It started early, as all mornings seem to. Like me, many folks woke up wanting to roll over and get in another 30 minutes of much-needed sleep. Why not? There’s going to be another CRN meeting in two weeks…and who’s really going to miss me anyway?
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before my sense of responsibility took over. Showered, shaved, coffee in hand, I left home and headed south for Tigard.
A few short minutes down I-5, and I was sitting in the conference room at the University of Phoenix with other like-minded folks. Whatever our reasons for being there, all of us were looking to make connections. We wanted to help others and maybe, just maybe, be assisted ourselves…because we know CRN is based on the premise that we’re all in this together. Yeah, it starts early, but it’s a great way to meet new people, see old friends, and share information.
Our speaker was Ely Delaney of Your Marketing University. A former roadie for Rush (“Yes, I’ve sweated on Geddy Lee.”), Ely has successfully transitioned to being a Marketing Strategy Architect/Trainer/Professional Speaker. That’s a lot of words to describe someone whose mission is to help people connect more effectively. His topic was “Follow-up Fanatic: Turning those casual connections into new clients and/or careers.”
Turns out that most people give up far too soon. People often aren’t ready to buy (or hire) until between the 6th and 12th connections. Most of us give up by the third. Ely shared with us his secrets for successful follow-up and building relationships. It’s important to develop a follow-up system to maximize those connections, because people buy from people they know, like, and trust.
I know; radical, eh? Still, how many of us can say we really, truly, and effectively follow up on the connections we make? How many times do we meet someone, say we should get together for coffee, and then….
You know who you are…because we’ve all done it.
If you attended the most recent CRN meeting, you’d have learned Ely’s method for turning casual contacts into something much more. It’s pretty simple and surprisingly effective.
Speakers like Ely Delaney are part of what makes CRN such an amazing resource. It’s about networking, career improvement, and career advancement…and CRN provides a venue to make all those things happen. Who knows what (or whom) you might find at a meeting?
You’ll want to join us on Wednesday, September 10th, when the topic will be “Knowing Your Talents and Applying Them” with guest speaker Ralph (“Skip”) Centioli. Anyone in career transition understands that this isn’t your father’s job search. The game’s changed, the rules are constantly in flux, and the challenge lies in finding ways to set yourself apart from the crowd. We’ll be talking about how you can do exactly that.
Remember that you can follow CRN on social media. This lets you be part of an ongoing conversation with people in career transition- people like yourself. You’ll also have access to great content and links you won’t find anywhere else…and it won’t cost you a dime.
– LinkedIn: CRN Global
– Facebook: CRN Global
– Twitter: @crnglobal
– Google+: CRN
I’ll see you on Wednesday; I’ll be the one earnestly typing on my MacBook. Trust me, I’m taking notes, not checking Facebook or my email. Really.
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