Here is my New Year’s resolution:

I promise to try one new idea per ___ that I have never tried before, to build my business. I will track responses and see if it works better than my current techniques. This can be applied to the script I use on the phone to reach out to people I have never met, a cover letter, elevator speech, resume, or whatever.

I will survey my customers after every meeting to see what I can do better. Feel free to tell me what I could do.

At the end of every conversation with a friend, client, or stranger I will ask each of them “How can I help you?” Thank you, Alex, for NEVER failing to do this.

I will volunteer my time to those less fortunate. I helped make sandwiches for the homeless last Sunday. Thank you, Jennifer, for putting the event together. If you would like to help, email Alan Law at info@363days.org. He is a retired teacher who hands out sandwiches 363 days a year. He needs volunteers who have time to help assemble sandwiches or deliver them in bulk to homeless shelters. If you are an out of work executive, it is a good way to put your own problems in perspective.

What is on your list?

Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!

Topics: career strategy, networking | No Comments »

If you dread the thought of networking, you are not alone. Most of us can describe networking that is not effective:

Good networking is not a three martini lunch.

Good networking is not standing up in a crowd of strangers and announcing you are a sales manager looking for a contact at company X.

Networking should have two elements:

First, networking should be a long-term campaign to establish your value in the business community. It is about defining and establishing your brand – what makes you unique or different amongst people with somewhat similar backgrounds. It is about building awareness for your brand with an ever-larger audience. It is about keeping your value proposition top of mind over the long-term so that when someone in the community has need of your services, he/she remembers you are out there and reaches out to you. Your objective is to craft your message so that the right Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: branding + positioning, career strategy, networking | No Comments »