How to Manage and Maximize Your Business Relationships - Darnyelle A. Jervey

When busy entrepreneurs network without a system, they lose key prospects and strategic partners in the shuffle. Although all would agree that networking is essential to growing a small business; most would equally agree that following up can present a serious nightmare for those who are not prepared for the influx of contacts that can meet over the course of one week.

As a business coach who teaches one of the essential marketing streams for your business is networking, I have helped my clients to develop a systematic approach to managing new contacts so that they can maximize their relationships and keep Top Of Mind Awareness (TOMA)

Here are my tips and an assignment to help you do the same:

1. When you are meeting a prospect for the first time, be sure that when you’ve walked away from them to make notes on their business card. Doing so will help you later as you sift through all the cards you collected to determine who are ideal client prospects or potential strategic partners for your business.

2. Have stationary made with your company logo, tagline and contact information so it becomes effortless for you to send a quick hand written note to your prospect or new connection.

3. Make sure you make the first contact within 48 hours. This contact should be with a personal touch – meaning refrain from sending an email. Most people’s inbox is already overflowing with requests that seldom get reviewed. Your goal should be to stand out from the crowd and using a handwritten note, personal phone call (even if they don’t answer, leave a voice mail) or use video messaging to get and keep their attention while extending your reach in the TOMA category in their minds.

4. Within 2 weeks, you should be in touch with a hot connection again, this time to deepen that initial contact – with coffee, lunch, a conference call, or other type of meeting….you should be prepared, having done your due diligence. You should have fully researched their company and identified ways that you can help them based on your product and/or service as well as how they can help you (if a strategic partnership is the goal).

5. Your next touch point and each subsequent touch point should occur within 2 months. Perhaps you are just touching base with them via telephone or you send them an article that reminded them of a previous conversation the two of you entertained together. The point is, you want to remain on their radar so as soon as they develop the problem that you solve – or someone they know does, you are the only solution that comes to mind.

Your assignment:

Look through the business cards you collected last week and sort them in three categories:

1. Ideal prospect
2. Strategic partner
3. Not a good contact for me or anyone I know

Once sorted, prepare your follow up strategy by asking yourself the following questions:

1. How is this a good contact for me?
2. What do I have to offer this contact?
3. What does this contact have to offer me?
4. What follow up strategy will I use to stay connected to them?
5. How will I stand out from the crowd in my interactions with them?

Repeat until you have a full blown plan for each new contact for that week and do the same thing each week going forward.

©2011 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for turning your passion into profit. For more information and a FREE audio download "How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients" visit http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com.

Don't Talk; Just Listen What Your Incredible Factor IS Saying to Your Ideal Clients- Darnyelle A. Jervey

Don't Talk, Just Listen: What Your Incredible Factor IS Saying to Your Ideal Clients

Sounds weird, I know the thought that I, a business coach, would tell you NOT to talk about what your business offers to your prospects, right. Well, that’s not entirely what I’m saying. What I am saying is that many of your service based businesses are suffering because you’re saying way too much and it appears disingenuous. I mean they (your IDEAL prospects) are looking at you like you’ve got three heads because you aren’t listening to what they need. Instead, you’re going on and on about what you do and how you do it and who you’ve done it for. ENOUGH. Stop. Do not pass go; do not collect $200. Instead sit down and let me tell you how to have an effective interaction with a prospective client.

1. Smile, shake their hand firmly. DO NOT hand them your business card. Instead, tell them your name and what you do in one sentence and turn the conversation back to them.
2. Ask them what the biggest challenge they are facing right now in their life or business? This distinction depends on if what you offer affects life OR business. Or, direct the question to the area in which you work. Clearly if you are a business coach and they have a business, you’d pose the question specifically to what you do so that the chance that you are the solution to their problem actually enters into the conversation. If you are an event planner, you might ask, “When you think about planning an event for personal or business needs, what is your biggest challenge in getting it all done?” Note: The problem they have may not be one you can solve but you may know someone that can help them. If you can’t solve it, don’t try to act like you can for the sake of gaining a new client – STAY in YOUR LANE!
3. Listen to their challenge and ask subsequent questions to determine what if anything they have been able to do to alleviate the challenge?
4. Ask them what do you want to experience instead? Listen, they are speaking from their head right now. Paying close attention will cue you on what it means to them on a deeper level before you ask the next question.
5. What would it mean if you were able to resolve this challenge, how would that change your life or business?
6. As you listen, offer verbal and physical cues that you are paying attention. Remember, people will forget what you said and did but they will never forget how you made them feel – Dr. Maya Angelou. You may need to pull them into a quiet corner at the event.
7. Reassure them if you are the solution to their problem. Let them know that you can assist them and you’d love to set up an opportunity to learn more about them in the near future. NOW HAND THEN YOUR BUSINESS CARD; get theirs and set up a date and time, preferably in the next 48 hours to talk at least to schedule your meeting or consultation.

When you follow the suggestions I lay out for you, your Incredible Factor is saying that you care; that you recognize the problems and pain points of people and you have created effective solutions to help them resolve their problems. Your Incredible Factor will be credited with such thoughts and feelings as considerate, compassionate, interested, concerned, and exceptional – especially if you pretended as if no one else was in the room as you talked. If you follow up and through after such a powerful interaction at that meeting or networking event, and you’ve got irresistible offers available for them to choose to work with you, you will welcome a new client. Remember a good business owner is a problem solver for their ideal clients. By listening and asking poignant directed questions, you can assure your prospect that you are the ONLY solution to their problem.

In the event that you do not do as I suggest, your Incredible Factor won’t be so Incredible. In fact, you will appear arrogant and unconcerned about others. Remember the famous Zig Ziglar quote, “help enough people get what they want and you will get what you want.”

Trust me, it’s worth it to just listen, that could be the difference between welcoming a new client or going back to the drawing board.


©2010 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises, LLC and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System ® a proven step by step program for turning your passion into profit. For more information and a FREE audio CD "How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients" visit http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com.