Instigator Blog

How Can I Help You?

This question is so effective because:

1. It shows you care.
2. It gives the person an opportunity to talk about themselves.
3. It opens up opportunities.
4. It’s easy for the person to reciprocate by asking the same question.
5. It gets to the heart of networking.

So, how can I help you?

The second challenge in The 3-Week Buzz Marketing Challenge is to reach out to contacts that have gone stale; contacts that you haven’t touched base with in about 3 months.

Many of us get loads of email, and it’s hard to stay in active contact with everyone. Ron points out very smartly that old email can be a treasure trove of buzz.

Some quick tips on re-connecting:

• Tell people you were busy. That’s OK, people understand.
• Your reason for re-connecting is simple: you value them as a contact and want to see how things are going.
• Ask questions. Work-related questions are always good.
• Inject your own success story.

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The secret to networking successfully is simple:

Know what people have to offer

And:

Know what people need

The first task I’m undertaking in The 3-Week Buzz Marketing Challenge is to email an old friend or acquaintance.

The goal is to share what’s new in your life, including positive things going on in your job (or your new business, etc.)

You also want to ask questions - find out what’s new with the person that you haven’t connected with in some time.

Ron McDaniel writes in his book:

One of the keys is to leverage your prior relationship to tell a positive story about where you work without spoiling the conversation by blatantly selling the company or being impersonal.

This is certainly an easy challenge. What’s difficult is remembering to do it regularly. Contacting a couple old friends might generate a bit of buzz, but do it a few times per month and suddenly the world will be buzzing.

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What is buzz marketing?

Buzz marketing is the ability to spread awareness for your product or service through word-of-mouth. The goal is to create enough positive buzz that it feeds back into business success.

Sounds simple right?

It is, and it isn’t. There are basic ways you and your employees can generate buzz. And there are some more complicated ways. The crux of it is twofold:

1. You have to do it, and not enough people do; and,
2. You have to keep doing it, and too many people give up.

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