You Gotta Connect!

In order to grow your business, there is one simple fact. You have to connect with people. No matter what you are selling, 100 times out of 100, you are ultimately selling to another person.@HeatherPoduska (Tweet this) And in order to sell to a lot of people you have to get in front of a lot of people. Which means whether you are speaking to a group or attending a networking event, you’ve got to get your people chops in order.

It’s not always easy or comfortable to engage with strangers, but you have to learn how to do it. All business is built on relationships and the better relationship you have with your audience, the easier it will be to sell your services. This does not mean, of course, to go out with the intent of buttering up prospects for the sole person of selling to them. However, it does mean you should be trying to establish genuine connections with those you meet on the journey of entrepreneurship.

Not only does it make good business sense to establish positive relationships, [Read more…]

How To Keep Your Brand Sizzling This Summer

For many entrepreneurs, summer can be a slow time. Many of our clients and potential customers travel during the warmer months which makes it harder to generate business. It’s easy to get discouraged when the numbers aren’t coming in, but there are some things you can do to keep your brand sizzling this summer. 

Yes, it’s true, a lot of traditional networking opportunities vanish in the warmer months. Many clubs and organizations shut down completely, but that doesn’t’ mean there are no opportunities to make connections. You just have to go where other people normally go in the summer. Now I’m not about to encourage you to pull up your beach blanket and try to hard sell your neighbor, however if you are warm and authentic in your approach, you can expand your brand foot print in some unexpected ways. 

Here are a few tips to maximize your networking potential this summer: [Read more…]