I received this from Dan Minick, president of Internation Referral Group and I wanted to pass it along becuase of the contents. He makes some great points.

DAN’S NETWORKING NOTE

January 2009

Ten Tips for a Happy and Prosperous New Year

I received a lot of positive feedback from my last note “Holiday Networking Tips” so I thought we would continue the theme to insure your 2009 gets off to a positive start.

1. EVALUATE – Ask yourself what worked and what didn’t in 2008. Chances are good that some of these things didn’t work in 2007. Modify or eliminate those activities by making a “TO DON’T LIST”.

2.  CHANGE – A lot of things changed in 2008 and you will have to make changes to meet the new challenges confronting you in 2009. Your customers look at things differently now. Force yourself to get out of your comfort zone and be aggressive in business development in 2009. Change is never easy but the desire to grow your business in 2009 makes it crucial.

3. ATTITUDE – Develop a positive, confident attitude when meeting people. This is no longer a nice goal to be reached but has become a critical factor in doing business in 2009. Learn as much as you can about every person you meet targeting information about their business and their needs. These people will utilize a service similar to yours in 2009. You can insure it will be your service or product they use by a positive initial introduction and follow-up with them throughout the year. A positive attitude means EVERYTHING.

4. PRACTICE – Develop three initial introductions. You should have a 5 second, 15 second and 30 second introduction. Practice each of these until you are confident they all reflect the information about you and your service in a positive way. You will find yourself using each of these introductions daily.

5. EXPOSURE – Meet more people, attend more professional functions, expose yourself and your services more in 2009. To gain more business in 2009 you will need to build new and more business relationships.

6. POWER   NETWORKING – IRN has taught you how to maximize your networking potential at social and professional functions. Revisit what you have learned and go into every function with a goal of developing a POWER PARTNER relationship. In 2009 you should develop one POWER PARTNER every month. This is an investment of time you must make if you want your results to dramatically improve in 2009.

7. RESEARCH – People love to talk about success. Don’t think you have to re-invent the wheel. Stay close to your industry and related industries through newsletters, on-line blogs, Google your competition and industry. You will be surprised how much information you can gain that will benefit you and give you ideas to apply to your business. Invest 15 minutes a day doing research and the return will be significant.

8. GIVING – You have heard me say many times, “If you want more referrals, give more referrals.” Set a goal of giving two referrals a week to fellow IRN members but also give referrals to those you have met at social and professional functions. You will be surprised at the business you will receive from these new relationships.

9. HAVE FUN – That’s right, I said have FUN!! 2009 is going to be a year for developing new relationships and creating new approaches. Every goal for 2009 you have will be made easier if you take the approach of having fun in what you do. It sure beats the alternative.

10. PARTICIPATE – Maximize your participation in IRN. Take advantage of all IRN has to offer and start now by attending the 2009 IRN ‘ACTION’ Conference at the Kalahari Resort. This conference is designed for the professional who wants to improve their networking skills and maximize results in 2009. I look forward to seeing you at the conference.

Thanks for your time,

Dan

Daniel Minick,  President & CEO

International Referral Network, Inc.

12621 Leslie Road, Meadville, PA 16335

Phone:  800-936-5323

Email:  dminick@irnLink.com

Web:   www.irnLink.com