Entering and Exiting Conversations…Gracefully

Although entering a room is uncomfortable, nothing is more daunting than entering a room full of people… already in groups. They say that ‘breaking up is hard to do’ but “breaking in” is more difficult. Being able to do so enhances our business and careers. How we gracefully join a work in progress concerns many people who find it awkward. To make it easier, here are strategies for breaking and entering and exiting.

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Breaking In

There are several ways to do that. One way is the lesson learned from shy people: arrive within fifteen minutes of the appointed hour. That way the room is not full of already formed groups. When we do see many groups in any room, find the group with three or more people who look and sound like they are having a good time. Stand in the periphery and when acknowledged step in and respond. BONUS TIP: When you see someone in your group’s periphery, step back. In doing so, you will have included the excluded and that is memorable.

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Gracious Exits

Parting is such sweet sorrow but we must exit and move on.

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Exit One

After an interesting conversation, interrupt yourself, indicate the conversation was pleasant, interesting, and informative and offer a phrase or sentence that summarizes the conversation. Offering a hand for a handshake, signals “the end”. One colleague smiles and says, “I could monopolize your time but you must want to meet others.” It works for her.

Ask for a card if appropriate and offer one of yours. Then walk a quarter of the room over to another individual or group so your conversation partner won’t think you just turned your back.

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Exit Two

After a conversation that is belabored, still be polite because doing otherwise could cause a problem down the road. Offer your hand for the handshake and in a most upbeat voice, “I hope you enjoy the rest of the meeting, party, game, and conference.” And still walk a quarter of the room away from the person. Chance is an interesting game because we never know who will reappear in the rooms of our life and be the key contact.

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Exit Three

Another way to exit is a ‘bring-along”. Instead of excusing yourself, offer to introduce your new contact to others. An introduction spoken with respect, interest and energy is infectious.

Helping others increase their contact base is kind, smart and memorable! It’s a way to develop your business, your reputation and your bottom-line.

Whether it’s a conference, a meeting or an event, Susan RoAne helps people increase their communication, interactions, comfort and confidence in every room.

My Favorite Entrepreneurial Tool – Deciding My SWOT

As the owner of four online companies, my job is to sit down every year and decide my SWOT for the next 12 months and then to consistently revisit my SWOT throughout each year and tweak as needed. I base my decisions on my experience and the emerging trends in the industries I serve.

I also network, engage in learning with mentors, and a lot of the time I simply go left when everyone else goes right. I am a rebel that way and it works simply because it helps my companies stand out in a crowded marketplace.

SWOT is my favorite tool to help me understand at the strategic level how to go left when others go right.

SWOT is a business acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

EVERY single company, no matter what size it is, has SWOT.

Success is achieved based on how you leverage this tool. Here is how I apply SWOT to my companies:

* I decide what my acceptable weaknesses will be
* I predict the threats to my business
* I capitalize my strengths
* and finally I seize opportunities!

I have been known to say “yes” quite a few times to risky opportunities even when I have no earthly idea how the pieces will ever fall into place. I know that if I don’t say “yes”, someone else will and that my simply saying “yes” allows me to move forward and signal the universe to send those “pieces” my way.

Your overall goal in business is to communicate your strengths to your current and potential customers via your website and all of the communication systems (newsletters, blogs, podcasts, etc.) you use.

Sheri McConnell is the President of the National Assn of Women Writers and the Assn of Web Entrepreneurs. She teaches online entrepreneurs how to discover, create, and profit from their intellectual knowledge. Get free reports and audios at http://www.nawwfreereport.com or http://www.awefreereport.com

A Special Book Promotion – And It’s Happening Today Only!

A special book promotion that is happening today only – December 11, 2008! The book is called Publishize: How to Quickly and Affordably Self-Publish a Book that Promotes Your Expertise and is written by Susan Daffron.

It’s her ninth book and in Publishize you’ll find all her best self-publishing secrets that made it possible for her to self-publish 8 books in less than 18 months.

Today only Susan is offering free shipping on the book and a slew of bonuses from many people in the publishing and business world. You’ll find audio and print bonuses from Marcia Yudkin, Shel Horowitz, Fern Reiss, Sheri McConnell, and many other people ~ including Yours Truly!  Check out http://www.publishize.com and you’ll see the incredible list of freebies Susan has collected.

Of course, you also get the book itself, which is chock full of all the information any aspiring self-publisher needs to finally realize that dream of publishing a book.

Here’s what a few publishing pros have said about the book:

A roadmap to turn businesspeople into published authors.” — Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Publishing Manual, ParaPublishing.com

“Well-written, honest, pulling no punches, and full of good advice. Read Publishize to make informed and profitable decisions about the entire publishing and marketing process.” — Shel Horowitz, award-winning author of Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers and six other books; www.GrassrootsMarketingforAuthors.com

“Susan Daffron offers honest advice and breaks down self-publishing into manageable steps any business owner can implement.” — John Eggen, President, The Mission Marketing Mentors, Inc.; www.MissionMarketingMentors.com

Susan Daffron eloquently nails the why’s and how’s of self-publishing in her new book, Publishize. This book is a great gift… I highly recommend it.” – Fern Reiss, Director of the International Association of Writers, and CEO of PublishingGame.com

Susan Daffron explains the ins and outs of print-on-demand printing without the subsidy press stigma and offers a great overview of the latest online book marketing methods. I highly recommend this book for all the women writers I serve!” — Sheri McConnell, CEO of the National Association of Women Writers, www.naww.org

You can read more testimonials here -  http://www.publishize.com/praise.htm

I hope you can take a moment today to check out Susan Daffron’s book and all the great bonuses at http://www.Publishize.com

Smart Networking to the Rescue!

“Help! My Networking’s Not Working!” they cried…

Plagued by misconceptions, fear and procrastination… business professionals around the globe are wondering how to get their networking… working.

Now, there’s no need to fret or fear… The Networking Masters are here and… we’ve got back up!

“Smart Networking” to the Rescue!

If you’re not sure how to leverage networking in a way that works for you, this brand new book “Smart Networking” by Liz Lynch is a must-read.

And, today, you can enjoy a sneak peek into Liz’s insights and advice through a special interview that narrows in on some key questions to help you… get your networking working!

Gina: Liz, In your opinion, what is the biggest benefit of networking and why?

Liz: While networking can help people gain enormous tangible benefits in landing a new job or getting new clients, etc. I’ve really come to feel through my own experience that the biggest benefit of all is something more intangible. It’s knowing that you have a support system there for you when you need it, for whatever you want to do, whatever goal you set for yourself. Knowing that you can accomplish anything, in my opinion, is absolutely priceless.

Gina: What are some of the reasons why networking might not be working for someone and how can they flip the results?

Liz: One reason is expecting instant results. You wouldn’t plant grape seeds and expect vintage-quality wine in one week, but some people think that if they don’t meet someone at an event who can hire them or give them business right away, it’s been a waste of time.

A related reason for failure is being too focused on one’s own needs. People are willing to help you because they know like and trust you, but also because they know that you’re willing to help them. To be successful with networking, you have to see it as a two-way street, and give the relationship time to develop.

Gina: Networking is a concept that seems to be largely misunderstood. In your opinion, what is the biggest myth or misconception surrounding networking today and how can networking professionals move past it?

Liz: One of the biggest myths is that you don’t need to network unless you need something, which then leads to the approach of networking ONLY when you need something. This thinking gets in the way of effective networking because you’re too focused on your own needs.

If you take a broader view of networking so that when you meet people you aren’t asking “What can they do for me?” but rather “What can they do?” you begin to see how much value every single person has to offer. People become more interesting to you, you see how you’re able to connect them with others in your network, and networking becomes so much more fun. And believe me, when I started, I didn’t like networking at all. So this mental shift has been critical for my own networking and business success.

Gina: For some people, the thought of networking with “strangers” is very scary, what advice do you have to help alleviate networking jitters?

Liz: I faced the exact same thing when I started my business! The first networking event I attended I lasted 5 minutes! It was very overwhelming. So I changed my strategy to reconnect with people I already knew but hadn’t seen in a while, like former coworkers, bosses, school mates. In fact, almost all of my clients my first two years in business came from those dozen or so meetings. Once I began to see success from those networking efforts, I was able to meet strangers with a great deal more confidence.

One trick I had was to arrive at events early. It was less intimidating to talk to a few other early birds than to arrive when 200 people were already engrossed in conversation.

Gina: Combining face to face and online networking is proving to be a highly effective combination… why do you think this is?

Liz: Smart networkers do indeed combine both. I think face-to-face is still very important for making an impact, and in particular, for connecting with high-level people who normally have gatekeepers screening their calls and emails. What makes online networking so valuable is the diversity and sheer numbers of people you can reach without leaving your home. For example, Gina, you and I would never have met since you live in Canada and I live in New York, but through online networking we connected and are now helping each other. And if we ever do meet in person (which I hope will happen) we’ll have had such a big head start in building our relationship that we can talk about doing bigger things together.

Gina: Liz, thank you so much for sharing your valuable advice and insights! I would love to see a face-to-face meeting in our near future too!

Everyone stay tuned… we’ll bring Liz back soon for a more in-depth audio interview.  If you’d like to be notified when this happens, simply click the big orange subscribe now button to your right… It’s free and you’ll benefit from some other valuable bonuses too.

To learn more about Liz Lynch and her new book “Smart Networking” go to the Smart Networking Blog now.

ABOUT LIZ LYNCH: Liz is the author to “SMART NETWORKING”. Packed with powerful strategies tested by years of experience, as well as real-life stories from the field, Smart Networking describes how to integrate face-to-face techniques with a strong online presence. You’ll get low-cost marketing tools that are designed to expand your professional circle exponentially. Lynch will also help you to:

* Identify the gaps in your network and develop a plan to fill them.
* Tap into existing contacts and master the art of the ask.
* Increase visibility through speaking, e-zine publishing, and blogs.
* Expand your reach with social networking tools.
* Develop a winning mindset to guide all your networking activities.

Liz Lynch is also author to 102 Secrets to Smarter Networking and founder of the Center for Networking Excellence. This company develops products, programs, and seminars that help entrepreneurs and professionals get clients, build their businesses, and accelerate their careers through networking.  http://blog.networkingexcellence.com

December Inner Circle Mastermind Teleseminar: Why Creating a Membership Based-Business Is So Smart with Sheri McConnell

December Inner Circle Mastermind Teleseminar: Why Creating a Membership Based-Business Is So Smart with Sheri McConnell

Wednesday December 3, 2008 at 3:00 pm CST
(visit www.time.gov for other time zones)

Becoming the center of influence in your chosen niche is an excellent way to build your brand as the expert of choice. An underutilized strategy by many leaders in professional services is establishing your own membership-based business. Find out why the membership-based business model is a smart way to generate more profits and position yourself as the expert in your industry almost immediately.

Sheri McConnell is the CEO of Sheri McConnell Companies, Inc. and the president and founder of two national organizations, the National Association of Women Writers-NAWW and the International Association of Web Entrepreneurs-AWE.  Under the same corporate umbrella she is also the owner of two high-level product and consulting companies: Create Your Group and My Millionaire Friends. You can visit Sheri, access her free article archive, and find out more about all four of her companies at www.sherimcconnell.com. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their four children, a weenie dog, and two cats.

You will learn:

• The many benefits of the membership-based business model including free publicity, immediate platform, and more
• How to leverage your position as a gatekeeper
• Core elements to consider before creating your own membership-based company
• Key roles as the leader
• How to select your team of professional experts
• What systems you need to implement to run a profitable membership-based company

There are two ways you can access this call:

1) Become a FREE Subscriber Now for complimentary access to the live teleseminar.

2) Become an Inner Circle Mastermind Member for VIP access to the mp3 recordings and CD’s of the month. You can jumpstart your membership today and get 3 months for the price of 1.

Already a member? Just login to the Inner Circle Mastermind Forum and enjoy the benefits of being a member of this exclusive group today like networking tips only seen there.