As some may know, I often go out to networking groups and do a free presentation called, "Relationship Building- The Key to the Success of Your Business".  One of the questions asked at the beginning is "When does relationship building begin?".   I almost always hear things first like that are connected to when you meet a person.  Things like, 'when you are at an event', "when you say hi", etc. What I don't hear as often, are things related to BEFORE you even meet the person.

After I explain that relationship building often starts before you meet someone, I often get a lot of  "oh yeah!".  It's true, most times people first hear about us before they even meet us.  It could be something as simple as a friend or colleague who shared information about us (which hopefully was good and not bad!) or it could be something more complex like our website or an ad we placed somewhere. 

What about social media sites like Facebook or Twitter?  Or a site like Meetup, Eventbrite or Evite where you share whether or not you are going to an event.  When you make a post or comment in any of these places, you are creating a first impression with people.  Are you the person who is supportive and chimes in to respond to people in a positive way when they share they are coming or not?  Or are you the person who gets on and says they can't come but also goes on to provide a ton of whiny reasons along with it which makes you look like a Negative Nelly instead of a Positive Patty?

Whether you are at a networking event, on a social media site, creating a marketing piece for your business or just hanging out in town, you are always "on display" and should be on your game.  You should also have intentional follow-up in place that reinforces when what people experience when they first meet you.   Are your actions  (before they meet you, when they meet you and after they meet you),  in line with the mission and vision of your company?  Do you even know what the mission and vision of your company are? ​

At Z&B Consulting we help people, explore who they are as a business.  What do they do, who do they do it for and what do they achieve as a result of all they do?  If you're not clear about these things, you'd really enjoy my upcoming half day training on "Making a Difference in the Lives of Others".  Everyone who leaves the course will be clear on the questions above as they explore them with other businesses and expand their thoughts from the ideas of others. 

There is a class this Monday and another on July 10th. To learn more or get registered, click here.  

If you'd like to schedule me to come out and do this free 30-60 min presentation, drop me a line. I'd love to do it! You can check out feedback from my presentation last Wed.  

You can also drop me a line to set up a free 30 minute consult.  ​

I hit the send button on my very first newsletter last week just as I was leaving for the airport.  My destination- the Christine Kane Uplevel Your Business Live Conference in Atlanta.  The days were long (8:45am-9:45 pm!) but the impact was huge and it was nice to be with 3 dear friends. I couldn't believe all the people who had come from different parts of the world to be at this conference. We met people from London, South Africa and Australia, just to name a few. It was mostly women, along with a few men, and everyone in the room was an entrepreneur.  

At one point during the conference, Christine and her team gave us the opportunity to work with them on a deeper level this year. In addition to monthly trainings and private coaching calls, there are 3 retreats where we get to dig deeper with this great community of women and work together to take our business to the next level. I have to honestly say, I was quite torn as she presented this to us. So many of the things Christine teaches are similar to things I've done throughout my career and that I work with my clients on.  I know all the things to do, so why do I need to spend this large sum of money to hear what I already know.

As these thoughts went through my mind, a feeling of uneasiness was in my gut.  It was becoming painstakingly clear that despite knowing these things and having done them throughout my career, I can't ensure the success of my business alone.  I, like all business owners, need the support and guidance of others who are traveling the same road. I also need coaches to help me keep working my plan when the ups and downs of the business occur....as they always do. It's so easy for a business to become stagnant during these times and not reach the potential it could because emotions like fear and doubt get in the way and stop us.  It's also easy to work more than you need to when you can work less and get the same results.  ​

My clients always share how much they benefit from working with me. They love that I help them put the pieces of their puzzle together....and I love doing it!  I'm proud to say, I do a pretty good job at it too!  Oddly enough, when it comes to my own business it's not the same. Why?  Possibly because I'm so busy helping my clients I don't help myself. Possibly because I'm too close to it to see the forest for the trees. Either way, I'm glad I invested in myself and my business and took advantage of the opportunity to have experts at my side and a new community of women to turn to for support.  I'm also glad I realized I wasn't spending a huge sum of money, but rather making an investment that will help me better serve my clients.

If you're ready to take your business to the next level, I'd love to be at your side supporting you along the way.  My 3 prong approach to marketing success could be just what you need. To set up a time to explore if it's right for you, click here. ​

Recently, I was on Facebook and saw a post from my best friend Jen.  She posted it in our WESOS group (an amazing women’s networking group you should really check out!) and asked for my opinion on the post she had seen.  I immediately started responding to her question and realized it was too long for Facebook but would be a nice article for my blog and first enewsletter.  

Prior to my seeing the post, someone else had responded and shared that she gained a lot of exposure for $5 using Facebook ads.  This is a perfect example of what Facebook is trying to accomplish by changing how they show things in our News Feed.  Facebook is a business and many businesses are using it for promotion without paying a fee.  The hope is that businesses will pay for advertising to get better results.  

Think about your business for a minute.  If you had a bunch of people using your services for free would you be able to stay in business?  Although Facebook is huge compared to our businesses, it's still a business and functions on the same principles. How long can it stay around and continue to benefit the average person if everything is totally free.  The way to do that is to charge businesses for reaching potential clients.  This is really no different than a radio station selling ads.  Businesses buy ads to reach the people who are listening for free.  As the example of $5 for increased exposure shows, Facebook is providing a very inexpensive way to reach people and getting good results.  

There are literally thousands out there kicking and screaming and making a stand against Facebook for it's changes.  By no means am I saying that I like all the changes Facebook continues to make or that I like the idea of having to pay to get good results on Facebook.  However, as a business owner who expects not to give too many of my services away for free, I do think Facebook is entitled to do the same.  Times are changing quickly and Facebook is no different.  Each time another social media site changes, Facebook changes to keep up and stay ahead of it's competition.  While they do, other social media sites are doing the same.  It's too much to keep up with and can be exhausting and confusing at times.  That's why using social media experts is important.  I am NOT a social media expert. I do, though, rely on the many social media experts I've met in my networking groups to keep me up to speed so that my business can be most effective and I can help my followers do the same.