Recently I had the pleasure of attending one of Bob Burg’s live seminars in Seattle. If you want to polish your referral skills, Bob Burg’s books – especially Endless Referrals – are a must read. I really enjoyed having these referral marketing tips brought to live with great stories and practical advice.

Here are my top 5 takeaways from Bob’s presentation:

1. Posture = Mindset

There are a number of factors you can control related to how you do business. In general, people don’t like to do business with people who need them too much. This is commonly referred to … Read the rest

If you want to make a good impression, you better not flop the follow-up. Think of a “follow-up” as a way to stay connected to those you network with during your job search. An effective follow-up strategy will help you to stay top of mind, and in this competitive job market, you need every advantage you can get to keep your edge.

A few weeks ago, I went to a networking event where I met a dynamic individual who spoke about his current job search efforts. He asked for my opinion, and I shared some feedback about how … Read the rest

From Darrell Zahorsky, former About.com Guide

Growing a small business is tough work. The sales function is a time consuming task with a constant need to fill your “sales funnel” with fresh, qualified prospects on a regular basis. Finding the best qualified leads from your business does not come from a cold contact situation but from building a strong referral business. Discover the benefits and 7 tactics to drive referral marketing for your small business.

Referral Marketing Benefits

The business of referrals makes sense for most companies for the following reasons:

• Referral marketing reduces your sales expenses and

It’s one thing to tell your customers how great you are. It’s a much bigger, better thing to have respected community influencers tell your customers how great you are. It’s the thing that can ramp up your marketing to create immediate, measurable results. Here’s how…

1. Make a list of 10 VIPs…Very Influential People…in your community.

1. VIPs are folks whose opinions are sought by others in the community, especially your target market. For instance, if you are a plumber, make sure to have a reputable carpet cleaning company owner on your list. Also, have a few politicians, media people, and

By now you’ve probably heard countless times how important it is to use well-crafted stories in modern presentations. Why? We’re impatient in today’s distracting world. We no longer want to be lulled to sleep by complicated graphs and bullet points. We expect to be excited, challenged and to reflect on our own experiences. And you can do that many times with the use of stories.

Here’s how you can harness your own personal stories and use them to touch your audience the next time you present:

Make a List

Take a pen and paper, away from distractions, and start listing … Read the rest

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Pellentesque at hendrerit odio. Nunc placerat lorem augue, quis commodo orci vestibulum sit amet. Nulla dignissim justo augue, non feugiat purus tempor ut. Ut sem massa, viverra quis enim id, tincidunt malesuada ligula. Nullam pharetra … Read the rest

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc et orci blandit, tincidunt justo rhoncus, gravida mi. Nullam vitae mattis nunc. Ut rhoncus tellus non magna feugiat elementum. Quisque ex sapien, mattis molestie dapibus et, elementum eget erat. Sed et orci vel est molestie laoreet a vitae eros. Donec porta luctus rhoncus. Sed convallis fermentum est in sollicitudin. Integer non risus vitae metus cursus pretium.

Pellentesque at hendrerit odio. Nunc placerat lorem augue, quis commodo orci vestibulum sit amet. Nulla dignissim justo augue, non feugiat purus tempor ut. Ut sem massa, viverra quis enim id, tincidunt malesuada ligula. Nullam pharetra … Read the rest

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc et orci blandit, tincidunt justo rhoncus, gravida mi. Nullam vitae mattis nunc. Ut rhoncus tellus non magna feugiat elementum. Quisque ex sapien, mattis molestie dapibus et, elementum eget erat. Sed et orci vel est molestie laoreet a vitae eros. Donec porta luctus rhoncus. Sed convallis fermentum est in sollicitudin. Integer non risus vitae metus cursus pretium.

Pellentesque at hendrerit odio. Nunc placerat lorem augue, quis commodo orci vestibulum sit amet. Nulla dignissim justo augue, non feugiat purus tempor ut. Ut sem massa, viverra quis enim id, tincidunt malesuada ligula. Nullam pharetra … Read the rest