| Welcome
Back to The Cheshire Group Newsletter |
|
This is the 24th issue of The Better Mousetrap. Can
you believe it? Many of you have joined our mailing list after
the first issue. So we have archived all the 23 previous issues
on our web site. It is easy to review all of them. Just click
here for the list or go to the Cheshire Group web site
and click on the link
that says The Better Mousetrap E-Mail Newsletters.
We hope that you are continuing to enjoy
The Better
Mousetrap Online Newsletter. Many of the articles
in this newsletter come from our book, Morsels from
THE BETTER MOUSETRAP. Just
click here to order your copy. Or visit our web site at
www.cheshiregroup.com
so that you can learn more about The Cheshire Group and see
samples of our work.
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NETWORKING
IN TODAY'S BUSINESS CLIMATE.
Tips for smarter networking. |
| More
business owners have to go to networking events to find clients
now even though a lot of people
hate networking events. Here are some of the issues people
have with networking:
The main one is "I
am too shy." The answer to that is to prepare.
Go with talking points. And the best talking points are about
the trends that you notice in your industry. Mentioning trends
is good because it encourages others to give their information
back to you.
Some people say that they
don't know what to talk about. Talk about yourself.
That's what you're there for.
Some people say that networking
events are too superficial. Then talk about something
you care about..your business.
Some people say you never
get any good leads from a networking meeting. Right!
You don't. Not at first. It takes time for relationships
to develop.
You don't need a personality
transplant to go to a networking meeting. Be your self. Don't
worry. The people you are talking with don't know what you
are nervous about.Walk up and introduce yourself. That's what
people are expecting. Don't worry about ending the discussion
abruptly and moving on either. Again, that's expected.
But don't make too hard a sell.
It's best not to ask if the person you're talking to knows
anyone who needs what you sell because people don't give their
contacts to strangers. Don't over force it. As smart athletes
say, "Let the game come to you."
Courtesy of the Wall Street
Journal Morning Report, 18th February 2009
To learn more about Business
Networking visit LeTip
of the Andovers
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ARE
YOU LINKED IN?.
5 Tips for using Linkedin as a business tool. |
| LinkedIn has
over 12 million users in 147 industries. In addition to being
an exceptional tool for personal business networking, LinkedIn
is a great place to market your business. Here are five tips
courtesy of Jim Gilbert to help your business network grow
through LinkedIn:
1. Use the Q&A function.
The Q&A function of LinkedIn is a powerful revenue-generating
tool. Try using the advanced answers search to find questions
specific to your company’s expertise. Don’t pitch
your company’s products or services here, just give
the best — or most altruistic — answer you can.
The Q&A is definitely a give-to-get medium: Give freely
and you’ll get back in spades.
2. Become an expert.
When a question is asked on LinkedIn, it remains open for
answers for seven days. After the question closes, the asker
can rate the best answer to that question. The best answerers
for a given question are awarded expert status on LinkedIn.
From that point on, whenever an expert answers a question,
that expert gets an expert badge. People's expert status follows
them around wherever they go on the site. Since you’re
representing your company, this creates expertise for it as
well.
3. Join groups. You
can join as many as 50 LinkedIn groups. When you join, introduce
yourself and your services. Much like Q&A, this is a give-to-get
medium.
4. Start a group.
Starting a group is super easy — just a couple of clicks
and you’re done. Start a group around your company’s
core competencies. For example, if you’re a printer,
set up a group for people to ask questions about printing.
If you’re a search engine marketing company, set up
a SEM for beginners group.
5. Promote your blog. You
do have one? Many of you already have corporate blogs
and have produced whitepapers and corporate presentations.
Promote your blog in the news section of the groups you belong
to. Promote whitepapers and presentations in the groups as
well via the discussion function. This adds value and enhances
your image.
Jim Gilbert is president of
Gilbert Direct Marketing, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based catalog
and direct marketing agency. His LinkedIn profile can be viewed
at www.linkedin.com/in/jimwgilbert.
"People always tell me they see
me all over LinkedIn. I try to gain as much notoriety as possible
within the LinkedIn Q&A and group functions. As a consultant,
this has brought me new customers. It takes some attention
and time, but when done right, it can be a wonderful source
of leads and business. Reach him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gilbertdirect."
For more information on LinkedIn
check out Guy Kawasakis blog at blog.linkedin.com/2007/07/25/ten-ways-to-use/
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EVERYTHING'S
UP TO DATE IN KANSAS CITY!
They've gone about as far as they can
go . |
| The creation of new technology
never takes a rest. What is new today is old hat tomorrow.
The older we get the faster, it seems, that new inventions
pop up and it can be tough to keep up with it. Some
of up just stop updating... their cell phones, smart
phones, MP3 players, games, whatever. But in every generation
there have been leaders who blazed trails for others.
Take for example
the typewriter. Yes that was
a new invention...in the 1870s. The first practical
typewriter was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes,
and was marketed by the Remington Arms company in 1873.
Samuel L Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was one
of the first to purchase a Sholes & Glidden typewriter
and was probably the first author to submit a typed
script to his publisher. Although he didn't actually
type his own manuscript the fact that he submitted it
under his name gave an immense boost to the use of typewriters
by authors and other professional writers.
Another example
is the use of the personal computer. First
popularized by Apple it's first products were used by
kids. When IBM came out with the PC (and Tandy with
its TRS -80 ) in 1982 aimed at business and professionals
it struck a science fiction writer as the next step
up from the typewriter. And that  author
was Isaac Asimov who made it known that he began writing
his books using the new device. Dr. Isaac Asimov was
a Russian-born American Jewish author and biochemist,
a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer
best known for his works of science fiction and for
his many non-fiction books, including several genres:
popular science writings, guides to the bible and science,
mystery novels, literature commentary (his works on
Shakespeare) and history. As a writer interested in
technology the personal computer made an immediate impression
on him. He actually wrote an article "Technophobia
the fear of learning about computer technology."
which was published in 1982, New Jersey Bell Journal.
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|
BETCHA
DIDN'T KNOW.
Courtesy of Dr Robert Amsterdam.
|
| It
is impossible to lick your elbow.
The State with the highest percentage
of people who walk to work: Alaska
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness:
28% (now get this...)
The percentage of North America that
is wilderness: 38%
The cost of raising a medium-size
dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
The average number of people airborne
over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000
Intelligent people have more zinc
and copper in their hair.
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Sometimes
I wonder whether the world is being run by smart
people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who
really mean it.
Mark
Twain
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Surviving
a failure gives you more self-confidence. Failures
are great learning tools.. but they must be kept
to a minimum.
Jeffrey
Immelt
|
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time
thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't
do things right once in a while, you do them right
all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so
is losing.
Vince Lombardi
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It
is not the strongest of the species that survive,
nor the most intelli-gent, but the one most responsive
to change.
Charles
Darwin
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| "Build
a better mouse-trap and the world will beat a path to your
door."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
You
can build it but they don't have to come. Let your
market know the product is there.
Advertise!
Promote!
Communicate!
THE
BETTER MOUSE-TRAP helps you do it. To do it even better
call The Cheshire Group at 978 664-3040
or visit us at:
www.cheshiregroup.com
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