, some people use social media better than others. But that really has nothing to do with how long you’ve been using it. Some have more contacts than others. That, too, I'm finding, is irrelevant in making it work for you.

And, as in the case of many departments of our lives, practice makes perfect. So, once a skeptic, I am now a believer!

Remind Me To Remind You!

My friend Gary Anzalone invited me to be the “guest speaker” at his mastermind group last Friday. As you might expect from a group that has been meeting monthly for about three years, the eight members of the group know each other extremely well.

Suffice it to say these serious-about-winning business owners know it all. They’ve discussed just about everything from marketing and sales pipelines to Michael Gerber, Sun Tzu, goal setting, and accountability.

I talked for about an hour and covered three major topics that I’m sure they’ve heard before. Feeling a little badly that I couldn’t bring anything really new to the table, I apologized to Gary.

He reminded me that everyone in business already knows everything and has "heard it all"… but needs to be reminded constantly. If they’re not reminded... and reminded often... they drift off course.

Gary said he was grateful that I touched on things that brought the entire group back to basics regarding accountability… reminding them why they’re in business… and balancing surviving today’s economy with planning for tomorrow.

Gary nailed it. We do know what we need to do. But we are often distracted by the crisis du jour. And by the time we’ve lined up several days or weeks of crises du jour, not only are we off course, but we have forgotten what the main course is.

So remind yourself to remind yourself to focus on the basics. Or remind me to remind you.

Social Media Pays Off

Curious to know if all the time I’ve been spending learning LinkedIn, Facebook, and Plaxo was paying off, I Googled “Gil Effron.” Much to my surprise, the very first listing was my recently updated profile on LinkedIn -- my fully-updated profile that incorporates all the tricks I’ve been learning thanks to Hilary Topper and LinkedIn expert Jan Wallen.

What was even more surprising as I clicked through the listings were how many references there were to “Gil Effron.” I counted seven pages of solid hits followed by a thinning out over the next several pages… then I stopped. By comparison, when I did this exercise a couple of years ago, there were only six hits.

But I learned several things through this little exercise. First, nothing… absolutely nothing… is private. Anyone in the world can find me… and find out about me. Fortunately, I don’t have too much to hide. (Or do I?)

Second, other people have referenced me or acknowledged me… and my name and activities appear along with theirs. That’s pretty cool.

Third, whatever is out there doesn’t go away. It’s there forever. For example, there were frequent references to my book Direct Mail Success. I found this a little embarrassing. The book was written in 2000. The content is desperately out of date… and the book is out of print (except for 200 copies I have tucked away for a rainy day).

I wasn’t so embarrassed that the book is still there. It was right on target when I wrote it. But I was embarrassed by the fact that I haven’t written another since. So guess what I’ve just added to my to-do list? No problem! I needed something else to do.

Perhaps writing a new book will push the old one to the back and I won’t be embarrassed anymore.

St. Patrick's Day Parade, NYC

It was a great day for a parade and... drats... I missed it. It wasn't as though I was standing on the wrong street corner. I was chained to my desk getting ready for two days out and about.

Fortunately, during my lunch break I was able to catch about 15 minutes of the parade on television. Of course, it's never the same. But it looked like a nice day to find a sunny spot along 5th Avenue and watch the Irish celebrate their day.

Daylight savings time is here. This coming Friday is the first day of spring. For a former Floridian, I'm glad... because I'm telling you I can't wait another minute.

My promise to myself when (and if) spring ever arrives is to catch a few more parades... and take a day here or there to attend one of the many New York street festivals... or just to sit in Bryant Park during lunch and feel the warmth of the sun and watch the rest of New York emerge gently from hibernation... and parade around the park without their winter coats and without their winter hats and without their winter gloves.

Go green!

I'm Now "The Expert"

Everytime I turn around, someone is talking about social media. So far, I've been happy with "unsocial media." But now it's time to change... to get with the times. Time for an old dog to learn new tricks.

So, for the past two weeks I've been digging in to social media. First LinkedIn and now Facebook. My rationale, after attending a program sponsored by Hilary Topper, is that I just have to jump in and work with it... get to understand how it works... what it does... and what makes it work.

LinkedIn is logical and orderly... and I relate to that. I can also see its relevance to people like me who are in business. Facebook is more of a challenge. I don't understand the logic. But I'm getting there. And I do have a few friends. It's a start.

Part of my digging in has been to invite people... to connect with others I know... in order to build my network.

By reaching out to "old friends," I'm now getting calls from these old friends asking ME to help them. I'm working through this trial and error. That's how I'm doing it, but they don't know that. Doesn't matter. Now, they see me as the expert and are asking me for help.

I feel like the student teacher trying to stay one lesson ahead of the students.

I'll be heading up to Norwalk, Connecticut and the University of Phoenix Campus next Thursday. Part of the activity is to attend another workshop on the subject... this one sponsored by Gotham City Networking.

My Take On What To Do During These Crazy Economic Times

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking with the member of the NYC chapter of the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD). My talk with them was based on a report that I created about 2 months ago entitled:

7 Critical Mistakes Business Owners Are Likely To Make In The Toughest Economic Turnaround Since 1929… and how to avoid them!

I get a lot of positive feedback about this report and I'm happy to share it with anyone who asks... as well as those who haven't yet asked.

You can obtain a copy of this report now. Click here and to download a PDF. Let me know if you find it helpful or inspiring in any way. The good people at SEGD found it helpful. It sparked a lot of conversation, questions, and sharing of ideas.