Jonathan's comments

Finding decision makers in mid to large size companies. This is a difficult task. They are often buried behind several levels of gatekeepers. Once a face to face meeting is to be had a successful outcome is almost guaranteed. Just gotta get that appointment.

Besides networking, I have found that making in-person cold calls on the business and just flat asking who the decision maker is, works the best. Of course this takes a little guts and drive to walk past the NO SOLICITING sign on the front door. Only 1 out of a 100 ever shoot me down over the sign. Most often people are wonderful and since I am not asking anything of them personally, they let me know who to call on.

Then the challenge really begins.....

For sacred texts: the Bible, and a few commentaries.

For business related texts I am a huge fan of, The Tipping Point, and Fooled by Randomness. Both amazing books! They are a must read for anyone who is serious about marketing and business in general. They both have a statistical bent, but well worth the read.

Sweet, Closer to home:)

In most situations I would never use that vendor again. If you are selling a product and your vendor wants to be your competition, it's time for a new vendor. However if you are selling knowledge, ideas, and know-how and the vendor is just a means to an end, then Barry is right pass 'em along.

Being in the Real Estate Industry, I know that no one can be the Gate Keeper forever. People are going to find a way around the Gate. That being said, you're a branding expert, you're selling your creativity not a product.

So just charge more for your USP and get rid of the margin on the rest, show it as a discount for working with you.

I wish I could make it. Thursday Afternoons are tough for me.

If you have the extra time, then why not? As long as all you are investing is a little time. To gain experience and a little exposure it might be a good idea.

You also maybe able to negotiate a reduced rate instead of free. This can be an opportunity to work on your negotiating skills. While they are looking for something for nothing, they wouldn't ask if they didn't need it.

Again I would only do this if you have the extra time and it won't cut into your own cash flow positive work, unless you feel passionate about the non-profit.

Welcome Valerie!
By plugging into Biznik you will be able to make those personal contacts required to build a successful practice. I have found Biznik to be very helpful in introducing me to and in staying connected with other local business professionals.

Welcome. If you plug in you will be amazed at what you will be able to drum up>

In my industry there are no late fees.

However I have learned that all you have to do is ask. We are all so afraid of scaring away business that we are willing to shoot ourselves in the foot.

Ask for what you need, you will probably get it.

Karol,

I have explored the options for a consulting client of mine. The easiest way that I have found is to download WP into a subdirectory like /blog and then just link to it. If you use a plain enough theme with colors that match your existing site it might work.

There are many better solutions. However, as it always is, they take more skill than the average geek. I have learned to make my changes in a testing environment rather than on my main site to avoid "screwing up the works."

Good Luck!

Great Book! Bob Burg Talks a lot about who to focus on, the other person. I love going to networking events and hearing people quote almost verbatum his questions. It isn't a bad start. When I watch successful networkers, ie. That Lease Guy, I see people who are honestly trying to help as many people as they can. Through helping others they are able to build relationships and trust. That is what networking is all about. Not Bagging and Tagging.

"But enough about me, what do you think about me?"

I agree that "speed" is not a networking quality, unless you have quantity to back it up. I have found that after meeting a person several times, even if only for a short time, I get to know them. I tend to enjoy getting to know people rather than sitting through as many elevator speaches as I can. Building relationship isn't a race. Trust takes time.

Oh yeah! I won the UK Lottery Last week! I am sending off my account information right now. I can't wait until they deposit the money ;)

Being in the industry myself I have a few biases towards Redfin. When a service company's best selling point is price, then you know that their service is lacking. All too often Alternative Business Model Brokerages try to lure in customers with great marketing and PR about how low their cost is. They spend all that marketing money on their best feature. If they offered great service they wouldn't have to spend so much on marketing, and maybe they could have a referral business. I have talked with several past clients of Redfin and most have said that they wouldn't use them in the future.

Nice demonstration!

It looks like a great directory for a link or two.

Being a Real Estate Agent I have done my fair share of Smiling and Dialing. What I have found to be the most effective is the personal touch. Meeting people face to face so far has been the best way for me to generate new prospects. It is a little easier for me to do this since everyone is a potential prospect for real estate.

I have done some consulting for a few other companies, specifically a marketing company that sold promotioanal products. By just dedicating an hour a day to finding new leads by knocking on doors helped to increase their gross sales by over 40%. That is a huge increase in sales, all from an hour a day. It just takes a little dedication.

Well if a 200 times increase has happened watchout for the fall. In Seattle we have been experienceing a little flattening and possible slipage due to the rapid increase in land values.

There is a book called "SEO in under an hour a day" I forget the authors name. I read it last year and found it to be a great introduction to the world of SEO.