What Circles do you belong to in your personal and professional life?
Having a number of connections you can count on for whatever you may require or when asked for something you cannot offer, your Circles are there for you.
Building these trusting relationships are valuable and set you apart from others that may not have these individuals to reach out to.
A recent example was a peer inquiring about a Travel Agent. The request was along the line of "Well you know a lot of people what Travel Agent do you recommend?"
Some may think this is not valuable. If you stop to think about it, when you are known to be a connector and can help anyone with any situation by making a connection, isn't that what relationships are all about?
What Circle stories do you have to share?
Connecting professionals to share stories of making new business relationships and creating opportunities.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Are you really on Vacation?
When you are on vacation, are you really on vacation?
How close are you to the office with your Smartphone, Tablet and Notebook? There are so many ways to stay in touch with e-mail, texting, cell phones.....does one ever turn it off?
I like to glance all my e-mails/texts/voicemails first thing in the morning and mid-day. I respond or forward the ones requiring an answer before the vacation is over.
With Social Media added to the mix, there are schedules set-up prior to vacation so information can be sent out while you are away. By the way, this blog is being compiled live on my first morning of vacation.
Here's to turning it off most of the time while on vacation!
How close are you to the office with your Smartphone, Tablet and Notebook? There are so many ways to stay in touch with e-mail, texting, cell phones.....does one ever turn it off?
I like to glance all my e-mails/texts/voicemails first thing in the morning and mid-day. I respond or forward the ones requiring an answer before the vacation is over.
With Social Media added to the mix, there are schedules set-up prior to vacation so information can be sent out while you are away. By the way, this blog is being compiled live on my first morning of vacation.
Here's to turning it off most of the time while on vacation!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Updating my Blogging Schedule
After blogging daily for 6 weeks I've been thinking of focusing on the blog once a week. Instead of daily snapshots of information the weekly blogs can focus on well thought out areas with more details.
What matters most is what you think about this?
I'd like your feedback on daily vs. weekly blogging. As AlphaKOR continues to grow, my focus will be on Thought Leadership.
Looking forward to your feedback.
Frank Abbruzzese, President
http://www.alphakor.com/
What matters most is what you think about this?
I'd like your feedback on daily vs. weekly blogging. As AlphaKOR continues to grow, my focus will be on Thought Leadership.
Looking forward to your feedback.
Frank Abbruzzese, President
http://www.alphakor.com/
Monday, November 14, 2011
Using Social Media to Network
How do you use Social Media to Network?
Whenever I meet someone interested in building a business relationship, one of the natural steps is to send an invitation to connect via LinkedIN.
Once this individual accepts the connection, the next step is to send an e-mail to say thanks and to request a meeting or phone call to continue the discussion of the initial meeting.
These couple of steps have created many new connections and opportunities.
Adding twitter followers and blogging to reach out to your connections becomes the next part of the social media process to network and communicate to your audience.
The questions you ask are: How often to communicate? What message to send?
All part of building your social media strategy - how are you building yours?
Whenever I meet someone interested in building a business relationship, one of the natural steps is to send an invitation to connect via LinkedIN.
Once this individual accepts the connection, the next step is to send an e-mail to say thanks and to request a meeting or phone call to continue the discussion of the initial meeting.
These couple of steps have created many new connections and opportunities.
Adding twitter followers and blogging to reach out to your connections becomes the next part of the social media process to network and communicate to your audience.
The questions you ask are: How often to communicate? What message to send?
All part of building your social media strategy - how are you building yours?
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Did you miss the biggest WindsorEssex Circle Event?
The Circle keeps growing and growing thanks to like-minded business people! We had over 50 in attendance at LaCucina last night.
It is always interesting to observe the room and see everyone participating in conversation. The amount of energy and discussions happening is inspiring as connections are made and opportunities are shared.
Meeting new people and listening to their stories is a fun part of the circle events. Meeting someone in the real world after connecting via LinkedIN makes for a good conversation starter.
This is the networking event you don't want to miss and we meet every month. Join via LinkedIn and everyone is welcome.
What experiences do you have with the Circle meetings?
It is always interesting to observe the room and see everyone participating in conversation. The amount of energy and discussions happening is inspiring as connections are made and opportunities are shared.
Meeting new people and listening to their stories is a fun part of the circle events. Meeting someone in the real world after connecting via LinkedIN makes for a good conversation starter.
This is the networking event you don't want to miss and we meet every month. Join via LinkedIn and everyone is welcome.
What experiences do you have with the Circle meetings?
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Three key components to Communication: Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up
Communication challenges seem to all fall in the same category: follow-up! Lack of communication via follow-up seems to be the number reason clienteles and prospects ask why they are not being taken care of.
We rely on e-mail and sometimes picking up the phone with a short message (or talking to a person live!) is the best decision you will make on communication.
Does anyone else use the phone to communicate?
When an e-mail gets long to explain your follow-up it's a sign to call instead.
Following up is one of those Sales 101 things to do and those who do it consistently are the leaders.
How do you follow-up and how often?
We rely on e-mail and sometimes picking up the phone with a short message (or talking to a person live!) is the best decision you will make on communication.
Does anyone else use the phone to communicate?
When an e-mail gets long to explain your follow-up it's a sign to call instead.
Following up is one of those Sales 101 things to do and those who do it consistently are the leaders.
How do you follow-up and how often?
Monday, November 7, 2011
Circle Events this Week
Just a reminder the Leamington Circle meets Tuesday, noon at Mettawas and the WindsorEssex Circle meets Wednesday at 5:00 pm at LaCucina.
Have you ever attended a networking event without a business card? How do you handle this? How professional is it not to have your business card with you?
Once I was caught without a business card and it was on a Sunday afternoon at my in-laws. A friend of the in-laws asked me for my card so he could forward it to his manager the following day. No card in my wallet, in the car and Carmela had none in her possession either!
The next morning I showed up the friend' business with a stack of cards and asked how many would he like? Yes his manager called and yes they became a client. Bring lots of business cards and have them on you all the time - you just never know where an opportunity will arise.
Have you ever attended a networking event without a business card? How do you handle this? How professional is it not to have your business card with you?
Once I was caught without a business card and it was on a Sunday afternoon at my in-laws. A friend of the in-laws asked me for my card so he could forward it to his manager the following day. No card in my wallet, in the car and Carmela had none in her possession either!
The next morning I showed up the friend' business with a stack of cards and asked how many would he like? Yes his manager called and yes they became a client. Bring lots of business cards and have them on you all the time - you just never know where an opportunity will arise.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Letting Someone else take the Lead
As a Leader it's easy to take move discussions forward and bring energy to the table. It's sometimes challenging to let someone else take the lead.
I'm spending more time observing our corp team and letting them take the lead. Simply observing and not partaking in the discussion can be easy at times and yet very challenging at other times.
One of the meetings yesterday, with a long-term client, resulted in bouncing the lead from me to the corp rep. The client looked at me and moved the conversation back to me several times.
Since we have a long history together, I chose to run with each discussion and moved it back to the corp rep. This happened several times in this meeting.
In reflecting on this particular meeting, it may have been better for the corp rep to keep the lead and "allow" me to comment and take back the lead to focus on the original purpose of the meeting.
My goal is to support the Team and provide feedback. The rep was glad I attended and commented on how natural the conversation moved with my replies. This will happen as he learns more about our products and services and will find the focus will shift away from the "specifications" to the business side of the conversation.
Looking forward to the next meeting to watch this corp rep take the lead!
I'm spending more time observing our corp team and letting them take the lead. Simply observing and not partaking in the discussion can be easy at times and yet very challenging at other times.
One of the meetings yesterday, with a long-term client, resulted in bouncing the lead from me to the corp rep. The client looked at me and moved the conversation back to me several times.
Since we have a long history together, I chose to run with each discussion and moved it back to the corp rep. This happened several times in this meeting.
In reflecting on this particular meeting, it may have been better for the corp rep to keep the lead and "allow" me to comment and take back the lead to focus on the original purpose of the meeting.
My goal is to support the Team and provide feedback. The rep was glad I attended and commented on how natural the conversation moved with my replies. This will happen as he learns more about our products and services and will find the focus will shift away from the "specifications" to the business side of the conversation.
Looking forward to the next meeting to watch this corp rep take the lead!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Take your Kids to Work Experience
Yesterday my 14 year old daughter Haley "shadowed" me to observe what I do all day.
The morning started out slow for her as she watched me sift through the Inbox. At first she seemed interested and soon it became apparent it was so much information to decipher so she decided to sit back and let me complete the three D's.
I did my best to explain the three D's and how it helps deal with so much information: Do, Delegate or Delete. Haley seemed to like this process!
The rest of the morning included a number of internal conversations and phone calls. She even coached me on one conversation to let the other person finish before making my comment. Thanks Haley and caught myself later in the day. This time I bit my tongue and waited!
We stopped into a few places and she listened to some business chat and everyone asked her questions about the day and what career she was pursuing.
Lunch was the highlight of the day! When deciding on lunch I wanted to create a "wow" memory. The Windsor Club is one of those venues where you can take someone for the first time and hear them say "wow". Haley certainly enjoyed the view, lunch and awesome dessert.
We stopped into the Business Accelerator and chatted with the WEtech team. Thanks Yvonne for a great tour and engaging her in conversations about entrepreneurs and her career.
Last meeting of the day was with a University Student I met via SIFE. He wanted to share his idea and dreams of his career. This was a good experience for Haley to see someone closer in her age talk about what they wanted to do, their aspirations and their fears.
Haley' report at dinner was rating the day as an 8 since the morning was just OK. Well I have three years to prepare for Sydney and hope to get at least a 9.
The morning started out slow for her as she watched me sift through the Inbox. At first she seemed interested and soon it became apparent it was so much information to decipher so she decided to sit back and let me complete the three D's.
I did my best to explain the three D's and how it helps deal with so much information: Do, Delegate or Delete. Haley seemed to like this process!
The rest of the morning included a number of internal conversations and phone calls. She even coached me on one conversation to let the other person finish before making my comment. Thanks Haley and caught myself later in the day. This time I bit my tongue and waited!
We stopped into a few places and she listened to some business chat and everyone asked her questions about the day and what career she was pursuing.
Lunch was the highlight of the day! When deciding on lunch I wanted to create a "wow" memory. The Windsor Club is one of those venues where you can take someone for the first time and hear them say "wow". Haley certainly enjoyed the view, lunch and awesome dessert.
We stopped into the Business Accelerator and chatted with the WEtech team. Thanks Yvonne for a great tour and engaging her in conversations about entrepreneurs and her career.
Last meeting of the day was with a University Student I met via SIFE. He wanted to share his idea and dreams of his career. This was a good experience for Haley to see someone closer in her age talk about what they wanted to do, their aspirations and their fears.
Haley' report at dinner was rating the day as an 8 since the morning was just OK. Well I have three years to prepare for Sydney and hope to get at least a 9.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Moving Opportunities to Business
We have a qualified opportunity and we are ready to provide a proposal or a presentation.
What works for you to move the opportunity to business? What questions do you ask to know if you are on track with your recommendation?
Communication is always the challenge. Does the audience understand what you are communicating? Is everyone on the same page? Do we the presenter understand the request?
I personally ask a lot of questions to ensure I have a clear understanding. The challenge is communicating the information back in such a way it is understood and clearly shows the plan of action for the opportunity.
We provide a balance between the technical specifications and what it really means. I do not provide "speeds, feeds, acronyms" besides the minimal to ensure we have the correct product specifications. We provide more technical details when technical personnel are at the table.
Once there is an understanding of the proposal and all questions have been answered in regards to the plan of action and return on investment (ROI), how do you close this opportunity?
Usually we know where we are in the sales cycle and the question needs to be asked: "Does it look like we will be moving forward?" Asking "How would you like to proceed?" may also apply. "We can start the implementation in two weeks"....
Ever notice when you ask these types of questions, the objectives are thrown out and you wonder why now? Know the objectives and overcome them during the proposal/presentation stage.
My personal favourite objective is falling into the TIO trap. Anyone want to guess what TIO means?
What works for you to move the opportunity to business? What questions do you ask to know if you are on track with your recommendation?
Communication is always the challenge. Does the audience understand what you are communicating? Is everyone on the same page? Do we the presenter understand the request?
I personally ask a lot of questions to ensure I have a clear understanding. The challenge is communicating the information back in such a way it is understood and clearly shows the plan of action for the opportunity.
We provide a balance between the technical specifications and what it really means. I do not provide "speeds, feeds, acronyms" besides the minimal to ensure we have the correct product specifications. We provide more technical details when technical personnel are at the table.
Once there is an understanding of the proposal and all questions have been answered in regards to the plan of action and return on investment (ROI), how do you close this opportunity?
Usually we know where we are in the sales cycle and the question needs to be asked: "Does it look like we will be moving forward?" Asking "How would you like to proceed?" may also apply. "We can start the implementation in two weeks"....
Ever notice when you ask these types of questions, the objectives are thrown out and you wonder why now? Know the objectives and overcome them during the proposal/presentation stage.
My personal favourite objective is falling into the TIO trap. Anyone want to guess what TIO means?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Next Circle Meetings in Leamington and Windsor
The Leamington Circle meeting for November is Tuesday, November 8th at noon. Location is Mettawas Station at 169 Landsdowne in Kingsville. Anthony and Janet have hosted us before and offer a fabulous lunch!
The WindsorEssex Circle event is Wednesday, November 9th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Our host is LaCucina, 1614 Lesperance (Expressway) and good venue to host our event.
Looking forward to seeing the Circle members to network and share good discussion.
If you have not attended a Circle event, I personally recommend to check it out and see what these growing groups are all about.
For more information e-mail frank@alphakor.com or check out more information under my LinkedIN profile.
I have enjoyed making many new contacts, connecting others and pursuing opportunities.
Anyone have some Circle success stories to share?
The WindsorEssex Circle event is Wednesday, November 9th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Our host is LaCucina, 1614 Lesperance (Expressway) and good venue to host our event.
Looking forward to seeing the Circle members to network and share good discussion.
If you have not attended a Circle event, I personally recommend to check it out and see what these growing groups are all about.
For more information e-mail frank@alphakor.com or check out more information under my LinkedIN profile.
I have enjoyed making many new contacts, connecting others and pursuing opportunities.
Anyone have some Circle success stories to share?
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