I must give credit to my friend and fellow entrepreneur, the founder of The Giant Game Company, for the title of this short article. We were talking the other day about changes going on in his target markets and how he has successfully responded to their shifting needs. “The market made me do it,” he said. I responded by saying I was thinking of an article about that and now I’ve got a title for it.

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I have a one-year business plan in place. It’s a blueprint for a successful year of growth. A reasonable goal has been set and an activity plan following a proven strategy will be implemented. It’s my plan and I’m sticking to it!

If we all have an intelligent, ethical strategic plan requiring focused and determined activity every day and then execute, we can renew the prosperity of the nation and change the direction of the culture. We can make 2013 the turnaround year if enough people work hard enough!

2012 proved to be a very disappointing year for countless millions of us. Ninety nine percent of my friends and associates could not rid their calendars of 2012 fast enough. I join them in welcoming 2013.

People who happen to be superstitious about numbers needn’t worry about the “13.”  I read somewhere that 13 is a very lucky number when preceded by the digits 2 and 0.  😉

What’s your plan to improve your business and community, thereby making the USA at large an industrious, vibrant and culturally rich country again?

Yes, you can!

You see, thousands upon thousands of solid business plans executed daily drive wealth creation, economic growth and higher performance standards among those businesses. Success breeds competition and more success – unless the culture rejects the notion of enterprise, dignity, ethics and the value of work. Frankly I’m worried about what I see going on in the culture and will leave that topic on the table for now.

I remain optimistic this year because I’m amazed by the fantastic people in my professional network and other circles. There is so much good stuff out there to which we can turn our attention while ignoring the negative garbage in the media echo chambers. We can also turn away from gossipy chatter in the workplace.

Throughout history it has been the determined efforts of a few that have managed to turn the many away from destructive paths toward revitalization, prosperity and cultural renaissance.

It’s now abundantly clear among business leaders everywhere. I feel it’s safe to say that most of us have reached consensus; Washington has become a putrid cesspool of corruption and incompetence and it may get worse. Too harsh? No way. The national dept heaped upon young people and future generations is unconscionable. The federal government has failed to enact and implement any effective policy direction to help build a strong economy again.  My opinion is we’ve completely blown it during the last decade.

So, it’s up to you and me. Let’s take some risks, work our butts off and fix the economy ourselves, regardless of this cliff or that crisis. Nobody else is going to make conditions right for your business. Step up to the plate ladies and gentlemen, seriously!

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Most professionals know a thing or two about the value of referrals. They also know about the value of focused, dedicated networking – the key to a steady stream of lucrative referrals and new clients.

Great networkers understand that people will more readily listen to your value proposition when other people talk about it. What your clients & customers say about you is more believable than what you say about yourself because it’s proof of your value rather than just good salesmanship.

The How and Why of BNI

I have friends in BNI groups (Business Networking International) and have sat in quite a few meetings. People in BNI  groups understand the concept of developing a team of “salespeople” completely outside their own organization. While the requirements for continuous membership in a BNI group are comparably rigorous, the structured discipline works for the members who embrace it. Only one representative of any business category is allowed in a group so it eliminates internal competition. Every other member of the group is expected, actually required, to provide a steady stream of qualified business referrals to other members of the group.

In essence, you enlist a team of 15, 25, maybe 50 or more individual “salespeople” who are expected to help you find new customers. In return, you promise to do the same for other members. What’s really interesting about BNI is that the people who provide the most leads for others almost always garner the most new business from the group. It may sound counterintuitive but it works! Spewing your sales pitch on people will usually annoy them. When they’re in the market and ready to talk about buying, will you be top-of-mind? Now, if a friend of theirs eagerly recommends you and your company, then the deal is yours if you treat the client well. There’s no sales pressure.

Pick them and stick with them!

There are myriad excellent networking groups out there for anyone in business: Chambers of Commerce, Non-profit Boards, Trade Associations, Civic Clubs and many local privatenetworking groups. BNI is just one option that some find to be very effective although it’s not my cup of tea personally. Choose the organizations in your market that make sense for your business networking activity and then do one thing early and often: participate!

Show up at meetings. Listen more than talk (you’ll have ample opportunities to promote your business). Seek to help the mortgage broker, the contractor, the lawyer, the accountant, the architect, the web developer, the insurance agent, the dentist, the fitness club owner, the chiropractor, and other professionals in your groups. Doing so will enlist obligatory support on your behalf from a whole team of “salespeople” who can actually state clearly your value proposition because you took the time to develop a good relationship with them.

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There is one precious commodity that most C-level executives guard with their lives – time. Pull them away from current work activity to instead focus on important long term strategies requiring changes in tactics and some will freak out. They may feel their time could be better spent going for the jugular or expediting a price driven deal, never mind positioning their firm for success in a rapidly changing regional and world economy. Understandably, most CEOs want to get to the bottom line and get to it now!

Time is indeed precious. We get that.

• We get that spending an extra hour providing critical information to the marketing manager could put that information in front of the right prospects at the right time. Timing is everything!

• We get that taking a few extra minutes to melt the ice with a new face at a networking event can lead to a profitable business relationship.

• We get that writing your best CV for a keynote speech, LinkedIn profile and website will qualify you as an expert in a major prospect’s mind.

• We get that reviewing and editing the firm’s online marketing, blog and social media content will keep the messages on target for attracting new business.

• We get that time spent being a resource for valuable, lead generating information for newsletters and trade articles helps clearly differentiate a company from its competition.

• We get that spending time building a reputation as the leader in the industry is priceless.

But is it measurable?

The new media channels that both consumers and businesspeople pay attention to are equipped with data capture, tracking and measurement tools. From every click that opens an email, visits a landing page, Likes a Facebook business page and generates a phone call, new business results are easily measured. Detailed reports are generated at will and the data are highly actionable for targeted marketing and sales follow up. And of course, old fashioned face to face networking is as measurable as it gets. Forge relationship + discover need = new client.

The Bottom Line

Those in the C-Suite who strive to work on the business rather than in it usually have a better view of where the organization is headed and where they should lead it. Investing time in communications that generate qualified incoming leads reduces the cost of sales dramatically over the long term. Perhaps not every reader will be convinced today but I’ll keep plugging away at this over time.

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