Have you been to my other blog lately?  Not that I'm feeling lonely or anything...but I've got some great stuff for you!

I write a column for Examiner.com on Seattle Women and Business.  You'll find information on events happening around the area, spotlights on area businesses owned or serving women, and get information on growing your business locally.

Some really great articles from last week include:

• An audio interview with Kelleen Griffin on Emotional Intelligence.  You won't want to miss this one.
• An early invitation to a *free* wine and food networking event on the Eastside in September.
• A really HOT tip for local retailers to be included in the Hearst Online Holiday Shopping Guide, which is available to readers of sites like Redbook.com, Cosmopolitan.com.

So, make it easy to keep up with both the coaching information available to women entrepreneurs on this site as well as the Puget Sound-specific events and connections available on Examiner.com.  You can get them both via RSS feed to be delivered directly to your email inbox or feedreader, whichever you choose.

Subscribe to my column on Examiner.com here.

Subscribe to this Success Blog here, or use the convenient email subscription box at the top of my blog page at www.betsytalbot.com/blog

Either way, it is easy to stay informed in just minutes a day!

If you have a business, then you likely have the opportunity to attend at least one trade or membership convention every year.  They can be great opportunities to expand your business, make valuable partnerships, and get feedback on your business plans from experienced leaders.  They can also be exhausting wastes of time and money. 

Fortunately, it is up to you to decide which one it will be.

First, make sure the conference is right for you.

• What do you expect to get out of the conference?  Is that outcome worth your time and expense?
• Will the attendees be good resources/customers for you?
• Can you contribute in a meaningful way?
  

If the conference is right for you, then start planning.  Many people spend more time considering what to put in their luggage than what to do for their business.  Don't make that mistake!

• Study the agenda and make plans to meet influential attendees/speakers. If you have a proposal for a book, article, or idea, carry it with you.  You may not have the chance to present it (and shouldn't push it off on someone unsolicited), but if the opportunity arises, be prepared to give it away immediately when asked.  If you have to go back to your room or email it later the magic of timing may be lost.
• Let your existing contacts know what you are doing.  Set up an out of office email message that lets your customers know when you will be checking email/voicemail each day along with an exciting message about where you will be and why. 
  
• Do you have enough business cards? 
  
• Do your cards have your picture on them? If you attend a show with over 500 people, chances are you will be easily forgotten without one (make sure it is a recent one that actually looks like you, not a 10-year-old glamour shot)
• Can you write on the back of your card? If you get glossy cards, make sure the back is matte so you can write something to jog the memory of the person you are talking to.  Do the same on the back of their cards when you get them to help you follow up later.
  
• If you are attending a very large show and expect to give out at least a box of cards, consider printing a special set just for the conference with pertinent information ("see me at booth 123" or "mention the conference special to get 15% off at my website")
• My friend Zita Gustin recommends using Ziplock bags for every day of a conference to sort your cards (and even further sort them if you like by "potential customer" and "potential referral partner").  When you get that many cards, it is hard to keep them organized, and you will not remember if you don't have a system. 
  
• Make a plan for followup before you leave. 
  
• If you write cards, bring enough with you along with stamps.  Mail them from the hotel so your contacts will have their cards when they get home. 
• Avoid writer's cramp and save time by using an online card system like Send Out Cards.  I love the way I can customize cards, use my own handwriting, and insert a digital business card on the inside cover.  And I never have to worry about buying stamps because Send Out Cards prints and mails them for me.  Spend 20 minutes every night on this in your hotel room and you won't have a mountain of cards at the end of the week wondering who all of these people are and why you want to know them.
  
• Bob Burg of Endless Referrals advocates using a "referral card" - an 8-1/2 by 3-1/2 inch card with your picture and relevant info - to send as your first contact with a new person.  He then continues to follow up with Send out Cards.  I just had these printed and will be using them for the first time at the eWomen Network Conference in Dallas this month and will let you know how this works.  Here is a copy of the card I'm using.
• Will you have a booth?  Offer a giveaway in exchange for signing up for your subscription list.  Make it easy by allowing them to drop in a business card instead of filling out a form.  Then scan the business cards into your list when you get home with a tool like Neat Receipts.
  
• Prepare a followup item such as a special newsletter, report, ebook, or pictures from the conference to send out to your new contacts afterward.  Provide something of value along with a link to sign up for your subscription list.  It goes without saying (though I am saying it) that you cannot add people to your email marketing list without their permission.  Don't risk being labeled a spammer and lose your credibility by doing this.  Always get permission.

If this sounds like a lot of trouble, you may not be in the right frame of mind to make the most of the convention.  It does take time to prepare, but if you love what you do it is a great opportunity to grow your business and won't feel like work. 

"Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success."

~ Henry Ford

Are you prepared to make 5 to 20 contacts with a potential customer before she decides to do business with you?  I hope so, because statistics show that 80% of customers wait that long to make a buying decision.

You can make those contacts in a variety of ways, but if you count on occasional in-person contacts to do the trick you may be waiting years to make a sale.  And eating a lot of Ramen noodles.  

So, how can you increase the number of contacts with a potential client without getting too sales-y or spending too much time or money per lead?   

Remember, you can't duplicate yourself so you have to duplicate your effectiveness.

First things first:  Get a plan.

Mix it up.  Put together a program of calls, emails, blogs, ezines, face-to-face contact, and good old-fashioned cards and notes.  It doesn't matter how you put it together as long as it makes sense to you and your business.  You can easily set these up as drip campaigns or calendar reminders with a minimum of effort - if you have a plan.

Here is a sample followup plan for a warm lead met at a networking event:

• Put your lead in a system with all the details you can remember - use index cards, CRM program, spreadsheet, whatever - you can't keep track of them if you don't log them, and if you think you will remember everyone you meet you are not meeting enough people
  
• Send a "nice to meet you" card and reiterate what THEY are looking for and how you will keep that in mind for them
• Set up a Google alert on them and their company so you can be first to know when news happens about them - and contact them with congratulations
  
• Follow up a week or two after initial contact with an email or call with an article, introduction, or bit of info relating to their needs.  Ask them to sign up for your ezine.
  
• Check in a week or two later to see how that bit of information is working for them
• Send them an article from your blog or website that pertains to the service they are most likely to be interested in
• Set up a reminder of the people you want to follow up with at your next networking event and put it on your calendar.  Review the details the day before so you will be prepared to meet them again.

Lather, rinse, repeat for every warm lead (the more times you do it, the more you get out of your system).

See how these are all "giving" activities instead of "selling" activities?  Giving increases your good karma, your value to other people, and your reputation as a center of influence.  Besides making you feel good, it will also come back to you in business growth. 

If you don't have a system you will not be able to reliably predict how many customers you will have in the next month, quarter or year, and if you can't predict that you will never predict your income.  And when you can't do that, your business has no reliable means (or reason) to invest in growth.

Homework:  Send a card, make a call, email an interesting article.  Let them know you care before they do business with you.

Editor's Note: Below is a repeat of a very popular post on my previous blog, reposted here by request. 

There is a reason the flight attendants tell you to put your air mask on before helping the person in the seat next to you. You have to help yourself first if you want to survive in business.

Making sure your company is profitable gives you the means to perform charity/pro bono work long-term and from a position of abundance. Helping everyone else and disrespecting your own needs is an almost sure path to failure.

Many of my friends with service-based businesses have told me their battles with the “coffee date.” They meet someone at a networking event, the person expresses interest in getting to know them, and a date is set up. When my friends arrive, however, they find the date is really not about networking and helping each other succeed; it is about getting free advice.

Coaches, healers, organizers, computer technicians, etc., – they all have a great deal of knowledge as their “product.” No one would ask a widget maker to give away free widgets over coffee, so I’m not sure why it is expected that service professionals would give away free advice. The reason their information is so valuable is that it took them a long time to learn and master it.

If you are a service provider who regularly gets asked to coffee dates that turn into free consulting sessions, here are some tips to get your time back:

• Set up your coffee date via phone rather than email. You can usually find out quickly if the person truly wants to get to know you or just wants the benefit of your expertise.  Even better, make it 3- or 4-some coffee date with a few others you want to get to know.
• While on the phone, ask them the top 3 things you will learn about their business and referral needs and tell them the top 3 things they will learn about yours. This sets the expectation for the give-and-take of a true networking meeting.
• There is nothing wrong with giving away occasional free consulting – if you are doing so by your choice. Make sure you do this deliberately and let your audience know the market value of your services. This helps them appreciate it as well as making sure they don’t tell other people to come to you for similar free sessions.
• Devise a playbook for these situations. I have a mental checklist for new contacts who want to “get to know me better” and you can do the same (this also works well with people who only want to sell to you and are not interested in a true referral relationship).

Some of my entrepreneur friends have come up with terrific ideas for warding off the takers and sussing out true customer leads and networking relationships.

The best by far?

Offer an introductory consulting package with a price that goes toward any of your services. For example, a phone/in-person consultation could go for $150, and if future services are booked that money goes toward the package. If not, the customer got $150 worth out of the first meeting and you both walk away satisfied. Pitch this package for every “iffy” coffee date request and check the response. If you do have a free networking coffee date that goes off track, you can always refer back to this package and let your date know you are happy to help them at that rate.

Remember that as a service professional your store’s inventory is in your head. Treat it as well as you would a product, and in no time you will have the means to offer pro bono work by choice and on a grander scale than you can as a new business owner.

Yesterday I went to a sale at a local artist's studio.  He was selling paintings at a discount to make room in his new workspace, and I was amazed at the difference between his work 20 years ago and today.  As a matter of fact, I bought one from 1994 and one painted 6 months ago, and you can barely tell they were from the same artist.  I love them both for different reasons, and it was interesting to hear him talk about the growth of his style over time.

Which brings me to today's topic.  Is there a visible evolution to your business?  When you offer a service it is not as easy to see the evolution as in a series of paintings.

Are you stuck in the Stone Age or zooming into the 21st Century?:

• Are your life and goals the same as it was when you opened your business?  If not, have you changed your business to adapt?
  
•  Are you still serving the same market as when you first opened your doors?  If not, have you changed your marketing message to reflect this?
• If you have been running your business for longer than a year, have you become seasoned enough to have processes in place, operations manuals, and other systems to help you delegate tasks as you grow?

Just as children grow to adults, your business should grow and mature.  Think about your growth over time and make sure you are keeping up with your business and your business is reflective of your goals.

"We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution."

~ Bill Hicks