I saw last week where one of my friends had posted that she was looking for a company to help with design and production of shirts for her company.  Rather than simply telling her that I knew someone that could help with this need or even just typing that persons name, I decided to take advantage of the @mentions.  BAM!  A direct link to that person’s profile. But not only did my @mention post on her wall, it also posted on the person’s wall that I was referring to in the @mention.  Before I could even follow up with my friend to tell him that I had a referral, he had already contacted my other connection with the shirt production need! I then went to follow up with her and she was amazed at how promptly he was able to follow up.  He will likely get the business because within minutes she was able to find a recommend solution for her need.  Now that was EASY!

Next time you see a post from one of your Facebook friends asking for help and you have a connection you can put them in contact with, remember this is a perfect time to give the new Facebook @mentions a try!

facebook @mentions make passing a referral easy

While the below article may be a little bit of shameless self promotion, my hope is that you will learn from it, share it, and be able to utilize this example as another selling tool to help grow your business as well.  Oh yea, and don’t forget to sign up for IndyLink if you are a Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Member. 

Begin article from the Fusework Studios Web site:

Fusework Studios announces the launch of indylink.com, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce’s (GICC) new professional network. Members of the GICC can register at www.indylink.com.

As the GICC’s Internet Marketing partner, Fusework Studios is continually generating new ways for the Chamber to stay connected to their members. As social networking sites have grown in popularity in recent years, Fusework Studios began developing a way for Chamber members to capitalize on the networking opportunities available to members of the Chamber of Commerce. The result was IndyLink – a forum for Chamber members to post jobs, have access to exclusive RFPs, learn about volunteer opportunities and connect with one another on a level never before offered to members of a chamber of commerce. “We wanted to create an online community for the Indianapolis Chamber that wasn’t just about generating “friends,” but one that would actually provide a tangible benefit to Chamber members,” said Bruce McClain, President of Fusework Studios. “Indylink.com has opened the door for these opportunities.”

As the only chamber in the state with an online professional network, the GICC continues to lead the pack as one of the most forward thinking innovators among chambers of commerce nationwide.  Julie Grice, VP of Communications and Marketing for the Chamber stated, “In terms of ROI, within the first 36 hours of indylink.com going live we saw more measurable leads from indylink.com than had been generated in all of 2008.”

The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit, member-based organization founded in 1890 by Colonel Eli Lilly and a group of Indianapolis business leaders. Today the Chamber has more than 4,200 members who gain access to Indianapolis’ premier networking events and advertising audience, are able to build brand awareness through event sponsorships and benefit from local economic and demographic data and resource materials. The members’ 300,000 plus employees save with member discounts from health care to office supplies to car purchases. The Chamber also works to ensure that local laws and regulations encourage business growth and investment in central Indiana. The Chamber is the voice of progress and improvement for the central Indiana business community

Fusework Studios is a premier creative house specializing in Web development & Internet marketing, film & video production and managed IT support services to private, public and nonprofit organizations. Fusework Studios, with offices in Indianapolis and Muncie, has been the recipient of numerous Telly, Addy and Emmy Awards for their innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 21-year-old privately held, multi-media company.

Kyle Lacy’s 10 Small Biz Social Media Tips for Today
In this post, Kyle puts his own spin on Chris Brogan’s 10 Things You Could Do Better Today (another great post) by providing advice on how to get the most out of our social media.  I think if we all took the time to do just a few of these things we would really be surprised by the end result.  Give it a try and share with Kyle how it goes. 

Hazel M. Walker’s You Can’t Make Withdrawals Until You Make Deposits
I had the opportunity to sit down with Hazel M. Walker this week.  She truly is a remarkable individual who has made it her mission in life to help others, particularly in the area of networking.  Her blog provides a deep resource for how to become a better networker and develop stronger, prosperous business relationships.  We can all learn a lot from Hazel no matter how much we think we may know.  Check out other posts on her blog as there are many about networking and building relationships.

Douglas Karr’s Three Keys to Leveraging Your Content
Douglas Karr is a blogging evangelist and an industry expert.  He brings some serious experience and knowledge in the SEO/blogging department to the table.  In his MarketingTechBlog he is always sharing tips, advice and other industry news as we look to get the most out of our content and online presence.  Another incredible, local resource for quality information – not to mention a flat out great guy.

The 4,000 member party was my first Smaller Indiana event so I entered without a true sense of what to expect.  I was very impressed with the turnout.  There appeared to be around 150-200 people presemt which I felt was a good number for a weeknight event.  As always when walking into a fresh networking scene, I was a bit tense at first and it took me some time to determine the best way of meeting other people in the room.  I had the opportunity to go with 2 of my co-workers who are very accustom to the Indy networking scene so they were able to provide guidance.  Once I got going I really enjoyed myself and the level of interaction in the room.

Here are just a few of the key ingredients that I believe made the Smaller indiana 4,000 party a success:

Many People Felt Like They Already Knew a Few Things About Each Other Because of SmallerIndiana.com
Regardless of if it was your first time meeting a particular member face to face or if you were long time friends, it felt like many people in the room already knew something about the other person.  Reading blogs, watching videos, participating in discussions…all of these things are ways that people get to learn more about you as a person and it makes taking that online relationship offline a smooth, natural process.  The end result was a remarkably high level of interaction compared to your average networking event. 

Everyone Had at Least ONE Thing in Common
Even if you didn’t know a single thing about the person your were talking with, you at least knew they were a member of Smaller Indiana.  This provided at least one topic to discuss which often led into other very interesting conversation.  Several times I heard the question, “So how long have you been a part of Smaller Indiana?”  or “So how do you use Smaller Indiana?”  Both of these are examples of great conversation starters. 

Staying in Touch Will Be Much Easier
The night of the event I felt compelled to go onto Smaller Indiana and add a few new friends, check out their videos and read their blogs.  Several of my new contacts from the event did the same.  I can now stay up-to-date with these people easily and effectively because I know they are all in one place.  This is the thing I love most about SI…while it is over 4,400 members now it still feels like a very tightly knit community.  For this reason, I know it will continue to be an effective online tool.

If you attended the event or are thinking about attending the next event , check out Kyle Lacy’s post about what to do at the Smaller Indiana 4,000 AFTER Party.

I also encourage you to sign up for the group that my co-worker Justin Bryant created on Smaller Indiana called the the Social Media Lunch Club.

American Advertising Federation: East Central Indiana was the host of the event and the speaker was Matt Anderson with The Referral Authority.  Due to this being a lunch meeting, Matt was very limited on time but did a great job of cramming a lot of useful information into just 50 minutes.

Part of Matt’s presentation featured interactive elements which forced the attendees to step out of their comfort zone for just a few minutes.  He pointed out that people tend to sit with other people they already know at networking events such as these.  While, this can be good for your business sometimes, most of the time it will be more beneficial to meet new people.

Everyone was asked to switch tables and do a mini interview with someone they did not previously know.  The questions that were provided for us to ask during the interview had nothing to do with business, yet they were the most effective. I asked myself, “How can this be?”  Then I started thinking about the Cardinal Success chapter of BNI meetings that I attend on a weekly basis.  There are several people in the group that are considered “pros” or “veterans.”  These are the people that pass the most business by giving high quality referrals.  I realized a large part of their conversation isn’t about business either.

Their conversations are about what really matters- truly connecting with the other person.  They ask about their kids, siblings, and parents.  They talk about the game last night or the latest movie to be released.  Once you find out what makes the other person tick, what they could talk about for hours and hours- then you have found the key to gaining their trust.  And when they trust you as a person, they trust you with their business.  Passing business then becomes a way of habit and something that just happens naturally.  These are the same people that are passing millions of dollars of business on a yearly basis because of the relationships that have been formed and not because they went to a networking event trying to their sales pitch to as many people in the room as possible.

I realize that it takes time to build solid relationships with business partners and at some point you are going to have to ask the standard questions about their business.  This is why I have included the information below:

It can be very difficult to know what to say to someone when you are meeting them for the first time.  Sure you can ask them what their name is, who they work for, and what they do there.  After a few minutes of chit-chat you will typically cut to the chase and find out if they are interested in doing business.  Most people will take your card and promise to pass it on to the right person or be in touch soon.  How do you break through this clutter and leave an impression that they will remember?

Consider Bob Burg’s 10 Networking Questions which might actually lead to an interesting conversation:

1. How did you get a start in your business?
2. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
3. What separates your company from the competition?
4. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the ________business?
5. What one thing would you do in your business if you knew you couldn’t fail?
6. What significant changes have you seen take place in your profession?
7. What do you see as the coming trends in your business?
8. So, what is the strangest or funniest thing you have experienced in your business?
9. What ways have you found to be effective when promoting your business?
10. What one sentence would you like people to use when describing the way you do business?