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How to
Really Benefit from Associations (Part II)
This is Part II in a 3-part
series. For your convenience, the
entire series is online
here:
· Part I: “How to Develop Industry Contacts”
http://movingaheadcommunications.com/associations1.html
· Part II: “Tips For Improved Networking in
Associations”
http://movingaheadcommunications.com/associations2.html
· Part III: “Researching Associations in Your
Industries”
http://movingaheadcommunications.com/associations3.html
Part II: TIPS FOR
IMPROVED NETWORKING IN ASSOCIATIONS
1. Give people a break - - as much as possible!
Association folks
are just as busy or more so
than any other business people. Many
are doing double-duty with
volunteer work on top of their
regularly paid work
everyday. So, for example, if someone said
they’d call & didn’t,
open your next call to that person with
something like, “You’ve
probably been super busy, so I just
wanted to touch base for a
sec….”
2. Membership Directory – Two words: USE IT. Call
people from it,
email them, send them
postcards. Jot notes in the margins. Write
notes from meetings &
other group events in the margins to help
describe members; like:
“the gent with the cowboy hat who sat
next to me.”
3. Participate – join in discussions,
introduce yourself at
meetings, ask questions,
etc. Don’t leave all the “thinking and
planning” up to the Board
members. Share any resources,
suggestions and ideas that
you have that may help group members.
4. Reach Out - Not only volunteer, but reach out to fellow
group
members. Everyone goes
through job stress, family situations,
“bad hair” days, etc. Don’t
just be a “good time” friend or
contact only.
5. Lemons into Lemonade – Reach out; make lemonade
out of lemons.
For example, don’t be a
gossip. It’s easy in a group situation to
get caught up in an issue and
be opposed to another member.
Remember to be fair and
allow others to voice their opinions. You
don’t always have to agree
with everyone. And you won’t. But
disagree in an agreeable
manner. For example, if someone else’s
idea is voted in instead of
yours, don’t cop an attitude & drop
out or quit the group. Give
the other person’s idea a try and
maybe write up a report on
it for a future presentation and
include your suggestions
for improvements.
Note: If you did happen to
mess up and inadvertently cop an
attitude and insult someone
or something, take a time out. Pick
yourself up, dust yourself
off, apologize / make amends and move
on. No one is perfect. And
no one expects you to be. Kindness and
apologies are always
welcome. That “Do Unto Others” Golden Rule
works wonders and is
appreciated in groups worldwide, regardless
of the industry.
6. Grow / Joint Ventures
(JVs) –
Generally groups have a Nationwide
affiliation and
affiliations with other states / regions. Get
involved (slow and steady)
with their overall concerns. And stay
abreast of their issues
when possible. Reach out to the other
affiliations and network,
too. They often offer educational and
other industry
opportunities, and often with an outlook that can
enhance your own, coming
from another point of view. When
possible, seek joint
venture (JV) opportunities.
JV tips:
· Don’t be afraid to ask.
· Put your request in writing (for the general public,
unless
you’re in a hi-tech field).
· Treat your request like a proposal & include past work
you’ve
done in this field,
samples, references, additional resources,
your credentials, etc. with
your request. Prepackage info into
autoresponders http://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot so it can be
sent upon request.
· Be flexible. For example, others may have already asked
similarly, so you might be
offered a “group” project instead. Or
maybe a Board member has a
totally different idea but with your
same guidelines, so maybe
you could slant your proposal a little
differently.
· Have patience & follow up in a professional manner.
Reaching a
“Board-approved” decision
can take awhile to get through
channels. So sit tight and
touch base every once in awhile.
· “No” doesn’t mean forever. Maybe your idea could work next
quarter or next year. Or
maybe your proposal could be altered and
resubmitted. No’s are not
personal in nature. So treat them like
regular business proposals
and follow up for feedback and
suggestions. Maybe there is
something else you could do that
would be a much better fit.
· Refer to "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People," by
Stephen R. Covey. And focus
on Habit #5, “Seek First to
Understand, then to be
Understood.”
· Keep up. Keep educating yourself and your helpers. For
example,
inexpensive company
subscriptions to a monthly ebook club
http://presssuccess.com/wholesale and the jvAlert Perpetual
Learning Series www.jvAlert.com/LearningSeries.aspx?id=1805 help
to catch up with the latest
scoop -- what works and what doesn’t
work from top-level
marketers & industry leaders.
***********************************************************
By Diana Barnum, president
of
http://movingaheadcommunications.com and CEO of
http://ohiohelp.net . For more help with marketing, public
relations and writing,
email diana@ohiohelp.net or call:
(614) 529-9459.
For a 30-day no-cost trial
of ProfitAuto, sign up online at
http://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot . Download ebooks with
loads of info to help with
your business from the “Freebies”
section of the OhioHelp.net
bookstore at
http://www.presssuccess.com/bookstore