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You network here. You network there. You network everywhere.

Everywhere? Gee, who is your target market? I’ve heard people say, “Everyone.” I’ve heard realtors say, “I’m looking for anyone who wants to buy a home.”

How realistic is this? Why do some folks assume that everyone breathing is a prospect? For example, let’s say your company sells those diapers for seniors. Would you market to teenagers? Posting ads on VH1 or MTV wouldn’t get you much, would it? Working moms? Blue collar workers? Bankers? Restaurant owners? See where I’m going with this?

“So what is a niche market,” you ask? A niche market is a narrow demographic of people who could and would buy your product or service. Let’s say you make golf products. You likely would not market at a rodeo. Those guys don’t normally ride golf carts – too tame for them, don’t you see. What if you made baby products? Chances are you would not market these to professional football players. Why would you market that stuff that takes the gray out of your beard to stay-at-home moms?

What you want to do is first identify your target market. The narrower the market, the more likely you will be to sell your product or service. Ideally, you want to find a niche market that few others are marketing to, and that has a unique problem that you can address or solve. You would do much better to sell 10,000 products in a small niche of 100,000 prospects than to waste marketing dollars on a niche of say, 5 million and only sell 3,000 or 4,000 products because there was a) competition or b) no need for your product.

Niche markets can be divided into several categories: demographic, regional, and psychographic.

Demographic – your market is Chinese women between the ages of 20 and 30. I can’t come up with an example here. I’m a caucasion male over 60.

Regional – your market is in a specific location. Can’t sell waterfront property to someone in Nevada, unless their I.Q. matches their age.

Psychographic – customers here will buy anything related to their intrest because they have the percieved notion that it will somehow help them, even if it won’t. An example is a golfer who has a perfectly good set of clubs but will pay $3,000 for a new set because he thinks it will take 2 strokes off his game. This is silly because everyone knows that it’s the right kind of beer you drink that will improve your game! But it takes all kinds!

So what have we learned here? We’ve learned that in spite of what P.T. Barnum once said, you have to identify your target market and market directly to THEM for the best results. Perhaps you’ll get some sales from the other demographics and that would be a bonus or a gimme, as we say, but don’t waste your time and marketing dollars in this direction because the effort and meager results are not worth it.

N.I.C.H.E =  Narrow Interested Community Having Enthusiasm

To your business networking success!

Please visit businessnetworkingmistakes.com to get a free report about how networking mistakes can cripple your business.

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If you liked this blog then you can check out…..wait!

Maybe I should give you a little more information. After all, you had to press all those buttons to get here. So, what do you want to know?

Here are some thoughts -

Everybody’s Doing It!

All right,  so I lied. Everybody is NOT doing it. On the other hand, lots of people are networking and everybody SHOULD be doing it.

It’s Viral! What the heck does THAT mean? Sounds scary, right, like you need a vaccination or something?

Let me explain it like this: you’ve heard the question, “What would you rather have – $100,000 or one penny doubling itself for 30 days?” Most people immediately say, “The $100,000.” They don’t think it through. If you take one penny and double it every day for 30 days, you will end up with about $5,368,704 dollars! What does viral mean? It means that when you get people talking about you and your business to others, you become known faster than you can with traditional advertising. It can spread like wildfire.

I’m pretty sure it costs less than advertising. One billboard costs you between $300 and $500 per month. What does it cost to go to a networking event? $25? $50? Free? If your business has a bottom line, then saving money while getting better results might work for you.

You form lasting relationships, which is what it’s all about. If you do this right, you are forming lasting relationships, which, in the long run, will benefit you for years and years in ways that you may not even imagine. Do repeat sales and referrals get you excited? Would you like others to do your marketing for you by word of mouth? That’s where the money is. Focusing on that aspect would be the smart thing to do.

It gets you resources. You get not only business. You get to know lawyers, bankers, service people, craft people, realtors, you name them, you’ll meet them. Who knows what you’ll be looking for down the road, and you’ll already have the connections to solve any problems. It also gives you a way to help solve OTHER people’s problems and you become the “Go-To Dude” (or Dudette)! How much is that worth to you?

You are who you are and that’s all that you are. Popeye was a smart guy! Advertising generally doesn’t get the real YOU across. People want to do business with people, not companies.

You get to help others, but only if you want to. It would behoove you to do so. People don’t remember what you say and they don’t always remember what you do. What they WILL remember is how you made them feel! (see “It gets you resources“)

You can talk about your business in ways that you can’t do with advertising. Let’s face it – time and space are limited with advertising and traditionally there are things you can and can’t say like on a billboard or in a commercial.

You know, marketing is a must in the business world. The problem, especially nowadays is how to do it effectively and save money at the same time. And just as important is separating yourself from the herd of cookie cutter businesses out there. What will make you stand apart? Better products? Better service? Better pricing? All these things are important, but what if you can’t easily do all these things, and even if you could, how do you get the word out? Frankly, I myself, don’t even see billboards – they may as well not even be there.  I think of them as a blight on the landscape if I think of them at all. And I don’t listen to commercials on radio or T.V. I don’t look at anything but headlines in the papers or magazines. It’s a matter of self preservation. I like my sanity and want to keep it. If most people are like me, then you’ve got a problem. Networking is an easy, effective solution. Combine it with your other marketing techniques and you’ll come out a winner every time! Here’s to your business success!

Please visit businessnetworkingmistakes.com to get a free report about how networking mistakes can cripple your business.

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Is it not using big words? For example, do you say “scold” instead of “denunciate”? Maybe “poor” instead of “impecunious”? Perhaps “dumb” instead of “taciturn”? “Fool” instead of “simpleton”?

Or instead to you say things like  “flatulence” instead of just saying “gas”? Do you say “discombobulated” instead of “screwed up”? How about “extemporaneous” instead of “unrehearsed”?” Heterogeneous” instead of “unlike”? Do you say “pretentious” instead of “snob.” Maybe “supercilious” instead of “arrogant.” Do you think you’re better than others…..

Oooops!  Sorry!

No, small talk is none of these things.

Small talk is just remarking to  someone you may meet on an almost regular basis like your mailman, barber, grocer or someone and saying, “Hey, how about those Steelers?” or “Nice weather we’re having” or “Gee, I sure didn’t vote for that bastard” or even “Man, I really have to pee.” These are ways to begin to feel comfortable with strangers and open up conversations where you find out a little about them. Then as time goes by, you can begin to develop more meaningful conversations and get to know each other on a more personal level. Practicing this may even be a way to overcome a shyness about talking to strangers.

Wait! Your mother taught you to NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS!

Well, you have to be selective, of course, and don’t forget – almost anything you do these days has risk. You don’t want to talk to anyone who is slobbering, smells bad, has their hand out for something other than shaking hands (see Networking Handshake Primer), has one eye looking somewhere else while the other is looking at you (you think), is running from a bank with a gun in their hand, is wearing a mask, carries a sign saying something about the end of the world, someone who wears his shirt inside his underwear, or someone who is kissing babies in a crowd. These are but a few of those you may want to think twice about starting a conversation with.

While it’s romantic to think of yourself as tall, dark and mysterious, as a guy you’re probably gonna get more mileage out of being open, polite, self-assured. You ladies can be demure, shy and mysterious, which can be alluring, but if you’re in the business world, you need to be able to back up that red power suit. So, get out there and talk small. Say things to strangers. Chat about stupid, meaningless crap. It lets people know you’re interested in them. In the long run, it will make you a better person.

Strangely enough, small talk is actually networking. Well, it’s the beginning of networking, anyway. If you can become accomplished at small talk, then you won’t have any trouble taking it further into full blown, this is the real deal, I- can’t-believe-I’m-doing-this networking!

Please visit businessnetworkingmistakes.com to get a free report about how networking mistakes can cripple your business.

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This post is going to introduce you to the proper way to greet someone at a networking event, or actually any other time as well. There are different rules for different cultures, as we all know (at least I hope we do). In the far East, one should bow when meeting. In some parts of Europe, people kiss each others' cheeks. This primer is predominately for those of us in North America, which includes to some extent, Canada. Of course in Canada, things are just a wee bit different. For example, in Canada when meeting someone, it would be common to say something like, "I'm very pleased to meet you, eh?" Or how about, "The pleasure is all mine, eh?" Or even, "How nice it is to meet you, eh?" You get the idea. O.K. let's get right to it. There are many ways to shake a person's hand, and most of them are inappropriate to networking and creating a basis for a good relationship. In this primer, I'm going to mention only a few of the most common.

The Limp Fish Handshake

You've all experienced this one, I'm sure! This is the one that, when someone offers their hand and you take it, you want to use your left hand and put it on their carotid artery in their neck and check their pulse. You almost want to forcibly withdraw your hand and yell, "Yuck!" A woman would think, "If he can't even get his handshake firm….." This is the person that you would most likely have to follow-up with over and over and over and over, because they never return your calls.

The Bone Crusher Handshake

Ah, yes. This is the one where the other person is trying to do a power play on you, show you who's boss. It kind of says to you, "You want some of this?" Your first reaction is to yell out in pain and then give him (usually it's a 'him') a knee in the groin followed by an uppercut. Doing business with this guy would be such a pleasure!

The Finger Squeeze Handshake

These are the folks who won't commit to giving you their whole hand. They stop short of the full grasp and just grab your fingers and squeeze. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't, but it always leaves you wanting more. Commitment issues? Possibly.

The Don't-Look-You-In-The-Eye Handshake

What can I say? They will never remember you 'cause they can't identify you. They don't know what you look like. On the other hand, maybe they're submissive and you can sell them anything if you use a harsh commanding voice. Worth a try, don't you think?

The Limp Wrist Handshake

You might think that this is the same as the Limp Fish Handshake, but it's not. It's more of a courtly gesture towards women kind of thing. The other person takes your hand by the fingers and raises it to mouth level so that your palm is down. They don't actually kiss your hand, or even get it close to their mouth, but you almost think it's coming. You don't experience this one very often but if you do, you should probably curtsy back in response. Unless you're a guy, of course. Then you bow.

The Fist Bump, Backhand Slap, Finger Twiddle, Hip Bump Handshake – (Also known as the Secret Ghetto Handshake)

This one is difficult to do with panache. You know what panache is, right? I thought so. You're a savvy networker, aren't you?  O.K., so this handshake should be reserved for people you already know. You might find that, after having completed this handshake, others are staring at you. You may have a tendency to grin widely. Suppress the grin! You want to look cool, not silly. Cool people do this handshake when they're trying to impress others (or they're drunk).    HEY… my opinion, O.K?

The 15 Pumps Or More Handshake

These people are your long lost buddies. They are enthusiastic. Friendly. Unaware. Tenacious. These folks are usually fun.

The Two-Handed Handshake

People who use this handshake are either very sincere or are trying to fool you into thinking that they are. If you observe them doing this with everyone, then chances are they are phony baloney. Some men do this only with women. Watch out for them. Make them sign contracts for everything.

The Do-Over

This is great. The person who, after a botched handshake says, "Let's do that over" is self-assured, caring, has a sense of humor, is honest. A do-over breaks the ice like nothing else. This person is willing to correct mistakes . But, on the other hand, this person may also be one who is a perfectionist. Who tries to correct you every chance there is. Who is a know-it-all.  Wow. Tough call. I've given you some examples from my own experiences. I know that there are folks out there who have experienced other kinds of handshakes and I want to hear from you. The bottom line, however, is that if you want to network properly and make a proper impression on those you meet, then you must give a firm confident handshake while looking them in the eye. This means with women you meet, too! Women mean business and they appreciate a person who is confident and holds them in high regard in return. So…get out there and shake someone's hand (don't forget to wash afterward because you don't know where that hand has been)! If you would like to hear some audio files on the Do's and Do Not's of networking, please visit http://networkingfun.com/products-page/ where you'll get clear insights on how to network effectively.

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