by Audrey Julienne, Raison d’Etre

The principle of networking

Networking is only as effective as the network you have, so you need to grow that set of contacts as much as possible. The larger your net, the more fish you can catch.

Your network stats

• Check out your network stats to get an idea how many people are in your network out of the overall LinkedIn population which is currently over 40 Million.
• If your network is less than 1M you have some work to do.

People you already know: Webmail contacts

• LinkedIn’s Webmail Contacts Importer can automatically check 15+ webmail providers for potential connections.
• The webmail-contacts importer works well. Look to the right of each contact name for a small , which signifies the person is already a LinkedIn member. De-select the ones that don’t have this icon — unless you want to send them a message asking them to join.

People you should know: Colleagues and classmates

• On the bottom of the home page is a section devoted to people you may know from companies you used to work or schools you’ve attended. This is a great way to pick up 5 to 10 connections per week.
• You can also search your past companies and schools.

People you should meet: Open networker

• An Open Networker is a person who uses professional networking sites not just to keep in touch with contacts they already know, but also to create new contacts, connections and new business opportunities. Open Networkers therefore gravitate toward professional networking sites to take advantage of the speed and efficiency the internet has enabled them to make new business connections.
• LinkedIn’s user agreement prohibits users to, “invite people with whom you have no prior relationship to join your network.” What that means in practice is up to you to decide.
• Connecting with someone is equivalent to exchanging business cards, and sharing partial visibility to the names and titles of people in your rolodex. It doesn’t imply you trust them with your life.
• Hundreds of LinkedIn groups have popped up to support the needs of LinkedIn Open Networkers. Joining these groups gives you access to discussion boards.
• Join these LinkedIn Open Networker groups and find new connections. In a group you can start a new discussion thread introducing yourself, and other members will send you invites to connect.

Nourish your network

Your LinkedIn network is a living and growing entity that needs to be nourished regularly.

Take a moment to type into the LinkedIn search box the new people you met along the way. Nine out of 10 times you’ll find them, and you’ll both increase each other’s network.

by Phyllis Mufson, Catalyst for Personal and Professional Growth

Are you creative? Once upon a time, long ago, when the Russians were launching Sputnik into space, there was a giant Fortune-500 company headquartered in the United States. This firm was investing millions of dollars of research-and-development money into beating the Russians in the “Space Wars.”

They hired the best scientists and engineers and gave them the best equipment and absolutely anything they could think of to help the scientists to generate creative ideas and innovative products. And the results were – disappointing.

A few scientists were innovating, but the majority were not.

What to do? Thus began some early research into creativity. Researchers were hired to survey what the scientists read, what they ate for breakfast, their relationships with their mothers –- the list goes on –- and they found — nothing. They found no correlation between the questions they were investigating and who was producing results.

Until the researchers asked, “Are you creative?” It turned out that the scientists who answered “yes” were producing creative, innovative, groundbreaking work, and the scientists who answered “no” were not.

This was the breakthrough. With further investigation the researchers found out more. The scientists who considered themselves creative turned out to be better at tolerating ambiguity. This tolerance allowed them to keep going when the outcome was unclear, when the data didn’t make sense, and when they ran into information that seemed to be a paradox, to contradict itself. These traits allowed the creative scientists to persist until they finally reached success.

How about you? How might your life be different if you had faith in your creativity, in your ability to venture into the unknown and persist until you reached success?

What would you begin if you had that confidence?

Are you creative? Are you willing to consider the possibility that you are?

by Laura Sicola, PhD, Sicola Consulting Group

CCPA held a workshop titled “Marketing for tough times: Strategies for future growth.”  All three presenters, CCPA members themselves, offered valuable insights, suggestions and strategies to offer. Allow me to share a few highlights:

First off, Rick Simmons, president, Dinkum Interactive, addressed social media. Rick demystified the terms and purposes of social-media marketing as they differ from traditional forms of communication and offered suggestions for tailoring marketing plans to meet any budget. A key point was the sobering realization that online, the consumer is “in charge,” and the best we can aim for is to be visible. Then, once you’ve got their attention and they have clicked to your website, you have a paltry two seconds to convince them to stay there and read more or click other links.

Second, Steve Bauer, co-founder, The Three Marketeers, and founder and instructor, The Referral Academy, clarified referral relationships and how to position yourself to make the most of them. Referrers accelerate the process of finding the “fit” between the buyer and seller. Who wants to waste time and resources with lots of trial and error? It’s important to know enough about both parties to give a good referral that will fit the needs and values of both, thereby strengthening your own reputation and the three-way relationship. We all want referrals from others, so we need to consider the ideal referral profile. Then, the question becomes what you do with a referral once you have the contact information; having a clear system for follow-up builds credibility and trust for you as seller or referrer alike, and that’s where everything begins.

Finally, Bill Ringle, founder, MyBusinessGym.com, spoke about developing new business when the economy won’t cooperate. He focused on “the universe rewards action,” which he professed and reinforced in a practical, thought-provoking way.

This workshop left a great impression regarding the caliber of professionals among us. I look forward to the next CCPA opportunity of this sort and whole-heartedly encourage you to attend.