Last month I talked about benefits and shared values in collaboration, as well as marketing and other types of creative collaboration. Any kind of collaborative relationship requires maintenance, but so do other, less formal relationships and relationships in the making.

Developing a solid relationship with colleagues, clients, and prospects cultivates long-term and widespread business networks that are highly beneficial for all parties concerned. We all know that selfish networking — the kind where someone thrusts their card in your face and blurts out their elevator pitch without breathing — is a dead end street. There is no relationship…and there’s a good chance there never will be.

The other, more effective approach is to feed and grow potential business relationships and consider them an investment. You can’t be best friends with everyone, but you can identify those with whom you have a synergy, focus your energy, and stay in touch.

The Don’t
Every once in a while I get the latest, updated resume from a woman I met many years ago and who is now self-employed as a virtual assistant. I have not spoken to “Joyce” in years and between emails with her resume attached, I never hear from her. I don’t actually know what services Joyce offers these days because I never open the resume. She invariably asks me to pass along her resume to anyone who might be interested, which I also never do. Why would I? We have no relationship. (After some thought, my best guess is that the biennial email is her version of “marketing” — and I’m guessing she gets what she paid for.)

The Do
In contrast, many years ago I interviewed with a man I wanted to work for, but the firm had a bad reputation so I chose another job. I told “James” the truth, and thought that was the end of it. A few months later James called to tell me my info had been correct, he had chosen not to remain with the firm, and thanked me for my honesty. We stayed in touch for a number of years, keeping tabs on what each other was up to, and connecting each other with our respective networks as appropriate.

Many years after our first meeting, largely on the strength of our relationship, James became a long term and highly lucrative client — something he had not previously been in a position to offer. James remains someone whom I respect, and whom I would again connect with my network if the opportunity arose. It didn’t take a lot of effort overall, but the payoff was enormous.

Moral of the story: Any relationship can whither and die from neglect. All it takes to grow one, is to feed it occasionally.

Liz Gaige
Market Navigators Consulting

A lot of the web tools we use for marketing purposes or just for fun can also be used to help us collaborate better in our work.

For instance, if you’ve ever tried drafting a document with two or more people, you’ll understand the frustrations of using email to send drafts back and forth. Is this the latest draft? Who made these changes? How do I get rid of all of this markup?

One alternative is Google Docs, which allows all invited users access to the same document, which they can look at and edit all at the same time.

Cell phones are also rapidly becoming mobile computing devices with tons of capabilities. If you’ve got an iPhone or a device with recording capabilities, consider recording a voice memo and sending the recording off to your teammates with just two more clicks.

Apps like Tweetdeck can also act as mobile group messaging devices on the fly. Take five minutes to create Twitter accounts (if you don’t already have them), create a work group on Tweetdeck and download the application to your phone. Now you’ve got a quick messaging platform that can also be used to share links and pictures.

With more teams working remotely than ever before, technology is awfully useful for helping people collaborate in new and practical ways. Experiment a little and you’ll find even more tools and tricks to keep your group in sync.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

Experience, hard word and talent are not enough to succeed in today’s workplace. You need to also focus on building a network that will bring you the success you want. Your career will likely span multiple jobs and fields and the best and fastest way to get where you want to be is having a network of people you can call on. Building an effective network takes time, planning and intention. Here are 5 rules that will help you out:

1. Talk to strangers. You never know who is standing behind you at Starbucks.
2. Build a network with intention; create a plan of the types of people you want to meet and work the plan.
3. Give as much as you get; don’t be stingy about looking for ways to help others out. This will repay itself many times over when you need a helping hand.
4. Reach out to people long before you need anything; do not be that person who only ever calls when they need something. That is not networking – that is using people and you will not be appreciated for it. Stay in touch regularly with the people in your network.
5. Ask for what you want, not what you think you can get. The simple act of asking will get you a lot more than you can ever imagine.

Remember: success does not come to those with a low tolerance for risk or those who are led by fear. Start talking to people – you will be surprised what you learn!

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Collaboration is a magical thing. It’s a word that describes when 2 or more people come together and achieve something far greater than would have been possible, had they attempted it on their own. It gives meaning to the phrase “many hands make light work”. It signifies the value of focussing on our strengths, finding others who’s strengths fill the void of our weaknesses and together we become unstoppable. It’s a powerful concept.

But, collaboration can back fire. It can literally blow up in your face and it happens, at least in my experience, when there is a lack of authentic admiration and respect for one another. I have witnessed countless collaborations to come together, only to observe, as time goes by, the partners in collaboration turn on each other. At first, it’s petty stuff, things that should have been discussed and boundaries set in place long before you decided to engage. Chris Flett, known for his bluntness, wrote a post last week, hi-lighting some important questions to ask before you partner up. The one that I think many, especially women, would have glossed over is “How am I likely to piss you off? How am I likely to get pissed off?”. This question is far better asked before a collaboration gets started, then after you’ve already started to piss each other off, and hence the ‘blow up’ looming.

A way to avoid this tragic end to what could have otherwise have been a life changing experience, is to ensure that you have bullet proof admiration and respect for one another before you begin. If you don’t, don’t collaborate – you’re setting yourself up for major disappointment.

All the best,

Heather White, CEO, 2020 Communications Inc.

As a coach I am always forcing my clients to generate a plan B, no matter what, even if they’d rather die than not have their plan A come to fruition. Firstly because, as we all know, sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan, and that’s just life. It’s only in retrospect, and sometimes not even then, that we can see the reasons why our beloved plan didn’t come to fruition. Secondly, it’s there for insurance. No one plans to get in an accident or have their house burn down or worse, hence the reason we all by insurance, just in case. Lastly, and most importantly for me and those whom I advise, so that you can clear your anxious, fear based energy (the energy that manifests itself in quiet moments while you worry about your plan A not coming true).

Something very interesting happens to a person’s energy when they take the time to think out and formulate a plan B. They clear themselves of their attachment to the end result and their energy is therefore more open. Trust me, I’ve had many the argument with people who say ‘having a plan B means you’re not committed to your plan A’ and I highly disagree. Of the hundreds of times I’ve experienced in my own life and the number of times I’ve seen it happen in the lives of my clients I stand firm on this point. Just the other day, I found myself getting a bit anxious because the gentleman whom I wanted to keynote an upcoming foundational luncheon that I sit on the committee for, had not gotten back to me with an answer. Instead of worrying, I sat down and wrote out my back up plan for if he didn’t come through. An hour later he called and said, you guessed it, YES!

If you’re with me, sit down today and make sure you’ve got a plan B for all your beloved plan A’s. This will free your energy up and remove any anxiety and fear that may be getting in your way.

All the best,

Heather White, 2020 Communications Inc.

One of my favorite fables that has a pretty straightforward application to business is of the grasshopper and the ant. The hardworking ant prepares for the future by gathering and storing his food. His lazy neighbor, the grasshopper, doesn’t get organized and spends his time in idle pursuits. When winter comes, the ant is content in his home, enjoying the fruits of his labours. We never really hear precisely what happens to the grasshopper – you just kind of guess that he might not still be around when the warmer weather rolls around.

The story reminds you of the preparation that’s required for businesses to be successful. It’s about getting organized and sowing the ground with opportunities. For business, that includes building your networks, marketing, sales, product development and administrative tasks like bookkeeping and filing. Just as important is setting up the processes to ensure that when it comes time to reap the benefits, you’re ready. A few examples:

1. We all know networking is a great way to build business. Organize your new contacts, don’t just leave their business cards in a stack in a drawer. Put a system in place so that it’s easier to keep in touch and even add personal greetings to your messages as you build relationships.

2. Time management by itself won’t generate revenue, but it can generate opportunities for you to see the benefit later. An organized calendar allows you to spend your time more productively, leading to bigger profits. It can also help you allocate more time to pursuits outside of your work, so you can actually spend time on the fruits of your labours – perhaps in the Mayan Riviera or Las Vegas?

3. Keep your financial paperwork organized. File your contracts so you’re ready to submit your invoices on time. Business is not just about the sowing – reaping is work, too. You could even say the work is the reward.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

Let’s be real. Sitting and planning what you’re going to do to promote your business isn’t nearly as fun and interesting as jumping in and creating the postcard, writing the blog post or updating your FaceBook status with something witty.

It’s super easy to do a bunch of marketing and promotions, it’s harder to do them consistently and to make them pay off.

Here’s a trick: create a monthly calendar of what you want to accomplish. You can populate it with all manner of marketing activities, schedule time for it, and break it down into bite size pieces on a weekly or daily basis.

For example, if networking is one of the ways you raise your profile in the business community, at the beginning of the month choose how many networking events you’ll do in the month, do a bit of research on which ones are the best fit, plug the dates in, and register promptly to take advantage of any “early bird” rates. While you’re at it, add a few notes in your appointment details about why the event has value, what your goal is for being there, and what you’ll need to bring. Done.

When the event comes up on your calendar, do a quick check of your notes before you head out the door and you’re set to go. You’ll remember why you thought it was a good idea in the first place, you’ll have a goal when you walk in the door so the event will be more productive, and you’ll remember to grab a stack of the business cards you ran out of last time.

See, automation isn’t strictly about technology. It’s about systems in many forms. And systems work best when you’ve taken a moment to plan ahead.

PS: If you really want to turbo charge your networking automation, do a debrief after each and check in with how you feel the event went. Sometimes the value is good educational information, sometimes its clients, always it should be good contacts for future reference, and occasionally you’ll turn up someone you really connect with to become part of your supportive colleague network.

- Liz Gaige
Market Navigators Consulting

A big part of automating your business means being tech savvy. Name an administrative business function and you’ll probably find a free, or inexpensive, online tool to get it done. Google alone has dozens of apps you can use to organize, create, promote and network.

A few of my favorite tech tools for business include:

GTDMail

This email service provides simple workflow that transforms emails into tasks, enabling you to process them much more efficiently. Create categories like Follow Up, Read and Action for various types of responses. Create a Snooze folder so you can have the email re-delivered to you when it’s convenient.

Jott

Imagine having a private secretary following you around 24/7, transcribing all your thoughts so you can retrieve your ideas at any time. With Jott, you can record messages on your cellphone and have the messages sent to Outlook as sound files or transcribed and sent to your email.

Sticky Notes

Lots of people still use the paper sticky notes to help remind them of important tasks. Digital sticky notes fulfill the same purpose on your computer, without adding to your clutter. You can insert hyperlinks into them to make them more useful.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

Clients come to me because their sales are not where they would like them to be – they want to see higher revenues in their business. They want to attract new customers. And they want me to tell them how. My answer is always the same. How much networking do you do? What do you do on a regular basis to get in front of new prospects?

I did a seminar for a group of graphic designers who were all struggling to grow their businesses. The only networking they did was to attend graphic design conferences – where they met other graphic designers! Like most people, they hated networking. The issue was that other graphic designers were not their customers, so it was a waste of time and energy.

To grow your business, you have to uncover new opportunities. How do you expect new customers to find you? Networking is one of the most effective ways to find them and to build visibility for your business. It offers you the chance to expand your network. Figure out places where your potential customers hang out, such as:

* Local chamber of commerce
* Industry organizations
* Business networking groups
* Rotary
* Conferences
* Toastmasters

And you can also network when you’re in line at the grocery store, waiting for your coffee order, at the ball park.  I am not talking about simply dispensing business cards like confetti, everywhere you go.  Just talk to people, find out about them, get them engaged in conversation.

If your mind goes blank at the thought of talking to strangers, put together an interesting description of what you do that will encourage people to ask you questions. One businesswoman who is an executive management coach, describes herself as a ‘corporate instigator’. She leaves every event with 2-3 good contacts and her practice is booming – she even has a wait list for new clients.

Still hate networking? Get over it!

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc. www.fmwalsh.com

I met a woman this week who discovered, much to her surprise, that her weekly networking group provides fewer leads for her coaching and personal development business than do her social connections, including people she encounters through parenting activities.

Summer is a great time to try a softer sales approach and do some one-on-one market research. It’s also a great time to explore how your social and extra curricular activities can intersect with your business.

“Whoa, Nellie!” you say, “No one wants to talk business at the soft ball pitch or at the beach.”

“Whoa, Nellie!” I say, “If that’s true, why is so much business done on the golf course?”

First, it’s not immediately about selling. It’s about relationship development. Get to know the people around you and find some common ground.

Second, it’s not immediately about selling. It’s about educating (a.k.a. marketing) people about what you do.

It doesn’t have to be an elevator pitch – in fact, it’s much better if it’s not. Instead, since you now know a little bit about your friend, tell her a story about a successful project that illustrates what you do and how you do it. Or share a success story of how your client made progress because of your work together.

Do what women do naturally, and do it with a purpose:

1. Be curious, ask questions.
2. Share information that might benefit.

I’ve had many experiences over the years where a lightly planted seed resulted in a client down the road. Give it a try, you never know what might turn up.

- Liz Gaige
Market Navigators Consulting