5 strategies to leverage your most powerful asset.
Michael J. Hughes North America's Networking Guru
Helping business/sales professionals identify, access and leverage networks for optimal results.
Simplistic as it seems, success is rooted in an age-old business axiom: the majority of business success comes from or through a small group of satisfied clients and helpful colleagues.
In other words, it's all about relationships.
As a business professional, your most valuable and valued asset, today more than ever, lies with the customers you have (or have had) and the professional contacts you cultivate.
Here are five practical, proven strategies to better leverage these key assets:
1. Over-deliver. Your clients share their hard-earned dollars in exchange for your product or service. Ensure they walk away perceiving they received more value than they expected or anticipated.
2. Leverage client relationships. Invest more time communicating with clients to discover additional needs or requirements. When you build relationships with them, they will think of you first, even when bombarded with advertising about others.
3. Exploit the network effect. The majority of your “best” clients have similar characteristics, including who they hang out with. Check what groups or networks they belong to. Accessing this group of like-minded people can open up new opportunities.
4. Invest in creating advocates. You have a network of partners and stakeholders. What have you done to incent these powerful resources to promote you? Referrals are reactive. Ensure others think of you first by contributing to their lives in some way.
5. Focus on the five percent that matter. Research has consistently proven that a core network of relationships (roughly 5%) contribute the majority of our results in business and in life. These high-value relationships should be a priority when allocating your time, energy and resources.
This week's tip: Do you know who should be on your 5% list?
P.S.: Email me at info@NetworkingForResults.com with "5%" in the subject line. I'll send you a complimentary copy of my one-page Contact Prioritization Checklist.
#NetworkingForResults #BuildbetterRelationships #FocusOnTheFivePercent