Pics from Launch & Learn With James Moburg

The Launch and Learn event Market You Through Networking was a success at Think Big Partners!  Check out some of our pictures from the event:

A BIG thanks to everyone who participated in the Launch and Learn session.  To register for another Launch and Learn event, check out what else we have in store: Launch and Learn Events

A special thanks to Whitney Barker who provided the photography for yesterday's event.  Whitney has launched her own photography company, Whitney Morgan Photography, and specializes in wedding photos, senior portraits, and special event pictures.  To check out Whitney's beautiful work, Whitney Morgan Photography. 

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer for Think Big Partners, Kansas City's early-stage business incubator and startup accelerator.  To read more of Allison's work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on Helium, BrooWaha, eZine and Newsvine.  Follow Allison! @AllisonThinkBig

Don't Miss Out On This Week's Launch and Learn Seminar!

On Wednesday, March 9th, 2011, Think Big Partners and KC Young Pros are hosting a Launch and Learn Seminar called Market You Through Networking, presented by James Moburg of LeadTunnel.

At the luncheon, Moburg will walk attendees through the best networking strategies including how to take advantage of LinkedIn, utilizing Facebook for marketing and meeting business people, and how to present yourself effectively at networking events. 

To attend the event on Wednesday, register online.  We look forward to seeing you and teaching you the importance of networking in Kansas City!

Info:
Launch and Learn Series: Market YOU Through Networking
Hosted by: Think Big Partners & KC Young Pros
Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Time: 11:30AM - 1:30PM
Location: Think Big Partners (1800 Baltimore Kansas City, MO 64108)
Price: $25 (lunch provided)
Questions? 816.842.5244

More info...

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer for Think Big Partners, Kansas City's early-stage startup accelerator and business incubator. To read more of Allison's work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on Helium, eZine and BrooWaha.  Follow Allison!  @AllisonThinkBig

Since When Did Networking Become Such a Huge Deal?

Using LinkedIn, Facebook, and business events to your advantage.

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

This cliché can certainly pertain to all different aspects of life, but none truer than that of business.  In business, it truly is all about who you know, not what you know.  From landing your first job out of college to partnering with some of your community’s biggest movers and shakers, building and maintaining business relationships is critical when working in and working on a business.

But when did networking become such a big deal?  Networking and building strong relationships has always been an important in the business world.  But today, with tools such as LinkedIn and Facebook, networking seems to have taken a dramatic turn.   And perhaps for the better. 

Let’s take a look at the facts. 

66,266,528 :: the number of people that are currently using LinkedIn.  Almost half of these users are located within the United States.  But are you utilizing LinkedIn correctly? 

1.5 million :: the number of local businesses that have Facebook pages that you can visit and network on.  But are you using these Facebook pages to your advantage?

79% :: your chances of sealing a deal are 79% higher when business networking is involved.  But are you meeting the right people in the right settings to get the deals sealed?

To answer all of these questions (and many more) Think Big Partners is hosting Launch and Learn: Marketing You Through Networking in collaboration with KC Young Professionals.  LeadTunnel co-founder and networking expert James Moburg will present real-life lessons from his networking experiences and provide tips and strategies to network effectively on- and offline.

“Most young people have a ton of opportunities to network.  They just don’t know how to do it right," says Moburg.  "Time is an investment itself, and i can help people get a big return on their investment by following my techniques."

The Launch and Learn Series will take place on March 9, 2011 from 11:30AM until 1:00PM at Think Big Partners location (1800 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO). 

During Marketing You Through Networking, Moburg will focus on the following areas:

• How networking can improve and empower you (with examples from real life stories)
• The two crucial networking areas you can personally focus on in 2011
• The 101 crash course in how to maximize your networking event experience
• Marketing yourself effectively in the long run and becoming more memorable

But Moburg is looking forward to teaching more than just that. 

“I want people to leave this Launch and Learn event with three things,” he said.  “First, I want people to feel empowered to take their networking skills to the next level.  Second, I want attendees to use my personal examples of networking as proven strategies.  Third, I want to help people to stand out for the rest of their lives.”

Are you ready to stand out for the rest of your life? 

If so, join Moburg, Think Big Partners and KC Young Pros for an inside look at playing the networking game.   

Register today!

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer for Think Big Partners, Kansas City’s mentorship-based startup accelerator and business incubator.  To read more of Allison’s work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on Helium, eZine and BrooWaha.  Follow Allison! @AllisonThinkBig

Relationship Advice: Forming, Performing, and Maintaining Business Connections

All day, James Moburg is on the phone.  And whether it’s clients, customers, buyers, or partners calling, James takes the time to answer all questions, provide all required information, and work through all problems.

But James is doing so much more than just giving his clients information about his small business.  As he works through each call, something crucial is happening behind-the-scenes.  James is not just making conversation within each phone call; he is also building long-lasting business relationships.

According to Moburg, co-founder of LeadTunnel, a company focused on lead generation, long-lasting business relationships are imperative for any business to succeed.  In order to provide you with more information about how to build long-lasting business relationships (that strengthen your company as well as your own working life), I sat down with James as he briefed me on the three steps needed in order to create a relationship in business that actually lasts.

Step 1: Forming the relationship.  James refers to the beginning of a business relationship as a tryout or a first date.  Both parties involved in the potential relationship must earn the right to continue on in developing it.

Step 2: Performing within the relationship.  In order to establish a long-lasting business relationship, people must actually enjoy working with you.  And after they’re done working with you, they should want to refer you.

Step 3: Maintaining the relationship.  “The biggest difference between a business fling and a long-lasting relationship is being the predictable consistent and dependable performance from your service or product,” says James.  “Think Step 2, over and over again.”

And James had even more tips in store for entrepreneurs.  His top 5 tips include managing people’s expectations, becoming a real person, engaging that particular person, becoming reachable, and knowing the competition. 

But the most important tip that James centers all of his relationships around is the key ingredient to any long-lasting business relationship: confidence.  James’ favorite quote, “confidence is contagious” is a phrase he lives by. 

“Be honest with what you’re amazing at,” says James.  “If you provide a realistic timeline and exceed someone’s expectations, you will develop a great relationship.  And if you aren’t as good at something, be honest about it, then recommend someone who can do it.”

James proves that his business-relationship skills are top notch by providing the story below. 

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Recently, my Kansas City based company, www.LeadTunnel.com, was approached to help increase revenue through marketing efforts for a Chicago based company, RushHourEvents.com, one of the nation’s largest super sale companies in the automotive industry. They also were talking to other companies, all much larger than us, one in particular outnumbered us 50-1 in employee size. I immediately set my company apart by providing a unique solution no one else had thought of, thanks to collaboration in a smaller space. The larger companies were merely taking orders while I was consulting. At first, unfortunately, my tailored solution was next shopped against larger competitors.

Knowing what my competitive advantages were versus my competition, and knowing that the prospective client was shopping; I encouraged them to talk to even more competitors of mine by suggesting ones they did not know. My then prospective customer finally said “I’ve never worked with someone who tells me to explore other companies, you must be really confident in your abilities.” (Success!) My contact at this perspective client began to tell me how I was differentiating myself from my competition: I always replied to his email questions, I always picked up my phone or returned his call quickly, I was continually sharing brainstorm sessions with him on the phone, and was pointing out and helping him avoid hurdles. I cranked up the competitive dial by providing them with raving fans and references who loved working with us. Soon he was sharing with me why he wanted to go with me versus the other people he was talking to, but his managers were encouraging him to get additional quotes. I remained patient, remained steadfast in my price, and continued to answer his questions. We began to talk about non business topics, and found out we both supported similar philanthropic endeavors. Soon, the next time I picked up the phone, we were awarded the business.

See what amazing business relationships can be made when you Think Big?

Written by Allison Way and James Moburg.  Allison is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners.  To read more of Allison's work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on eZine, Newsvine, BrooWaha and Helium.  James is co-founder of LeadTunnel, a lead generation company that originates and delivers quality leads and data.