For the benefit of those who couldn’t make it to last Tuesday’s meeting, Michael has graciously allowed his notes to be posted here on this blog for you to read and download. There are also plans for him to deliver this presentation again at another NACE Hawaii meeting sometime within the year (in town, where we hopefully will get more in attendance), and perhaps to other associations you may belong to.

Click here to view Michael’s notes for “Are You Networking or STILL Not Working?”

If you wish to have Michael Rabe speak at your next function, contact him at 521-7101.

How To Be Socially Savvy In All Situations

When was the last time you spent working on “your game?”  You get so wrapped up in running your business, marketing your name, managing your people, and “being busy” that it’s easy to forget about your own professional development.  But professional development is so very important, especially in this day and age when the difference between YOU and the guy with a consumer-grade DLSR & kit lens is your EXPERIENCE and TRAINING. Think about it: one day, you’re the top wedding videographer in the state, and the next, you’re being eclipsed by the hot new cinematographer with a good eye, great camera, a background in Hollywood filmmaking, and an understanding of what today’s brides want.  Do you change then, when it’s too late, or do you adapt now, and constantly stay on top of your game?

Photographers: When was the last time you attended a conference like WPPI or PhotoPlus?  (Several NACE Hawaii members went to WPPI last February.  Did you?)  What about the recent workshops by Kevin Kubota? (Several NACE Hawaii members were there. Were you?)

Videographers: Attended WEVA recently?  What about a StillMotion Evolution workshop?

the evolution experience II from stillmotion on Vimeo.

Bonus points if you can spot the guys from Crane Media in this clip.

Caterers & Wedding/Event Planners: Planning to go to Catersource next March? What about NACE Experience next July in Texas?  When was the last time you went to an ABC or AFWPI conference?

DJs & Masters of Ceremonies: Were you at the Mobile Beat Conference this February? When was the last time you took a workshop like the ones from the Marbecca Method? (Several NACE Hawaii members took the recent class in Hawaii in October, or the one in Vegas last February. Did you?) Will you be at the National Speakers’ Association Fall Conference or the DJ Cruise in November?

Just because you’re good, and you’re clients say you are the best, doesn’t mean that you’re always going to be the best.  The moment you stop learning is the moment when you should just hang up your hat and retire from the wedding industry, because that’s the moment your competition gains the advantage over you.  The only way left to compete is to drop your price…but then you’ll be working for less than you’re worth, and you don’t want that, do you?

After all…

If you don’t stay on top of your game, then your competition will.

Remember:

Your clients are not just paying for the product or service rendered; they are also investing in your time, talent, and experience, as well as your staff’s time, talent, and experience, in order to give them (the customer) a great experience.

Make sure you charge your customers accordingly.

On his Facebook page, he usually writes about his personal exploits, drinking, and sometimes work. A recent sampling of his updates:

These are taken word-for-word from his Facebook page, with only minor editing on the last one to censor the explicit language.

His commenters can be just as bad. In a recent update, one of his friends replied with a Filipino phrase meaning human excrement.

Now he’s a great guy. I know him personally, and that’s how he and his friends usually act in person. But if I were a Facebook user who had never heard of him and came upon his page, I would be horrified. My first impression of him would be that he is uncouth, a drunk, and I would certainly not want to have him at my wedding or special event, no matter how good or talented he is. After all, if this is how he acts online, will he be like this at my event? Will he talk to me like this and act like this during the planning process? Is he reliable?

Here’s another thing: in addition to running his own company, my friend also works as an audiovisual tech for one of the largest AV companies in Hawaii. If you were the owner of the AV company, would you tolerate such language and behavior from your employees? Even if my friend acts like this and does this on his own time, isn’t it still a reflection of you and your business?

Here’s the bottom line:

How you act online is a reflection of how you are seen in person.

Remember that perception is reality: if you present yourself as drunk and uncouth online, that’s what people are going to think of you (and your business) in person. If you present yourself as professional, that’s the impression your prospects will see. If you try to do both (as in a very professional homepage, but a very “ghetto” personal Facebook page), you simply create brand confusion among your potential clients.

Remember: People are watching you.

In a recent blogpost, Andy writes about ham sandwich marketing. This is where people post tweets and status updates that are interesting only to the person who wrote it and maybe a handful of people “in the know.”

For example, let’s say you tweet Had lunch with Herb and Josette at The Oceanarium Restaurant.

Who cares??

Your followers & FB friends are busy, busy people who don’t have time to really pay attention to you unless what you write is

• interesting to them,
• entertaining to them,
• relevant to them.

In this example, do I know who Herb & Josette are? Am I supposed to be impressed that you had lunch at the Oceanarium? Why don’t you just tell me you had a ham sandwich? That would be just as unimpressive and unneccessary.

As Mr. Ebon states, “If your lunch was incredible, take a picture of the ham sandwich. post about the incredible Dijon mustard, the soft fresh-baked roll, and what variety of ham was involved. That has the possibility of being entertaining. Otherwise, you’re just engaging in Ham Sandwich Marketing. In today’s fast and furious world of communications, being boring is a big crime. Being irrelevant is a felony offense.”

According to Mr. Ebon,Don’t waste people’s time. Be interesting or be gone.

Read his original post (and reader responses/comments) here.

So I ask them:

• Do you regularly attend the meetings?
• Do you get out of your comfort zone and network with people you don’t know?
• Do you go home once the formal program ends?
• Are you actively involved in the association?
• Are you bringing business cards to the meeting, and are you giving them out?

Many times, the common answer to the questions is “No.”

And they wonder why they didn’t get any business from the association!

Mike Rabe, NACE Hawaii member and owner of Creations in Catering, a Hawaii-based full-service catering company, once said,

"If you don’t NETWORK, you will NOT WORK."

Many people join associations with the mistaken notion that they will automatically get on other people’s referral lists and instantly get business. The truth is:

• REFERRALS arise from RELATIONSHIPS.
• RELATIONSHIPS need TRUST.
• TRUST takes TIME.

Therefore, the TIME you put into networking ultimately affects the REFERRALS you get out of association membership. In other words, if you put in the time to network at the meetings & parties, you will get the referrals. But if you don’t really “work” your network, then you might as well spend your membership dues on something else because, in the end, it will be waste of your time and money.

Here are few tips to maximize your marketing potential in this association, and any other associations you may belong to:

ATTEND EVERY MEETING. This is one of the most critical and important tips for being a member…yet I know many members that take it for granted. Wedding Professionals cannot and will not refer you IF THEY DON’T KNOW YOU. And they will not know you unless you are physically there, at the meetings, making the right contacts. The four hours of networking you spend one night a month will pay off handsomely when the business begins to roll in…but it won’t happen if you are never there to make yourself known.

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. At the meetings, it is really easy to hang out the whole night with people you are comfortable with. While it’s great to talk story and catch up, you can do that at other times. The whole point in being there is to make yourself known and to gain the trust of as many referrers as possible. The people currently in your “comfort zone” already love you and are probably referring you. So go meet new people you don’t really know well, strike up a conversation, and get to know them. They in turn will get to know you, and soon, after building up a rapport, they will trust you enough to add you to their referral list. But getting referrals won’t happen if you stay in your comfort zone the whole night.

STAY LATER…AFTER THE “FORMAL DINNER” ENDS. A lot of friendships are made and contacts are created later in the evening, when a majority of the guests have left. With only a handful of people remaining, it allows for very intimate small-group conversations…and an even better opportunity for other wedding professionals to get to know you on a more personal level. But getting to know other wedding professionals more personally won’t happen if you leave early.

BECOME INVOLVED. Don’t just come for the dinner. Get involved! Join a committee! Attend the open board meetings (which generally happen the week before the general meeting) even if you aren’t a board member and offer your ideas! By showing your commitment to help the group, it creates more exposure and a positive image among other members. Consider what’s in everyone’s head as you get more involved in the organization: “Wow, if he can step up to take care of us, imagine how he will take care of our customers!” Now imagine them sending you these customers…and watch your bottom line grow. But it won’t happen if you are not involved.

BRING BUSINESS CARDS. You are meeting new people, some of them for the first time. After having a conversation, give them your card so they’ll remember you. You’ll be surprised how many people DON’T offer their business cards, and two days later, they’re forgotten. But if someone has your card and likes you, they’re definitely going to remember you when their client asks for a referral. So make sure you have business cards with you at the meetings! I always bring a full card wallet to the meetings…and I have a BOX waiting in the car, just in case…because you never know who and how many people are going to ask you for your business card.

Remember, these are simply tips to help you maximize your networking and marketing potential in this association. I hope it helps you make new friends, grow your network, and build your bottom line!

]]> http://www.nacehawaii.com/blog/2009/05/making-the-most-of-your-nace-hawaii-membership/feed/ 0