"Open for business": why I am an open networker

I tend to accept most invitations to connect, whether that is on LinkedIn or Twitter, and so I guess that you would rightly call me an 'open networker'. There are exceptions to this rule: usually because the profile is not at all completed, or I have some security concerns over whether it is a genuine contact or not. Mercifully these are very rare. I now have a diverse range of contacts, from former clients to people I met when networking in person; and contacts on both side of the Atlantic, in the UK, where I used to live, and in the USA, which is where I am currently. I just don't mind where people are, or what they do, I am happy to connect and if some mutual benefit can arise from the connection, then all the better - sometimes it will and sometimes it won't.

People You May Know

In addition to the requests to connect that turn up 'out of the blue', I will also make use of the 'Who to follow' facility on Twitter and the 'People You May Know' tab on LinkedIn. Both of these apply an algorithm that gives you suggestions for further connections or followers, based upon your current list of followers or connections, and they are a great way of expanding your network.

Open Online: Open In Person

This same approach to being an open networker is how I conduct my networking in person, you just never know who can open doors for you and who you can help in return - that well-known principle of 'givers gain'. I enjoy my networking as a result and it has been instrumental in helping me to grow my business and will remain a key part of my marketing strategy for a long time to come.

Closed versus Open

Not everyone, however, is open to making new connections on LinkedIn, for example, unless they have met them first - whilst it is not my approach, I do respect their position. Often there is a concern that contacts will spam them with too many marketing messages, although this has not been my experience. For other people there is a suspicion of motives or intentions, and others, for understandable reasons, might have some security concerns.

I am often surprised as to why some people chose to be a 'closed' networker: I once read a very useful book, which I referred to frequently when I was teaching. I sent the author a request to connect on LinkedIn and they declined it, for whatever reason. In view of the fact it was a book on social media and marketing, I was a little surprised, as this was an ideal opportunity to keep a keen reader informed of any future books or updates of interest.

'Open for business'

The author, no doubt, had their reasons, but for me the ethos of an open networker is that you are open and receptive to new ideas and ways of thinking. You want to hear what is being said and you also want to join in that big conversation: it is all about listening and being heard. That is why I am, and will remain, an open networker and 'open for business'.

Are you an open or a closed networker?

Will Trevor is the Founder and Training Consultant at Windsor Training. Please click 'Follow' if you would like to hear more from Will in the future. Feel free to also connect via his Linkedin page, or via Twitter and Facebook or email: will.trevor@windsortraining.net

Other recent and popular posts by Will:

Job Interviews: Don't take it personally

Mentoring: 5 Things I Have Learned From Being A Mentor

So you can lead, but can you follow?

Picture Credit: "Handshake (Workshop Cologne '06)" by Tobias Wolter - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handshake_(Workshop_Cologne_%2706).jpeg#m

We're all in sales now!

We’re all in sales now!

How developing the mindset of a salesman can help a business thrive.

Cockney barrow boy: Alan Sugar is proud of his
roots selling fruit and veg from a barrow.

When I was selling medical insurance to corporates and the self-employed - and before that in sales recruitment - during the early days the phone would never ring with a hot prospect just falling into my lap – I would have considered that manna from Heaven!  I had to go hunting for business.  If someone did ring up ‘out of the blue’, then you can guarantee that I was straight onto it and either a meeting was booked without delay or the information was provided post haste and follow-up calls arranged.

In the competitive worlds of insurance and recruitment, you can’t afford to leave a prospect un-responded, even if it means you are working on your weekend or your holiday, because they will simply go elsewhere. For a salesman, someone who contacts you is a prospect who probably has a desire and interest in making that purchase now – they are certainly someone keen to know more about your product or service and that makes them part-qualified! You don’t delay and you call them straight back, even if it turns out to be fruitless, but you always know that a hot prospect can turn cold very quickly and that you only have a very short window of opportunity in which to respond.

With this in mind, I recently needed some painting done to our house, in preparation for renting out the property.  I usually ring about five professionals, so that I have a choice and also to ensure that if someone doesn’t get back to me, for whatever reason, then I am not left without any options. All of them went straight to an answerphone or voicemail. The painting job was going to be a few days of work and covered much of the interior of the house – it was a good job for someone. Of the five that I called, I received no response, even though I left a message explaining what I was after and also gave them the opportunity of calling or emailing me – but no one returned my call. I even took to Twitter and got various retweets and some recommendations, but again, no one contacted me directly. Eventually, my lettings agent managed to fix me up with a tenant who was also a painter and decorator and he went straight round and did a first class job.

I am not picking on the building trade, because there are plenty of instances in other industries where a similar thing happens, but I am left scratching my head as to why and I am perplexed how any business owner is prepared to ignore potential trade.  Many of those businesses were small or even sole traders, but most had been located from a weekly local advertising magazine that would have cost them money in which to place a regular advert – clearly their advertising was working, because they had a hot prospect calling them directly, but why weren't they responding?

Partly it is symptomatic of some industries, when the business owner has a pipeline of business for the next few weeks, they are then reluctant to take on any further work, because their current resources and manpower are stretched. I understand that. However, not only am I now a lost customer for that piece of work, I am now a lost customer for any future work and any potential referrals that might arise. ‘Walk ins’, as they call them in retail, are worth their weight in gold, precisely because they have come looking for you, rather than you having to go hunting for them.  When times are good, you may feel that you can turn business away, but if a slump in trade is around the corner, then you need all the goodwill that you can muster.

The point of this post is a simple one: even if you are a sole trader without a sales team to back you up, make sure that you follow up and acknowledge potential leads and particularly those that come looking for you because of your marketing efforts or a recommendation.  Unless you speak with them, you may not find out why they are contacting you and the nature of what they want.  As it happened, I could have waited a few weeks, but none of those painters found that out, because none of them bothered to contact me and ask.  Maybe you could give a recommendation to a competitor, who may then return the favour in a period when they are too busy to accept a job. Maybe it’s a prospect that offers you some regular work and sees you through the next recession. You may not see yourself as being in sales, but developing a bit of the mind-set of a salesman and ensuring that you follow up on every lead, might just mean the difference between a business that grows and thrives and one that just becomes another statistic of business failure.

Oh … and it might just mean that I get my house painted too.

Written by Will Trevor, Founder and Training Consultant at Windsor Training
Email: will.trevor@windsortraining.net

Picture Credit: Damien Everett [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Surviving your Business Nightmares

Surviving Your Business Nightmares

Four business lessons of Gordon Ramsay

Chef Gordon Ramsay: What do you mean 'no crab cakes'?

From the outset I have to admit to being a big fan of the hit TV show, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, both of the original UK show and the even grittier, though slightly more formulaic, version that airs in the USA.  The expletive-laden outbursts and the ego-maniacal owners, coupled with the confrontations and the final resolution, make for compelling viewing.  Although no further episodes are now going to be made, the show often runs on several channels in the USA at any one time, including BBC America. Nevertheless, whilst this is primarily a piece of popular TV entertainment, there are some valid business lessons that can be drawn from Gordon Ramsay’s style and approach.

If you can't stand the heat ...

Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant or hotel kitchen can testify to the sometimes febrile and volatile atmosphere that exists. The egos of chefs and owners can often blind them to the reality of what is going on within their business, many agree to appear on the show as a last ditch attempt to save a business that has been hovering over the precipice long before the ‘man in the whitecoat’ puts his head around the door and blasts them with an f-word laden broadside.  Much has been made in the media of the fact that a significant percentage of restaurants subsequently folded after appearing in the show, but this may be more a result of the fact that they were already on the ropes, rather than being directly attributable to Ramsay’s interventions.  Having avidly viewed many of the episodes, here are four helpful business lessons that I feel can be drawn from Gordon Ramsay’s approach, whatever your business:

"I'm Gordon and you are?"

Firstly, there is the personable and team-centred approach to everyone in the organisation, at whatever level. Saying that Gordon Ramsay has a personable and people-centred style of leadership, may sound slightly oxymoronic, given that he is renowned for the explosive and confrontational approach that he adopts in the show. Nevertheless, he always engenders a team spirit amongst the members of the business and approaches everyone, from the pot washer to the manager, in an inclusive and even-handed way. Partly this is personality, but it is also symptomatic of the need to keep a diverse team of people together, such as those you would find in the average kitchen, and tied into a common vision. He tries to pull everyone along who share in the vision, but this doesn't blind him to the need to cut out the deadwood, if they are sabotaging the mission and holding the business back.

"You can't serve the customer that!"

Secondly, no compromise on quality for the customer. He is an acknowledged and respected expert in his field and he has a laser-focus on delivering quality to the customer, even if this requires trampling on a few egos in the process.  He has no time for chefs that lack the passion to ensure that the food leaving from the pass is of the highest quality, made from the best freshest produce; but also in ensuring that the front of house is focused on giving the customer a quality experience. Here his approach is similar to that of Steve Jobs at Apple or Jeff Bezos at Amazon, both of whom were known to blow-up at those who don’t share the same passion and obsession for delivering a quality customer service.

Ego ...

Thirdly, don’t let ego blind you to what is going on within your business and seek help, when you need it.  When we have been running a business for a while, we become proud of that achievement and, sometimes, that pride blinds us to the need to seek help from time to time. A coach or a mentor, which is often the role that Ramsay is playing here, can help us lose the scales from our eyes and focus on a clearer vision for the way ahead. To help achieve this, he often has to confront that self-belief head-on and he is certainly not shy of pricking their egos in order to help them see the best way forward.  Often the coach can see the business more objectively and look beyond the obstacles that we believe to be insurmountable, with solutions that help us achieve our goals and fulfil our vision.

Keep it simple

Finally, keep it simple. Many of the restaurants that he visits have over-long menus or produce unnecessarily complicated dishes. Ramsay encourages them to focus on what they are good at and play to their strengths, whether that is a culinary style or the availability of local home-grown produce.

It’s not often that you can draw business lessons from a hit TV reality show, but Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares may be an exception because of the subject matter and also the format within which they approach the specific problems of each restaurant. In one respect it is a televised version of a management consulting process, but focused on the catering trade. Nevertheless, I do feel that these four business lessons are something from which we could all draw some inspiration, but maybe with not quite so much swearing.

So, what are you waiting for? Get the #$@&% on with it!

Written by Will Trevor, Founder and training consultant at Windsor Training
Email: will.trevor@windsortraining.net

Picture Credit: By 'gordonramsaysubmissions' [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons