How Would You Handle This?

We have been talking about choosing groups to participate in that meet your needs and goals as a business professional. Once the decision is made on which groups to belong to, then a certain level of participation is required in order to achieve the individual goals set by the business professional.

Whenever I attend a function, I always have a goal of meeting ten people whom I do not already know, and finding out how I can best help them in their business. What happens, though if, when I enter the function, someone who I already know, approaches me and begins a lengthy conversation that could best be handled at a different time and place? How do I break away to complete my goal of meeting ten new people?

This has happened to me frequently and I have found this technique to work well. As soon as there is a break in the conversation, I let the person I am listening to know that I need to excuse myself, because I must meet some new people to accomplish the goal I came to the function for. I usually say what the goal is- to meet 10 new people. I also state that I would be happy to continue our conversation as soon as I have "hit my quota", ( I always say that with a smile), and also offer to continue the conversation at a later time if necessary.

The idea that someone would come to a networking function with a specific goal in mind is foreign to many participants. I suggest that you have a goal for all functions that you participate in . It is an easy way to track accomplishments. If my goal is to meet 10 people and I have a certain amount of time to work with, I know how much time I can devote to each person to accomplish my goal.

There is no reason to walk away from a networking function with unfulfilled goals because someone that couldn't help you accomplish your goals monopolized your time.

Your goal may be to meet a specific person who you know would be able to help you, if you had a chance to speak with them and build a relationship with them. Next week, I'll tell you how to break into "cliques" that may be formed around the person you would like to meet.

Nancy Roebke, is the Executive Director of Profnet Inc, a professional business leads generation corporation. We bring business professionals together in a non-competitive environment to help each other make more money.

mailto:execdirector@profnet.org http://www.profnet.org

Copyright c Nancy Roebke

---

Ten Tips for Creating a Winning Proposal ? Part 1

If you want your business to grow and attract new... Read More

Marketing vs Selling - Why Theres A Difference

Marketing is something that we do to let people know... Read More

Send Postcards To Save Money and Cut Through E-mail Clutter

Use your computer to send personalized color postcards in quantities... Read More

Funnel Your Way to Marketing Success

A funnel is a good way to think of the... Read More

The Words That Sell

What You Say, Who You Say It To, How you... Read More

Business Postcard Marketing: 35 Ways to Use It

Postcards are an effective way for many business owners and... Read More

Promotional Marketing Products ? Selecting the Perfect Item

People are known to shop on impulse- buying an item... Read More

Has the Internet Killed Off the Direct Mail Baron?

Over the past 30 years, direct mail has been responsible... Read More

Creating Customer Value

The purpose of business is to create and retain a... Read More

The Beginners Mail Order Business Guide

No claim is made that the steps outlined would be... Read More

Todays Definition of Marketing. Has It Changed?

With the continued proliferation of the Internet, the meaning of... Read More

How To Create A Complete Referral Marketing System

These steps are taken from the Referral Flood Marketing Program.... Read More

Marketing Is A Long-Term Investment

"Dig your well before you're thirsty" is the title of... Read More

5 Steps for Developing a Marketing Tag Line for Your Product, Business, or Website

A marketing tag line is the one or two line... Read More

10 Tips For Packaging That Sells Products To Boomers

Boomers are a prime and growing target audience. Does your... Read More

Your Company Need More Marketing? Or Just Better Marketing?

Many sales problems can be solved by improved marketing. Selling... Read More

Big Ticket Marketing in 28 Minutes

I read an article recently about how many mainstream retail... Read More

What to Include in Your Marketing Plan Write-Up

For those new to marketing planning, the thought of completing... Read More

How to Save Time and Achieve More by Creating High-Leverage Marketing Assets

The single biggest, non-renewable asset you have is your time.... Read More

Dont Use Yourself as Your Pricing Yardstick

"I wouldn't pay more than what I charge now."If you... Read More

A Look at Brochure Printing Services

A brochure can be a wonderful promotional tool for a... Read More

How To Start A Mail Order Business

The Mail Order business is not a business of itself,... Read More

Polishing Your Translation Style - Marketing Your Services

You have read part 1 & 2 of this article... Read More

SWOT Analysis -- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

When conducting strategic planning for any company -- online and/or... Read More

Marketing With Brochures

With the explosion of the internet and online businesses many... Read More

CRM Star Wars: When Marketing is from Venus and IT is from Mars

Inherent tensions exist between marketing and IT. This is often... Read More

Effective Marketing

For any business to be successful whether on or offline... Read More

The Six-Step Process That Grows Your Business

1. Examine your clientele and define your ideal client. Of... Read More

GoogSpy: Business Counter Intelligence for Everyone

So, you want to know what your competitors are up... Read More

Direct Mail Marketing Generates Sales Leads: Heres How

1. Personal Unlike an advertisement in a trade publication, which... Read More

Maximize Your Lead Generation Efforts by Recycling Your Leads

The basic lead generation process is pretty much the same... Read More

5 Tips to Help You Identify WHO To Market To

If you have your own small business, it's important to... Read More

Marketing Brain Trust

Rest assured that no matter how smart you are, you... Read More