Tapioca Marketing

This weekend, well actually Friday, I had a hankering for homemade Tapioca pudding. I used to make it all the time when my kids were young, but it had been YEARS. So with a winter storm predicted, I got some food in for the weekend between appointments on Friday, including the Tapioca. Now this looked like new fangled Tapioca, not the red box type. But what I actually found out was it was "pearl" tapioca, which meant it was more involved to make.

But never fear, I put the pearls to soak on Friday afternoon, so they could soak overnight as the instructions read.

Saturday, I could almost taste how good the pudding was going to be, but another challenge presented itself. I was supposed to make this in a double-boiler type pan, something I don't own. But I used a steamer insert with the upper part of the steamer lined with aluminum foil so that the steam wouldn't get in. I used a bowl inside this contraption for the actual cooking.

Well, to make a LONG story a little shorter, my pudding never gelled. Today, while I was out cross-country skiing, I figured that I could still bake it in the oven, just like a custard pie, without the crust. It worked. Finally tonight I had my first taste. Not pudding consistency, but still very good.

So why am I telling you all this?

Well, sometimes we do marketing that doesn't work. I'm sure we all have those leftovers that we're now wondering what to use or throw away.

Jeremy Haselman, a young financial planner for Northwest Mutual, had that happen to him. Early in '08, someone convinced him to plop down some money to be included in a "wedding-focused" brochure. Of course, Jeremy didn't get any business from this and when he was considering throwing the many leftovers out, he thought, "I should at least get to know all the rest of the advertisers in the flier." That is exactly what he did and now he knows a few that he can work with in the future and some that he won't waste his time. But Jeremy took a leftover and turned it into something positive.

Pudding and advertising have a lot in common!

That Name Game

I was asked to speak about networking at the monthly N.O.G.A. (Northwest Ohio Gerontological Association) this past week. Usually, their meetings are more formal educational events, but this one they dedicated to networking.

As I entered I was given the typical label of half of two people or things that go together to put on my name tag. I was Butch Cassidy. Okay, I knew I had to find the Sundance Kid. But I didn't find that person before we had to sit down for the meeting. Angie Weid, Organized Solutions, was the person who invited me to speak and she made the introduction. I talked for just a few minutes focusing on the idea of making appointments while AT the event, rather than just collecting business cards. At the end of my talk, Angie announced, "Okay, now you all have been partnered with someone. If you haven't found them yet, you're going to be able to do so, because we're all going to do some more networking. BUT, this person can be your first appointment."

What a great addition to this usual game. Make an appointment to get to know this person better. I did see appointment books and PDAs being used. I scheduled two appointments and made several other contacts, too.

What did you do at your last networking event to reach your new goals for the new year?

Making Me Feel Comfortable

I mentioned dancing lessons in my last post.

Well, believe it or not, I have been tapped to be a "celebrity dancer" for our annual library foundation fundraiser. Our library in Perrysburg is named the Way Library after Willard Way, a long ago citizen, who gave money to start the first library. With that in mind, our event is called Dance aWay With the Stars.

Okay, you have the setting.

Now, I love to dance, but don't get to do it often and I don't know what I'm doing when I do dance. I figure moving my feet to the beat is half the battle!

I have been assigned a "professional" who is helping me to learn the maranga and who will also dance with me the night of the show. As far as I'm concerned, I hit the jackpot with this assignment. Neal Hopkins, was a professional dancer in another life. He has the dancer body, tall and lithe. Think Tommy Tune, but just not quite as tall. Neal now owns a State Farm insurance agency.

At every practice Neal has made me feel like a dancer, even when I turn the wrong way or can't get my hips to sway appropriately. (Believe me, this is not easy!) We have fun. He knows what we need to do and knows that I want him to take charge. Cool!

But the best part happened in an email. You see we received an email from the library letting us know that photos would be taken next week at practice and that we needed to wear something dressy. Right away my anxiety level increased. I don't go clubbing. I don't have slinky clothes. What was I going to do??????

Neal put me at ease, when confirming our practice time for this week, he wrote, "We'll talk about what we need to wear for next week's photo." Right away, because of my experience already, I knew that I didn't have to worry about this little item one more second. Neal will handle it and will make it easy.

Thank you, Neal!

And isn't that what networking is all about, making others feel comfortable and relaxed so they can enjoy the moment?

What's New For This Year?

In my opinion, networking doesn't pay off 'till I sit down and chat with a person that I've met at a networking meeting or event. With that in mind, I am changing my goal this year. From this day forward, I want to walk away with two appointments from each networking event that I attend. And this is not about selling, but finding out what these people do, how they do it and what I might be able to do to help them. Simple.

Another thing that I want to get better at is either entering business card info and comments into my database and then throwing the card away....or throwing the card away immediately. I would say that I am 75% there, but I must admit that there are some business cards sitting on my desk right now.
Bad Girl!

The reason for some of this is that I have tried not to walk into my office at least a couple times per week, just giving myself permission to be Debby! Usually that means reading, but also it could mean yoga or dancing class. (more about that later) When I have really busy days, the paperwork and business cards can mount up, especially when those busy days link together. So, my thought is that I will spend a maximum of 1 hour in my office on a night when it is not a "work night." And the only reason for that time will be to remove those little cards from my desk.

There, you have it. My two resolutions for the year.

What Makes Super Success?

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers. It is as thought-provoking as his last two. He takes a detailed look at why people are successful and has found some pretty amazing theories.

Some reasons for wide success are the date of your birth, the decade you were born and your ethnicity in relation to your chosen career. One theme threading through his various case studies is that each person would not have been the wild success that they are without the help of someone else. Bill Gates needed the mother's club at his school that bought a computer for the students. Some people had wonderful mentors and other received financial assistance.

In this last week of the year, don't let an opportunity to pass you by. Think about the person you may have met at a networking event in December that could benefit from a little attention. Give them a call and invite them to coffee. Just the fact that you are showing interest will probably will them a little more energy to keep on, keepin' on. I made one of those calls today, expecting the person to not remember me, but they did remember and seemed delighted. We have an appointment next week.

When I think back over my career, there are several names that stand out. They were not managers. They were just ordinary people. John Steele and I worked together at a long ago business. He took me under his wing, just because. And I learned so much about the "real" sales world from him. Rita Long was my Dale Carnegie instructor. She asked me to be her graduate assistant which meant I got to watch her in action while I was sitting at the back of the room. Rita showed me how to motivate people in the way she managed her Carnegie class. She made her students feel really good about themselves.

Your legacy could be that someday the super successful person will credit you with being the catalyst to their success. And if that isn't the best that can be, I don't know what is!

Want Members?

Several Business Network International (BNI) chapters in Findlay, Ohio want more members. They could have a traditional "visitor day" (and have in the past) but these chapters think outside the box. They want to help all organizations in the area to be more successful. With that being said they are planning a group networking event. They are inviting the local service clubs, GreaterFindlayInc., Hancock County Leadership and any other groups that solicit for members to be involved.

It reminds me of my friend, Tom Fleming's, BNI chapters in his Tampa, Florida area. All his chapters help each other to be successful. If one chapter falls below 25 members, all his other chapters work to help this one chapter to regain its strength. They realize that if every chapter is healthy, they all will benefit.

So without knowing the "Tom" story, this group is planning a similar task. They want all groups in their area to enjoy strong membership.

Do you want to bet that they will be successful?

Time for Dues

Recently several people have told me that they are not going to be renewing their membership in an organization. And the comment I've gotten from each person is, "I gotten all I can from this group."

Whoa! What an attitude. And for those people, I just smile a fake smile. First of all, I realize they just don't get it and second, the organization is better without them.

So as you begin to determine what groups you will be a member of next year, it would be a good idea to ask yourself, "What value have I given to the group?" If you can't give a good answer, maybe you should pay those dues for one more year. Make it your goal that when you leave the group next year they will all feel very sad.

Because you know right now if you leave, the remaining members will probably be thinking, "Good riddance. That person was a drag on our group. I would never recommend him for anything."