Pages at the Prop Business Edition

As an Indiana business founded by an Indiana business book author, AddressTwo is proud to sponsor a lunch and lecture event at the Indianapolis Propylaeum to highlight Indiana book authors. We have reached out to several business book authors we know and set up a few presenters in the coming months to share their business know-how with you. We wanted to share with you a little bit about the venue and the monthly event.

About the Venue

The Indianapolis Propylaeum (The Prop) is a beautiful venue in downtown Indianapolis. It’s a place where you can take a look back in the past while enjoying this lunch and a lecture about the future of business. Don’t worry, they do plenty of other events too such as weddings, meetings, and presentation events like ours. It’s a little piece of history heaven right in the middle of the busy city on Delaware and 14^th Street.

About the Event

On the second Tuesday of every month a new featured author will be at the prop to discuss their book with the crowd. The agenda for the event is as follows:

11:30am: Arrival, networking, lunch served
11:45am-12pm: Program begins
12:45pm-1pm: Q&A, networking, and book signings

Early bird tickets will be offered until the end of the month prior to the event. Group discount tickets are available for groups of 3 or more. Regular tickets will be on sale until 5pm the day before the event.

Click here to buy your tickets for November 10th Event

NEXT MONTHS FEATURED AUTHOR
Our November featured author is Robby Slaughter. Follow the link to read about his book talk for Pages at the Prop. We’ll update the author biographies each month, so keep checking back for next month’s featured author.

Pages at the Prop September 8th Featured Indiana Author

Turn Talk Into Clients: Best Practices for Networking Success

Click here to purchase your tickets today.

Going to Networking Events and Collecting Business Cards DOES NOT Get You More Business!

Jack Klemeyer will share at least 3 networking secrets the pros won’t tell you at Pages at the Prop!

In order for networking to be the strategy that does bring business to your door, you have to know what to do, how to do it, when to do it and what the reason is for the steps you are taking.

Named one of the Top 50 Connectors in Indianapolis, business consultant and coach Jack Klemeyer will share some of the strategies and tools proven successful time and time again with clients across industries. If you use networking to grow your business, you need to make networking a profitable activity on your schedule. Based on his book, Turn Talk Into Clients; Best Practices for Networking Success, this program will help you clearly understand how everything works together and what you have to do before, during and after a networking event to see a REAL CHANGE for your business.

Here are some of the things you will learn:

Click here to purchase your tickets today.

• What essential tools you must take with you to every event (and not just networking events)
• How to create a clearly defined goals and targets for each event
• What goes into turning prospects into clients and how to strategically make that happen
• The importance of (and steps how to) systemizing your network activities
• And much, much more!

The Awesome Link between Writing Content and Personal Development

When the conversation turns to blogs and newsletters, small business owners look me straight in the eye and confess like I am their spiritual guide. Generally, they confess to three things:

1.       They don’t have time to write

2.       They don’t know how to write

3.       They don’t know what to write about

While I can’t provide a quick fix to items 1 and 2, I can offer a relatively timely solution for number 3. Although I see topics all around me and can’t seem to find the time to write about all of them, I do understand facing a blank sheet of paper or Word document on the screen and feeling stymied.

One of the easiest ways to find things to talk about comes on the heels of a simple suggestion from Jeff Olson in The Slight Edge. The Slight Edge is a remarkable book. Olson lays the groundwork of “Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success & Happiness.” If you haven’t read it, it’s worth the time investment.

Photo Credit: Lightwise at 123rf.com

The suggestion he gives that I want to share is to read 10 pages a day of something for personal

development. Ten pages to a non-reader may sound like a lot, to a voracious reader, not enough. But if you read 10 pages of something every day, you will be broadening your knowledge base and stirring up the little grey cells as Hercule Poirot calls them.

When you stir up the cells, you generate some thoughts and pretty soon, you want to talk about them. Voila! You have something to write about. In fact, you might find you have several things to write about.

Here’s a little tip. If you don’t capture them pretty quick, you will forget them and when faced with that blank page, you’ll be lamenting that you have nothing to write about. Think Post-it Notes. I think Post-it Notes were invented just for me – or at least for people LIKE me. (Actually Post-it Notes were a failed attempt at another invention, but obviously mistakes can be profitable, too.)

Anyway, a pad of Post-its and a pencil are your best friends. Jot a few words to anchor your thought and tab the page of the book. When it is time to write, grab your book and you are set. I have recently started using the Post-its with arrow points. I just aim it at the section, jot a word or two if needed and am ready to expand on it when the time comes.

The thing about reading and writing is that you share your thoughts about what the writer said and how you interpret it, what you think about it, or how you can use it. That becomes the basis of a conversation – which is what words, ready and writing are all about.

With that in mind, you will also find that certain people come to mind when you read something. Perhaps the content is something they could use or would be interested in as well. Copy the page and send it to them, or, share the book with them when you are finished – or, if it could be really significant, gift them with a book.

Stay in touch with your colleagues, clients and customers through the features of your CRM. (If you need help with that, talk to Troy at AddressTwo.) Use blogs, newsletters and sharing. If you have things to talk about, you have things to write about.

-Elaine

Author bio:

Elaine Whitesides has a unique business past having spent time in the residential and commercial real estate/finance corporate world and also many years as an educator. Combining those with a love of writing and organizational development, she founded Whitesides Words. Her business is to bring together professional service providers and the business owners who need their services – at a reasonable rate. Her purpose is to share the stories of business and business people with the world. She can be contacted at elaine@whitesideswords.com or at 317-520-2885. Visit her website at www.whitesideswords.com.

Are You Watching Sales Slowly Drift Into the Sunset?

Everyone enjoys the peace and calm of watching the sun set into the horizon (especially in Key West, right?). But when it’s sales that are drifting away, that’s not so enjoyable. In fact, it probably would rile you right up if you thought about it and realized it was happening right below your very nose.

If you have a list of emails and you aren’t using it, you are really missing the boat. (You are losing sales.)

And if you don’t have a list, well, your ship just hasn’t made it into the harbor yet. (You are losing sales.)

So, let’s work on that.

In Early to Rise, Michael Masterson says, “The money is in the list.” Now, just HAVING a list is not enough, it’s what you do with it that really matters (hint: build relationships).

Photo Credit: Norma Cornes, 123rf.com

No matter what you do with it, you first have to build a list. You want it brimming with prospects who are interested in what you have to offer, or who might one day be ready to buy from you. They are the people you send information about new products, events and what you offer. They are your buyers – or prospective buyers. So where do you find those people?

- You meet them as you network.
- They find you at your website. 
- They connect with you on social media.
- Clients and partners refer them to you.
- They are your audience when you speak.

In other words, you find them and meet them everywhere you go. Now, you have to capture them. I have two good examples of how I capture them.

1) Business Card Meet and Greet – When I receive a business card from someone I have just met, I immediately enter them into my CRM and trigger a “Good to meet you, welcome to my life” series of emails. I introduce them to me, my website and blog and invite them to join me on social media.

2) When I speak I have cards (or a sign-up sheet) that I circulate and collect that allows the audience to sign up to get on my list, connect for a complimentary consultation about coaching, masterminds, events, etc.

A huge percentage of people get on my list and receive no less than my weekly emails (chock full of information, fun, and strategies). Others elect to subscribe to my newsletter or other programs offered. That’s great. But there is one opportunity that I am missing. I just discovered the idea and will be implementing it SOON. Chances are you are missing out on it, too.

Do you have an opt-in opportunity on EVERY PAGE of your website? I have one that pops up on my website, and it has been effective. But I just learned about the success someone has been having by offering a free gift (special report, checklist, or tickler) to opt into their list at the bottom of EVERY PAGE of her website.

She isn’t talking about that side bar opt-in, but a different opportunity that connects with the content on that particular page. For instance, in my case, one page on my website might be about Mastermind Groups. I could offer a list of “9 Reasons Millionaires Say a Mastermind Group Changes Your Life” as a special gift on that page. It gives more information about Mastermind Groups as well as providing the chance to get on the subscription list.

Of course, you have to have a CRM in which to accumulate and communicate with your list.

The point is, get busy with building and communicating with your list.

Even if you have doubts or are afraid of the water, grab a life vest and jump in. Get that list growing and there is the distinct possibility that someday you will be sailing off into the sunset with everything in life you love.

To Your Success!

Jack

Author Bio:

Jack Klemeyer is the founder of Grow Your Business Coaching. His purpose is to “make business better” for business owners and professionals. He is a popular speaker, facilitates powerful mastermind groups, coaches clients to success and is the author of two books (available on Amazon). Known as “the guy in red socks” he infuses humor into every aspect of his business. But a serious professional, he is a certified as a coach, including with John Maxwell. He is a master practitioner of NLP, and facilitator for Myers-Briggs and Kolbe, along with other programs and tools important to the development of business professionals. You can contact Jack at Jack@GYBCoaching.com or at 317-755-6963. Visit his website at www.gybcoaching.com for more information.