Following up with people you meet is one of the most important tasks after networking. Otherwise, you lose your opportunity to build your network. Michelle Martin of C3 for Women and Metro Woman, suggests following up within 48 hours to continue building the relationship you started at the event. Michelle has a guideline I appreciate. She always asks if she can stay in touch and add her new contacts to her database. Please do your part to reduce the email overload by asking first.

Peggy Edge, President of TeamNetworking and owner of Edge Packaging, suggests reading a book about networking, “Power Networking” by Donna Fisher and Sandy Villas.

Another tip both Michelle and Peggy follow is to plan time right after the networking event or block off an hour the next morning to make sure you take time to follow up.

Peggy recommends starting your 30-second commercial with a power question that gets people thinking about what you do. Most people start with “I” which isn’t very effective to grab the audience’s attention. 

To learn more tips about networking do’s and don’ts, click on the link to my radio host page and download the segment titled “Get the Edge on Networking” at The Leader in You Radio Show.

Kathy Garland specializes in business growth and leadership for women-owned businesses. She hosts a radio show, “The Leader in You” on BlogTalk Radio and speaks frequently on business growth and leadership topics. For more information, visit Kathy Garland International.

Monday, July 12 Maximizing Your Talents: Have you wondered how to get the most from yourself and your team? How to motivate and inspire everyone, including you, to do their best? One of the ways is to understand their unique talents and strengths. My colleague, Kay Lisch who is an executive coach and consultant and I will discuss our experiences and understanding of what it means to focus on your talents and strengths.

Monday, July 19 Hiring Your First Salesperson: Hiring a salesperson can be one of the smartest things you do or one of the worst mistakes you make. Learn from an insider who places salespeople the keys to hiring a good salesperson. Annie Daub and I will discuss what makes a productive salesperson and we’ll also discuss when it is right to hire a salesperson.

Monday, August 2 Get the Edge on Networking: Learn from experts Peggy Edge and Michelle Martin who both lead networking organizations on how you can maximize your time in your networking activities.

Monday, August 16 Marketing from Your Office: if you are more introverted and don’t like getting out of the office or you don’t like spending so much time going from meeting to meeting to find potential customers, join Leslie Mock and I for some insight on how you can effectively market from your office.

Monday, August 30 Business Relationships Do Matter! Kathy and Rita Reneaux will discuss the essentials you need to know to build strong business relationships. Both Kathy and Rita have extensive experience managing large accounts and multiple client relationships and understand how critical maintaining the relationship is to growing and retaining business.

Big Leap Business Growth for Entrepreneurs is a BlogTalk internet radio show on the Diva Toolbox Network that broadcasts at 7 p.m. Central on most Mondays. Check Kathy Garland’s show page to confirm details and phone number for dial in: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kathy-garland.

Big Leap Business Growth is hosted by Kathy Garland, who consults with small businesses on strategy and plans for growth, www.kathygarland.com.

I’ve noticed that when I am in a creative pursuit such as writing or developing a speech, I am more aware of a range of emotions that can support me or hold me back.

What have you noticed about your emotions and how much they control your life? Or do you let your emotions drive you?

One of the most profound things I learned in my management coaching program was the principle "Feelings in the face of commitment don’t matter." That stopped me in my tracks for awhile.

What I’ve come to appreciate is that feelings and emotions are part of our everyday experience and make us the rich, diverse and wonderful part of humanity that we are.

How do you let emotions support you or distract you? This is a critically important topic for entrepreneurs, company leaders, authors and speakers.

On Monday, June 28, join me for my Big Leap Business Growth for Entrepreneurs Talk Show on Diva ToolBox Blog Talk Radio. At 7 p.m. Central, I’ll be hosting a 60-minute segment on Emotions at Work.

My guest expert for Emotions at Work is Jan King, Founder and Director of the eWomenPublishing Network. Jan has years of experience working with leaders, authors, speakers and people who want to publish. She knows that unless emotions are recognized, the drive to reach the goal is much more difficult.

Join us for a lively discussion Monday night! You can call in (347) 843-4134 to contribute your ideas, questions and insights on emotions at work. All show segments are downloadable from my Host Page.

Kathy Garland International

www.kathygarland.com Join me on LinkedIn Read my Tweets on Twitter Connect with me on Facebook  972.529.6744 office

Yet, this month has been a slow transition into the year. I’d like to say it’s because of the new decade or that the dog ate my plans. I can’t blame the weather because it’s been wonderful here in North Texas.

So I looked at why I feel unfocused. Each January, like you, I have new opportunities, new plans, new clients and contract renewals. All these opportunities stir up my idea generating mind. There are endless possibilities in everything I do so narrowing it down and picking a direction can trip me up. I love to plan!

Yesterday, I realized I needed to get a grip. Writing always helps me focus. So I am going to use this blog to share tips about focus. Today’s tip is to use a Mind Dump process to calm your mind when you feel overwhelmed or have too much to do.

A Mind Dump can happen in two ways. The first is to grab a notebook and write down all the thoughts in your head. Let everything flow without censoring your words. You may put down items on your to-do list, your ideas, your complaints, your passions, your successes. Write down anything that comes to mind. Schedule this at a time when you will be uninterrupted. You’ll feel much calmer when you get it all on paper.

If you don’t like to write, you can still use a Mind Dump process. Simply talk into a small digital recorder or a use a service like AudioAcrobat to capture what is on your mind. You may want to save it because great ideas can come out in the Mind Dump process.

You can use this everyday or when you are feeling out-of-focus. Choosing to make this a regular practice is useful for you to keep on track. Feel free to share your ideas on focus with me and if you use these tips.

Kathy Garland, www.kathygarland.com, is a transformational leader who improves the personal power of women leaders through branding, client acquisition and creating focus for the future. She is a radio show host for The Leader in You and a featured columnist on Empowering Women for McKinney Woman.

© copyright 2010,  Kathy Garland, all rights reserved. Feel free to link to this blog post. For permission to reprint, please call 972.529.6744.

We all know the value of goals. Having goals is like having a roadmap to reach our destination. Here are examples you are familiar with:

• sell one million dollars in products or services
• achieve top salesperson
• win a sales contest

Webster primarily defines a goal as “the end of a race” or “an area to be reached in children’s games,” which is not much help for our purpose. A secondary definition, “the end toward which effort is directed,” is a more practical business application. Very often we focus only on the end to which our effort is directed, our destination, and not enough on the journey to get there.

Goals set without a specific plan of action to get there are just words on paper. To make the most of your goals, look at the commitments, or pledges or promises you need to make to reach your goals. Commitments are a series of actions you take both for the short and long-term that will help you reach your goals.

Through deciding which commitments are needed to fulfill your goals, you can be more purposeful and successful about reaching them. Commitments are what you say we are going to do based on the goals we want to achieve.

A commitment is defined as “an agreement or pledge to do something in the future.” It is the daily, weekly and monthly actions necessary to reach your goals. The key is to make commitments that are focused on achieving your goals. You are most likely to honor your commitments when you are emotionally connected to them and are honest with yourself and others about what you will and will not do.

In a coaching program, clients make commitments with specific time parameters that help them reach their goals. For example:

• block off two hours each day to contact current and prospective clients
• finish an article for publication by Friday
• participate on one volunteer committee per quarter

Making commitments is a way to “chunk down” goals. Commitments are what drive you to reach your goals and focus your time. They need to be made on a regular basis. It is most effective to start with your yearly goals as a framework and make commitments monthly, weekly, and daily to make progress toward your goals.

Many people take their commitments very lightly and do not follow through with them. Make your commitments carefully and stay accountable to what you say you are going to do. For example, if you promise information to a client tomorrow morning and don’t get it to them until the afternoon or next day, you have not honored your commitment, which will hurt your credibility. Your reputation depends on how you honor your commitments to others.

True goal setting is a two-step process. First, establish your goals by deciding what you want to achieve. Second, determine what commitments or actions you are going to make to accomplish your goals.

Planning your goals and commitments is one of the most important tasks you can do to build your sales.

Once you have decided on your goals and commitments, find someone who will support you. This should be someone who is completely objective but will hold you accountable for your commitments. This can be a friend or a colleague. An effective way to stay on task is to hire a coach. Part of a coach’s purpose is to be a partner with you to manage your commitments so you do reach your goals.

If you would like to make sure you reach your goals this year, contact me at garlandkj@gmail.com to schedule a complimentary consultation. I have individual and group programs that can help you reach your goals. My website is www.kathygarland.com.

Thank you for reading my blog posts!

Copyright, 2010 Kathy Garland. All rights reserved.

Are you playing like you are afraid to lose your sales game? Or are you playing to win? Whether you are in sales or another type of job, you can use these principles to improve your results. After reading the lists below determine if you are Afraid to Lose or Playing to Win:

Afraid to Lose:

· Being hesitant about sales activities and tasks because you are afraid to lose

· Not having enough prospects

· Finding other things that “have” to be done instead of making your sales calls

· Procrastination

· Calling on accounts that are too small

· No system to monitor and manage your results

· Depending too heavily on the accounts you have

· Complaining about what is happening or not happening

Playing to Win:

· Planning and organizing your day around your sales calls and appointments

· Starting early; knowing your plan for the day before you get to the office

· Following a process and documenting your notes and follow-up dates

· Researching and understanding your target market

· Knowing where you add unique value to the sales process

· Measuring and monitoring your results

· Constantly studying and improving your sales game

Focusing your attention on the Play to Win strategies will improve your results and your attitude. You’ll be much more focused and confident with the Play to Win strategies.

© copyright 2009,  Kathy Garland, all rights reserved.

Kathy Garland is a transformational leader who improves the personal power of women leaders through branding, client acquisition and creating focus for the future. She is a radio show host for The Leader in You,  a Diva Toolbox Radio Show and a featured columnist on Empowering Women for McKinney Woman.

My guest, Dr. Helen Harkness, has been coaching professionals on their careers since the 1970’s, is well-regarded, an author and speaker.

We’ll be discussing how to manage your career, juggle priorities and keep it all together without falling into the Superwoman trap – being all things to all people and not being able to say no.

You can log onto the internet and by phone with the link and numbers below:

http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/62307

Phone Number: (724) 444-7444
Call ID: 62307

Hope you can join us!

© copyright 2009,  Kathy Garland, all rights reserved.

Quick note today: I want to share with you a link to an article I wrote about Personal Branding for Women Leaders. It’s featured on www.eZinearticles.com! You can read it by clicking here:  http://EzineArticles.com/?id=2744157.

Kathy Garland, http://www.kathygarland.com is a transformational leader who works with women leaders on branding, client acquisition and creating focus for the future. She frequently writes and speaks on these topics.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZOWvakymUw 

 Let me know if you’d like to join me in lessons!