By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit

    Image by Pixomar*

“’Tis the season to be jolly,” goes the famous carol and I suggest the same applies to our small business activities at this time of year.

No, I’m not suggesting we turn Christmas into a cold, commercial transaction, but I do believe the many parties over the coming weeks give us the opportunity to celebrate our strong relationships and build new ones.

I’m well aware, of course, that many people think the words “work” and “party” are an oxymoron. Or, in fact, just a plain “moron” — we’ve all witnessed those awkward moments of silence or, worse, alcohol-fuelled liberation!

However, it doesn’t have to be that way. I have some ideas to make sure the Christmas parties you go to this year are fun, full of good cheer and networking successes.

When you’re the guest

My number one tip is probably the last one you’re expecting — it’s okay to decline an invitation.

You see, it’s about quality, not quantity.

And by that I mean attending a handful of Christmas parties with a networking strategy in hand is better than blindly chasing every balloon and streamer in town.

Consider these ideas:

• Look for parties hosted or attended by compatible businesses
• Find out who else is going to a party and create a list of people you’d like to meet, especially key decision-makers
• Always talk to your host and don’t be afraid to ask for introductions
• Aim to have quality conversations with 5-7 people
• Keep the conversation light and social — your aim is to meet people and have fun, not close a sale
• Don’t limit yourself to work parties — potential contacts have social lives too!

When you’re the host

Throwing a Christmas party is a great way to say “thank you” and reinforce existing relationships, not to mention reach out to new potential contacts.

One of the hardest things about organising an event is to provide guests with incentives to attend. Willingly. You want people to a come along feeling confident and relaxed…  and I have three ways to achieve this.

First, entice them with a gift.

This could be:

• A Literal gift, such as a goodie bag, discount voucher or door prize
• A memorable location, such as a museum, chic café or charter boat
• A guest of honour, such as a personality or expert in your field
• An activity, which could be anything from a magician or string quartet to wine tasting or a cooking demonstration or even a guest lecture or workshop. Just make sure your activity doesn’t cause embarrassment or discomfort… not everyone wants to go paintballing or do karaoke!

Second, make sure your party is easy to attend…

…which means sending invites that let your guests know exactly what to expect.

Apart from the obvious, include:

• A finish time
• The purpose of your party; for example, to celebrate increasing sales by 15% over the year
• Who is attending; for example, a select group of loyal and supportive friends, customers and associates
• The names of guests of honour, MCs or entertainers
• A dress code
• What refreshments will be served; for example, a buffet dinner or coffee with sweet Christmas treats
• Any speeches or activities that will occur.

Third, create a comfortable atmosphere and make meeting new people painless.

Do this by:

• Allowing guests to bring their own guest, such as a colleague or family members
• Providing name badges with big, clear writing. Don’t just write a person’s name… add their business, association or link to give context and spark conversation
• Making something happen early… have a welcome speech or some entertainment 15 to 20 minutes into the party to create a sense of unity and open opportunities for interaction
• Having an MC to guide guests through your party
• Having people whose job is to greet guests, start conversations, introduce people and keen an eye out for anyone at a loose end
• Making sure your refreshments are top notch!

Consider an e-party

In these days of global workplaces, not to mention impossible parking, an e-party or, more formally, a virtual event is perfect if you want your Christmas party to be a learning-based event, such as a seminar, workshop or q and a.

A successful e-party has five aspects:

1. Technology: while you can buy e-conferencing software, I recommend small business owners keep it simple and use Facebook, blogs or a forum on your website
2. A compelling topic: grab interest by discussing a trend, an item currently in the news or a problem that needs solving
3. Purpose and structure: know precisely what you want to achieve and have a chair to introduce experts and guide discussion
4. Engage participants: create interest and facilitate discussion with videos, images and plenty of opportunities for questions
5. Time: give a specific timeframe, ranging from an hour to a number of months.

To give you an idea just how successful even a simple virtual event can be, my friend has been following an ongoing thread on an Australian horse forum that allows horse owners to ask a snake expert questions. Seventeen pages and 3,683 views later, the thread is still on a hot topic on the front page!

MORE GREAT POSTS BY NERIDA GILL

• Entrepreneurial Qualities: Lessons from the Life of Steve Jobs
• Keeping Up With Your Brand: A Reality Lesson from the Kardashians
• Are You Responsible? How Small Business Can Give Back

*Featured Image is by Pixomar

By Kate Tribe, Tribe Research

How are you connecting with your tribe for the end of the year? It is time to start implementing some ideas. Here’s four of my tips.

Find a way to support a core segment of your business

At the end of last year, I wanted to help other small business owners. I took on a Christmas mission to buy all of my family’s presents from Australian SMEs.

• It allowed me to think creatively about what to buy because I wasn’t just walking into a department store to find the best option. I needed to think about the business owners I knew and if their product or service would be great for one of my family.
• It helped me to understand the buying process of my friend’s businesses and give them feedback about it.
• I advertised the purchases along the way so that they were promoted at the same time.
• I had a story to tell my family when I gave them their gift.

I wrote about my Christmas mission at the time.

Individual presents for clients

Don’t select one item and give to every client. It might be quicker to select one item, like wine, and give it to all clients that you’ve decided to give a present to, but it isn’t as special. Another way to give a special thank you is to make it. You can do it in a way that shows them another side of you and is generous.

Connect clients together that could help each other

Instead of going on individual lunches with various favourite clients, take two or three out together so they can meet and network. It will educate your clients about other work you do and allow them to find out some of the other amazing people you know. A slightly larger group makes it more fun and saves you time.

Find a way to reconnect in the new year

Instead of sending end of year cards, utilise the quieter period in January to write new year cards. It will allow you to enjoy the end of the year and you’ll be top of mind at the start of the year.

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY KATE TRIBE

• Customer Feedback Survey Response Rates
• More isn’t always better when getting survey participants
• Grandpa didn’t understand the term networking. It’s just good practice.

By Susan Wareham McGrath

The dreaded ‘elevator pitch’.

A concept that involves explaining your job, or business, in the 30 second or so time span of an elevator ride.

Although I’m told I do them well, I find elevator speeches to be a form of corporate torture, high on the list of workplace tasks guaranteed to induce cringing, irritation and long-lasting embarrassment. Why? They’re impossible to get right and I can’t fit everything I do in 30 seconds. Plus, I hate talking about myself. And whenever I recite an elevator pitch, I feel as if I’m reading from a script. Very artificial and spin doctored.

So when I first came across the Chicago Tribune’s story about elevator pitches, I had a moment of hope that the awful things had been ousted and buried for ever in the brave new corporate world of social media. It contained promising nuggets like:

• “When I’ve referenced the elevator pitch in passing, most people made derisive comments about the whole concept”.
• “ Many had learned about it in business school, but few took it seriously”
• “For those of us behind the scenes in communications, HR and finance, the whole experience felt awkward, and our terrible pitches proved that”.

Sadly, I was wrong.

Of the 13 experts surveyed by the Tribune, four were in favour of elevator speeches, five against and four inconclusive.

Overall, the trend seems to be toward improving elevator speeches following general social media principles, rather than binning them.

Here are some tips from the experts interviewed by the Tribune:

• Keep them short and sharp
• Focus on how you make a difference
• Adapt one speech to various situations
• Present with increased efficiency and clarity, and
• Use your elevator speech to “pack a punch”.

So it’s back to the drawing board for me!

I do feel a little better though after reading the comment attributed to Alan Weiss, organisation development consultant and executive coach – “These have always been silly. Would you listen to one? I’d stop the elevator and throw the person off”.

It’s good to know I’m not entirely alone!

Read the full story here: ‘Improve your ‘elevator pitch’.

What’s your attitude toward elevator speeches? Are they still relevant?  Do you find them an artificial means of presenting yourself?

MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN MCGRATH:

• Serving on non-profit boards – good for you, good for the community!
• How to write a winning application letter
• Kate Ellis’s commitment to EOWA. Why the $11.2 million investment is not enough.

By Karen Adamedes, Career Chick Chat

Have you ever been caught in that awkward moment when a group of people are being introduced, the men enthusiastically shake hands with each other and then they turn around and nod at you?

Many people (both men and women) aren’t quite sure whether to offer their hand to a woman a not. Men don’t think twice about this ritual with each other.

Where it was once used to bind a contract, nowadays a handshake is an accepted business formality. It is used as a greeting, a farewell, to express congratulations and as a sign of goodwill when an agreement has been reached.

A handshake can be seen as the first step of building rapport and developing a relationship as it provides a point of connection.

Men, unless they see each other every day, often greet each other with a handshake. Even in a social setting, a handshake is the accepted convention and establishes rapport. It’s an accepted business practice.

When women don’t shake hands, this sets them apart.

If they have to debate with themselves whether to shake or not to shake, before you even started talking, the gender difference will be unsaid but on the table, loud and clear. A handshake can help women establish parity with male colleagues.

To avoid this situation, offer your hand in all situations where men would shake hands. Do this with both men and women. For men, it takes away the guesswork. With women, it establishes business rapport. You’ll present yourself as confident and professional. Be the first to offer your hand when you meet others, so that there is no time for confusion.

The other benefit of a handshake is that it can fend off the unwanted greeting kiss. It has become more common, particularly when work colleagues meet at social occasions, for men to greet women with a kiss. You really need to make an assessment on the appropriateness of this based on the situation, who the person is and your relationship with them. If you are comfortable, this is fine in a social environment. But it’s a little bit icky when it happens in the office and you’re not comfortable with it. A polite, confident outstretched hand should avoid this situation.

Here are a few more quick tips for handshaking:

• Make eye contact when you offer your hand –this aligns your body language with the connection you are making
• Hold your hand straight out from your wrist – stops your handshake from being too soft and prevents you making a vice like grip
• Shake 2-3 times
• The handshake should come from your elbow as you move your arm
• Smile at the same time – it reinforces that you are pleased to meet them

Career Chick Hot Tip: Shake hands and offer yours first.

Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011

MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS

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Networking continues to be one of the best ways to raise your profile, bring in new business and meet future clients, prospects, partners and suppliers. Networking HAS changed over the years, but how? What are the latest and greatest ways to network and to make the most of networking opportunities?

Join us on 12 October when Sue Henry of Business StickyBeak is our guest on Networking Essentials for Business Success.

Register now.

In this one-hour webinar we’ll cover:

Understanding Networking and your business

• Why networking is a valuable tool in business and why do it
• Methods of Networking
• Where and when to network

Planning and preparing for networking

• Planning Time, Working to a Budget, Using Systems and Tools that support success
• Working with your preferred style and situations

Taking Action for Results

• Action taking versus action thinking
• Continually learning and improving

Event Details:

Networking Essentials for Business Success – National Webinar

Date:	Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Time:	10.15am for 10.30am – 11.30am AEST  (Check your timezone.)
Venue:	Webinar, from your home or office
Price:	Growth Members: FREE
	StartUp Members: FREE
	CommunityPlus Members: $35
	Community Members: $39
	Non-Members: $39

Members – Login to get your discount. Not a member? Join today and save over $390 in webinars each year!

Not able to attend? Complete your registration and a recording of the webinar will be sent to you after the live event.

Note: You will need internet access to participate in this Webinar. Call costs may apply if you do not use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

Guest Speaker:

What is a webinar?

A webinar is a web-based seminar. To participate you will need high-speed internet and a USB headset (with microphone). Instructions will be sent to you on receipt of your registration.

Not a member?

Join today and you save hundreds of dollars each year on workshops designed to help you be more successful as a businesswoman. Membership is less than $1 a day! Learn More about Membership Now.

Is this event right for you?

This event is suitable for women in all stages of business.

The StartUp Success Webinar Series

What’s Next?

Register below through our secure online shopping system. Upon registration you’ll receive confirmation of your attendance. If you have any questions you can send us an email or, call 1300 720 120. If you are a member, remember to login to get free entry.

By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl

Networking is a concept most people don’t give serious thought to — but in today’s economic climate, it can and should be an important part of your business plan.

When we think about networking, the tendency is to think about it in the realm of forging relationships in order to promote new positions for ourselves or new business for our company. There is nothing wrong with that outlook, but it just has to be said… there is plenty wrong with the way many business women think of and conduct their networking. (Business card anyone?)

You may recall, my New Year resolution was to improve the ROI on my networking, here is how my understanding of networking has evolved so far:

There’s our operational network

These are the people and groups that help you do your day-to-day work. This group is not necessary in order to do your work, but it is important to work together with this group. In my business, I consider those in my operational network as “collaborators” in the best sense. For example, I recently brought in a graphic designer as the client required a brand new logo and colour scheme for their business and by doing this, I could offer a fully integrated service.

In other words, we work together for the overall success of the client’s objectives, which in turn promotes our individual success.

There’s a developmental network

Those in your developmental network are your trusted advisors, mentors, friends and those you go to for advice and use as a professional sounding board. We become members of associations to gain access to educational resources.

I know that in my world, those in my developmental network have definitely helped me grow as a manager and leader.

And, finally our strategic network

While the first two networks aren’t necessary to growing your success, people we place into our strategic network definitely are.

The strategic network involves those you gather around you as you develop your future business objectives. These are the forward-thinkers who will assist you as you tackle new frontiers. These are the people who will challenge you, but they will also back you and ensure that you step confidently. These are the ones who will say why not try…

Understanding these three parts of networking means I now organise my development and strategic networks primarily through web, podcasts, iTunes, skype, email and voice calls with my mentors. And of course, the coffee catch-up. I don’t need live events for these networks. Have a good look at the quality of information available through many business associations in their online resources. Yes, often you need to become a member, but many are under $500pa  (these costs generally are a valid tax deduction).

As for live events, I have even reduced my time there too! Yes – its not a typo, I have reduced the live events I attend for business and at the same time have grown my business. How?

Being selective about the functions to attend. I really look at the timing of the event, the agenda and sounding out the event through my network. When I do attend, I have far more focus on the connections I want to make, what it is that we have in common and what to discuss with them.  The  four areas I now focus on in an event are:

1. Quality over quantity

   Taking the time to get to know the person sitting across from me.  I have found that the other person will learn a lot more about me too, and will now know what will be a good relationship or partner for my business.

2. A Giving Attitude

3. Attending events with the intention of offering whatever help I can

   This has led to more than one venture. Also, the recipocal is that I must be prepared to share what help it is that I’m looking for in life and/or business.

4. Everyone has a business card — highly successful business people have two!

   You can’t attend an event these days without doing the business card shuffle.   But, I found that spending the time sincerely talking to people I now receive the ‘other’ card – the one that has their direct contact details.

5. Networking reinforces your personal brand

   You undoubtedly recognise that a big part of your job is to be an ambassador for your company and your personal brand — both inside and outside the office.  A savvy entrepreneur gets clear on the reputation and values she wants to cultivate and then works hard to demonstrate them every day.

I know that as a woman business leader and entrepreneur, I must network… if you are committed to being successful, then understanding networking and doing it well is essential.

MORE GREAT POSTS BY JULIE WISE

• Build your Business: Steve Jobs Style
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What’s the story of your business? Have you considered it?

“Businesspeople should never underestimate the power of story,” according to Valerie Khoo, founder of the Sydney Writers’ Centre. “It’s not just for best-selling books and short stories. What’s going to sell your product and personal brand is absolutely the story behind it.”

Valerie and I met at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Conference in Rio de Janeiro, where she was excited to meet businesswomen from around the world: “Already, 40 percent of our students are online, so they’re already all over Australia and the world. We’re really making a push to go global, so it was great to meet women in business from so many different countries and find out more about their markets and how to expand into their countries.

“Apart from the networking and learning about regional differences and what would work in different markets, this conference has really been about the inspiration. It’s just been so fantastic to see the caliber of women here and to learn from them and leave full of ideas about new ways to do business.”

The Sydney Writers’ Centre offers adult short courses and educational training in all sorts of writing such as business writing, writing for the web, travel writing and magazine writing.

Enjoy this interview with Valerie Khoo at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network 2011 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Valerie Khoo – The Sydney Writers’ Centre Valerie Khoo is a writer and editor whose work has been featured in a range of magazines around the world. She runs an editorial and communications consultancy in Sydney with clients including magazines, newspapers, companies and websites. Website: www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au Facebook: sydneywriterscentre Twitter: @SydneyWriters; @valeriekhoo Blog: Writing Bar

Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network 2011

From June 5-7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than 120 female business leaders from around the world gathered with Dell to learn about technology, marketing, brand, social media and raising capital while building relationships and sharing insights. It was an impressive group of participants, including Moira Forbes, Arianna Huffington and Luiza Helena Trajano, the founder of the third largest retail chain in Brazil. Over the course of two days, the conference participants explored and learned that women entrepreneurs truly share a unique perspective and approach to business.

Building on Dell’s entrepreneurial heritage and recognising the unique challenges and rocky journeys entrepreneurs can face led to the inception of the Dell’s Women Powering Business Initiatives, including Dell’s Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (DWEN). DWEN strives to help women entrepreneurs expand their networks, innovate and grow their businesses. The DWEN event and LinkedIn community supply a social network to grow B2B and exchange ideas to help build confidence. Dell’s believes never in the history of the world has the entrepreneurial spirit been more alive or in a more favourable position to drive global growth.

Australian women business leaders are invited to join in the conversation and share who and what inspires and motivates them as entrepreneurs and leaders via the Women Powering Business Network group on LinkedIn.

By Kate Tribe, Tribe Research

One of the results from the Australian Businesswomen’s Network 2010 survey was a need for more networking opportunities. Opportunities to network are everywhere, the biggest issue is that we don’t do it properly.

I wanted to share here, a post that I wrote on my personal blog. It is a way to live, not an event, and it will create a tribe around you of clients, customers, staff, supporters, fans, advisors, and friends.

My grandpa was a great connector and mentor to me, so I thought I’d share a conversation I had with him about networking.

I believe we’ve made it too complicated. So did he.

Generate good-will because you want to help

Grandpa almost always greeted me by saying: Have you generated any good-will recently?

He asked it so often that it became ingrained in my thinking.

It also meant I always needed to have a response of: Yes, I’ve…

His response would be: Well if you’ve generated some good-will then it will come together for you.

Understand what you’re passionate about and how you can assist

Grandpa was a lawyer by trade. He was passionate about it. He was even more passionate about the arts and knew he could use his skills as a lawyer and passion for the arts to help. In turn his experience with arts organisations helped his business as a lawyer.

Know what is work to you and know when to offer it for free

When grandpa did property law, it was work (that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it). When it was using his skills in the arts it wasn’t. I’m not saying that all property work was charged, he had pro-bono clients. However, when it came to the arts he didn’t charge, he received rewards in other ways, which were sometimes just pleasure.

Communicate

As Kim Williams said at a celebration of grandpa’s life:

I’ve been a periodic recipient of thoughtful letters from him. Some of them unusually long in that beautiful copper plate hand writing of his… At times they were welcome; and others caused me to pause and reflect with considerable care in response to their striking observations which I can assure you were rendered with disarming candor. I am sure that many others have received similar precious communications with the sort of direct observations which we all too rarely experience in the course of life.

The key aspects to what Kim said about letters from grandpa (he was pre-internet in terms of communication) was that we ‘all too rarely experience’ it and that they had ‘striking observations’. More importantly, they were received by enough people that when Kim told the story there was fond laughter from the audience.

Grandpa, sat down to write letters to people on a regular basis. To touch base or share his views… he communicated and that created a great connection to a broad range of people.

He didn’t see it as networking. It was just the right way to live. He didn’t understand the term networking because it was just good practice.

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY KATE TRIBE

• Gaining insights for priority setting
• A survey isn’t the only way to capture information
• The 9-Step Feedback Cycle

By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl

Did you, like me, create a list of New Year’s resolutions that even as you wrote them your devil’s advocate was saying things like  ’Oh there’s one from last year’s list!’, ‘You are kidding with that one aren’t you?’.

In a moment of absolute clarity, I threw out my list. I’m as busy as I can possibly be,  so a list of extra resolutions just really isn’t sensible (duh!).  2011,  I decided,  is the year I change tactics!

So using the latest hippy trend of  the “one word mission statements”,  I looked long and hard at what I’m doing to find the one area I know isn’t working and to look at a few things that I could really focus all my attention on.

As with all business owners my 2011 schedule is already well planned and, when I count all the charities, theatre, work functions, seminars, sports and NGO work that I’ve already accepted,  I attend an extraordinary a number of events – an average of 15 or so a month.  These are fabulous and I wouldn’t change them as I meet people from all over and in all sorts of industries and positions, which over the years has given me a list of contacts of amazing professionals and entrepreneurs.

However, rather than a highly active and informed network,  I spend a lot of time with a few while the others go into my ’little black book’ and I have to admit that there are an awful lot of names that I have a hard time remembering who / what & why.  I want to change that and make my ‘little black book’ a thriving living thing so I realised that I need to work on the one thing that will provide the biggest bang for my time – return on investment

So, my one-word mission statement is FOLLOW UP.

It’s something that every one of us who takes part in business-to-business networking can do better:  Researching the reference material around about what are the key ‘to-dos’ here’s a list of the things that I don’t do now and that I will be doing in 2011.

• Sending thank you notes or at least acknowledging people who’ve given me referrals
• Actually making that coffee appointment that we talked about
• Giving a referral as soon as I think of it (so it’s not forgotten) and getting in the habit of looking for ways to refer more
• Putting people’s information into a trusted system that we’ll use (I’ve started using BatchBook.com – though I’m still partial to paper.)
• Learning about and acknowledging the accomplishments of others (I’ve set up Google alerts for names or their company name)
• Setting aside time every week specifically to do follow-up work
• Having a system in place to help get these things done

I’m still working to put these all into practice and make them a habit – acknowledging.

Will better follow-up give you a big return on investment of your time that is spent on business networking?

If follow-up is your area of improvement, I hope the above lists of ideas are helpful in achieving your networking goal.  If it’s a strength, have you got some tips on how you make the connections after the event – I’d love to hear them.

MORE GREAT POSTS BY JULIE WISE

• “Think & Grow Rich”: Who’s sitting at your table?
• A Picture is Worth 1000 Words
• Tis the Season To…

By Alycia Edgar, Coastal Accounting Services

Have you buried your head in the sand when it comes to your business financials? Do you know where your money is being spent and how much money you have earned? Or do you simply get your books done (or not – shriek!) to get your BAS out of the way, pray that you don’t owe any money and get back to being busy? Are you afraid of knowing exactly how your business is going? I love that saying “feel the fear and do it anyway”, because at least if you do know the hard facts, you’ll be able to make changes. And you never know, your business might be doing better than you thought!

If you’re behind in keeping your books, you can get back on track. Here are some simple steps to accomplish this:

1. Collate all your paperwork into piles that relate to:

a. Invoices and payments made for business expenses
b. Invoices and payments received from customers/clients or a cash register summary
c. Payments made to employees
d. Bank and credit card statements, BAS, ATO correspondence

2. If this seems overwhelming, maybe it’s time to bite the bullet and enlist help from a bookkeeper who can sort it all out for you.

3. Are you using an accounting software package? You need access to this (or give your bookkeeper access to it) to get yourself up to date.

4. Enter all relevant information from a, b and c above.

5. Take your bank and credit card statements, and check (reconcile) that all transactions are accounted for in your accounting software program. Make sure to include any cash transactions as well. If you have no idea how to reconcile, simply look at a bank register (or credit card register) within your accounting software to check that each item that is on your bank statement (and/or credit card statement) also appears in your bank register. Then you can hand over to a bookkeeper/accountant to complete the reconciliation process.

6. By now you should be up to date. It’s time to celebrate – woo-hoo! If you had assistance to get back on track make sure you pay their bill promptly. Let’s now consider your maintenance program, because you don’t want really to get into this position again, do you?

7. Maintenance mode – repeat steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 from above on a weekly or fortnightly basis to keep on track. The important thing to remember is that it is much better for you and your business to KNOW your numbers than to go into a cold sweat and have no idea!