stevebuelow.com
Ten years ago or so, I was waiting for a flight from... I think it was probably Chicago or Minneapolis to Denver or Phoenix. Oh well, I guess it's not that important... but, it was from someplace to somewhere anyway... and I happened to pick up a book by Harvey MacKay called "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty." The basic premise of the book was... well, to dig your well before you're… 
Okay... so one other thought that I had while reading my last post (yes, I admit it... sometimes when I'm not reading your posts... I re-read my own!). Now, I know I made the point that, in speaking with an insurance agent I had met, there was no change at his office in response to some pretty heavy market pressure... everything stayed the same. Same...… 
Return with me now to those thrilling thoughts of yesterday... You will remember that I had met an independent insurance agent who once had a dominating presence in his local west-coast market, but lately was getting his tail kicked by various online services. Yeah, that friendly gecko is a lovable little guy... isn't he? That is, I suppose, until he removes your ability to pay your mortgage or put food on the table, right? That is what… 
Recently, I was speaking with an independent insurance agent who is feeling the effects of the self-serve internet age. They have traditionally carried a fairly significant mass-advertising budget, but now seem to be having their lunch handed to them on radio and television by the likes of cavemen and talking reptiles and even a cartoon character or two. Will they survive? Possibly... But will they thrive? Probably not... at least not with their… 
Want to eliminate the 'waste of time' and 'weak ROI' issues from your next trade show or networking event? Well, of course... we all do. May I suggest that in the future, you pay very close attention to what everyone else is doing at these events... ...and then do something… 
So, if the purpose of networking is to build a network, then what is the purpose of building a network? The majority of the time that I ask this question of small business owners and service professionals, I get the same answer... sales. While this should be an indirect outcome, I have a different answer. The purpose of building a network is to develop relationships... the best of which will ultimately make up your team. As a small… 
In my experience, the top three reasons small business owners cite in not wanting to attend networking events are: 1) They have other uses for their time, but feel an uncomfortable obligation to be there. 2) They believe there is an inadequate ROI associated with the event. 3) They often end up engaged in "selling" behavior with people who are not qualified buyers. In the last several articles, we spoke about the concerns associated with… 
As I mentioned yesterday, networking is one of your most powerful tools in creating influence for your business. I find, however, that most small business leaders that I speak with have never thought of it that way. Commonly, they tell me they have always thought of it in terms of lead generation... usually judging the success or failure on the basis of how much… 
So I'm speaking with a small business owner when suddenly the subject of networking comes up. "Oh, shoot... that reminds me..." he says. "I have a networking function that I have to attend tonight... man, I really hate those things." It's amazing how many people, especially at the top, feel that way. Having spent the majority of the last twenty-five years in either a President or Chief Executive role, I've heard many business owners express… 
Several weeks ago, I suddenly received an e-mail from a old friend that has spent most of the last two decades either on the west coast or in Europe. I can count on one hand the number of times we've seen each other during those years. Randy's back in the U.S., living less than thirty minutes from Chicago's northwest suburbs... a piece of cake drive for me any day of the week. When we spoke by phone, it was as if no time had passed at all.… 
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