Here's a sample of the email newsletter that ProfNet.org
sends to the business leads they receive through their
opt-in Personality Test form.
See the related MarketingSherpa Case Study at:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=1917
NetworkInk Volume 2 Issue 21 June 20, 2000
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In This Issue You'll Find:
1. Building Community Online
2. Real Life Networking Question: How do I handle client contacts when I need
to divert my attention to other things for a short time?
3. Online Networking Question: How can I stop the overflow of junk mail I get?
4. Networking Tip of the Week: Have Networking Goals For Your Website
5. Networking Site of the Week: SIQSS Internet Study
http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/Press_Release/internetStudy.html
6. REALLY Nice Things You Said About My Professorship!
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* Building Community Online
Online Communities are growing at a phenomenal rate. One (of several) very
powerful forces fuel that growth. LOYALTY. Loyalty in a community means
more than just doing business with each other, although that is one of the
sincerest forms of expressing loyalty. In order for strong relationships to be
built in online communities that lead to a constant stream of business referrals
a person has to make a conscious decision to be loyal. Loyal to your clients,
loyal to your own business goals, and very importantly, loyal to the people
who are providing you with products and services. Loyalty transcends price,
location, and selection sometimes. Loyalty is about doing business- with
another human being, not just a company.
It isn't hard to understand the concept of loyalty in an online community when
it comes time to refer business. Here is your circle of contacts (your online
community). There are your clients (or your personal business needs). It is
very easy to put both of them together. But other things constitute loyalty in
an online community as well. Below are some ideas of what being loyal in an
online community means:
Loyalty means volunteering to do a job- and doing it. If you volunteer to host
a chat, provide a resource, or promote the online community you participate
in...do it.
Loyalty means participating. Online, we have no benefit (yet) of voice
inflection, eye contact, or body language. I know it's available, but it isn't used
on a widespread basis. That means the way we build that "community feeling",
is by the participation of the membership.. "Participation" by its very nature is
a "give and take" situation, and aids in developing what I feel are the ultimate
in successful unions- mutually beneficial relationships. Sometimes those
relationships are with the COMMUNITY and not only with individual
members.
Loyalty means never embarrassing another with your actions or words. I am
"out there" in the Internet world and participate in several "communities". I
feel like I represent EACH of those communities whenever I make a post, either
private or public. I am AMAZED at what I see being said and done online.
Although, it is by far no worse than what happens in live communities..it does
seem to be more hostile, more quickly. I hope there is never a time when a
member of my communities feels embarrassed by my behavior.
Loyalty means being honest- even when its hard to do so. This is BY FAR, for
me, THE one thing that I think shows TRUE loyalty. When you are willing to
tell someone something that is uncomfortable, but is still the TRUTH.. you are
being loyal to them. Life is not always "pretty". It is always "real". I much
prefer those people who are "real" with me, versus those who avoid saying
things for fear of hurting my feelings.
Loyalty means being a part of the solution not a part of the problem. When
something isn't "working" for you in your online community, your first step,
when truly loyal, is to see what YOU can do to make it "better". It isn't up to
someone else. It's up to each one of us. If the information shared isn't what
you believe, share what you believe. If you need help, but no one has touched
on your need.... ASK. Be responsible (yes..... there's THAT word), for making
a difference.
People can sense when someone is looking out for the interests of the
relationship as a whole or just looking out for their own interests. Business
leads start to fall off when a person's loyalty is in question. To help online
communities flourish, anything that is done to encourage loyalty often is
rewarded with more business.
Your Editor,
Nancy Roebke
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Network Ink Subscriber Special Offer
As most of you know, I am one of the 41 founding professors for
MentorU.com - the leader in online mentoring, training, coaching, consulting
and motivation. I would like to offer you a chance to attend our exciting grand
opening event "Access to Success 2000" scheduled June 26 & 27 LIVE ON
THE INTERNET! It is an excellent opportunity for you to learn great new sales
strategies and leadership strategies as well as get some great motivation.
Fourteen of America's top, sought-after business experts will speak on Sales,
Motivation, Leadership and Customer Service. A few of the top Speakers
include top names like Brian Tracy, Howard Putnam, Tony Alessandra, Jim
Cathcart and yours truly- Nancy Roebke.
Participants can attend a live session on the Internet Monday June 26, and/or
Tuesday June 27. Tickets to attend a 45-minute on-line presentation are $59.
As a Network Ink Subscriber you are eligible for a $20 discount off each ticket.
That ticket gets you a lot more as well.
To show my appreciation for your participation in our Grand Opening
MentorU, check out this extra bonus. Each person that purchases a ticket will
be given a six-month mentorship in MentorU.com. This membership entitles
you to:
24/7access to the 14 recorded presentations of this event access to the entire
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MentorU.com's faculty’s recorded programs (valued at over $800)
Aone-year subscription to MentorU.com Insights a weekly audio e- mail
series.
Good stuff, for quite a bargain. You can read more about it at:
http://www.mentoru.com/roebke/invite
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
* Real Life Networking Question: How do I handle client contacts when I need
to divert my attention to other things for a short time?
Q. {Editor Note: Feel free to submit questions you would like to get answers to
here in the ezine. NR} Colleen Weber
wrote me
about how to handle an interruption in business and how to handle it. She
said:
Love the newsletter! Keep up the good work! Here's my question: I operate a
small organizational effectiveness consulting business. For the next 3-6
months I will be spending the majority of my time welcoming a new addition to
our family. For my clients and contacts, this means my response time to their
calls, faxes, emails, etc. will be reduced. How do I communicate this
effectively? I want to make sure they don't forget about my business and me
so that when I am able to ramp back up, they are there. I'd appreciate some
specifics regarding frequency and appropriate business language to utilize to
convey this situation. Thanks so much!
A. Colleen, congrats on your new addition. Here are some things that will help
you through this brief period of transition.
1. First, TELL everyone.. the wording you used above is sincere on all fronts-
it shows you really want to welcome your new addition AND maintain good
contacts with your clients. That wording will draw people to you. After all, we
ALL have good things like this happen- those once-in-a- lifetime really good
things. Let your clients share that joy. Getting them involved helps in Step
Two.
2. Enlist help from a colleague or competitor. I know a LOT of people who make
arrangements with someone else in their field so they have coverage for
vacations, illness, or really good things like you are dealing with. It's good for
all of us.
3. Are there ways that you can offer a discount to clients who do something
"extra" during this time? For instance, can you offer a ten- percent discount to
people who pick up their orders versus you having to deliver it?
4. Do you feel comfortable using your new addition as a business tool? You
can take a good situation like yours (or a bad one in the case of some of my
clients), and have it be a business tool. Lots of people have had "baby"
contests, new puppy promos and post-fire sales. I, myself, used to take my
daughter (at age 2) to work with me. She was a HIT! People looked forward to
my visits just to see my daughter (hmmm...)
Congrats again. I hope you find these ideas useful. Remember- we all have a
life AND a business life. There doesn't have to be a hard line drawn between
the two of them.
Nancy
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* Online Networking Question: How can I stop the overflow of junk mail I get?
Q. {Editor Note: Feel free to submit questions you would like to get answers to
here in the ezine. NR} Doreen Blake asked
me a question that a lot of people are experiencing more and more online (And
if you are a subscriber of this ezine, PLEASE don't add to this problem by
becoming another spammer. It is too darn easy to make money online the
RIGHT way). Doreen says:
I am a subscriber of your excellent newsletter and I enjoy the great articles that
you share with us. Thank you. Have you any advice about E-Commerce
messages. I am in undated with 100-150 commercial message per day and find
that I just delete many of them without checking the content. Can anything be
done to stop this overflow?
A. Doreen, there are things we can do collectively AND individually. Here are
some ideas:
1. DO NOT ever forward messages to other people with the email address of
previous senders in it where others can see it. Learn how to use BCC properly.
I am sure you have all gotten those messages that were forwarded upteen
times. The most recent one I received had over 300 email addresses in it. Had I
wanted to, I could have taken all of those email addresses and used them
however I wished. Don't do this to each other.
2. Report all spammers. You can do so by sending a copy of any spam you get
to the "abuse" address at the domain it was sent from. Send it with full headers
(this is easy to do, if you don't know how)- but DO IT. NOT reporting people
doesn't help any of us or stop it.
3. DO NOT EVER BUY from anyone who sends you this junk. No matter how
much you want something, don't buy from a spammer. Instead, do a search for
a supplier or ASK SOMEONE YOU TRUST for a reference.
4. Be aware of the laws regarding this. In 13 states in the US, there are laws
that make it illegal to send this junk. Find out if your state has such a law (you
can start at http://www.suespammers.org/).
*Networking Tip of the Week- Have Networking Goals For Your Website
Just like we have previously discussed, it is important to have goals in
networking, to help you know when you have achieved each step of success
along the way. That is true of your website as well.
Have goals about website traffic. How much do you want and how will you get
it?
Have goals about what you will do with that traffic once you get it? How many
sales will you make? How many people will be added to your database? How
many people will you form joint ventures with?
Have goals about how you will automate your Internet presence. What can
you set up that will automatically sort, file and answer requests for you?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
* Networking Site Of The Week- SIQSS Internet Study
http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/Press_Release/internetStudy.html
Many of you are concerned and/or interested in the impact of the Internet on
us personally and professionally. You are interested in future work conditions
and the social impacts of the Internet. You may see changes in product and
service delivery.
The Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society (SIQSS) presented
the results of its study of the social consequences of the Internet at a Press
Conference on Wednesday, February 16, 2000. InterSuvey Inc. conducted the
study over the Internet, but with a randomly selected sample of the
population, not just current Internet users. The study was supported by
generous donations from the SIQSS Advisory Board, InterSuvey Inc., and
McKinsey and Company. A printable preliminary report is available.
Read about how people use the Internet- what tools they use, what time they
spend online and what they hope to accomplish. This information will help
you in your online networking efforts.
*REALLY Nice Things You Said About My Professorship!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
* Dear Nancy,
I want to tell you what a great ezine you have with your Network Ink and
congratulate you on your "professorship" at Mentor U ;-) My partner, Bill
Burdin and I have appreciated and learned from you, the advanced principals
of Networking for the past couple of years, and I'm sure the new students will
profit from your expertise.
Bill Burdin, Affiliate Options Developer
Harry Pickett, Affiliate Options Financial Administrator
* Congratulations Nancy! You deserve it!
June Gauntley
* Nancy,
Thanks very much for your newsletter. I always find it interesting, and this
issue is particularly timely and pertinent for me.
Sincerely,
Linda Kelley
* Dear Nancy
First, in the year of the Golden Dragon may you enjoy safety and good health
in your travels and a continuation of the wonderful development of friends via
your most sincere and effective ezine.
Second, may you appreciate that many do not drop a note to express their
appreciation for the great items that you bring to our attention via your ezine.
Thanks again for all you do and kindly accept our salute from Singapore!
Kindest regards,
Jim Ellis
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* Copyright Notice/Reprint Policy
U.S. Federal Copyright law protects all material in this ezine. It may not be
reprinted in any form, or hosted on any Web site without explicit permission
from Nancy E. Roebke, Executive Director.
Articles that are personally written by Nancy E. Roebke belong to her. Anyone
wishing to reprint those articles in publications, either on or offline must get
written permission from Nancy E. Roebke. That includes publishing them on
Web Sites, in ezines, in magazines, newspapers, or any other media, on or
offline.
ALL comments welcome and reprint permission available through email
request. Educational institutions may obtain articles available at NO CHARGE.
No reasonable request denied.
Thank you for your interest in the material provided and shared with the small
business community. Everything in this ezine, on all web sites promoted, on all
autoresponders, and in all printed marketing material is copyrighted and
protected. Authors have pursued all infringements of copyright and would be
happy to provide references of those who have seen our wrath. Authors
would be happy to discuss the "sharing” of their material with you. Please
contact Nancy Roebke at execdirector@profnet.org.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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That's it....
Copyright 2000
