Time is Money. Simple Ways to Increase the Value of Face Time.

Andrew Smith, Business Growth Strategist, Funding Specialist

Now more than ever, coordinating time to meet with clients can be challenging due to changing deadlines and conflicting schedules. When you do finally sit down with the client; be they internal, external or otherwise, it’s critical to make sure you spend your time wisely. Sometimes you do not get another chance, or you have to go through extensive e-mail, phone and fax tag to get information you could have obtained in an easier way. Here are four tips to meaningful and productive conversations:

• Make sure your questions are pertinent to the objective. Time can be wasted by asking questions that may be interesting and lead to fun conversations, but may not be relevant to your objective. Take time before your meeting to write down the three things you need to know to move forward; and make sure you ask those questions. If time allows you can branch out, but don’t waste your time on fluff.


• Effective questions are the best, that is why writing them out first is a good idea. You can hone the questions to a razor sharp edge that gets you where you want to go. How many times I have been asked a question by a client that has three parts, two subsections, a slide-show and paper-waiving routine and at the end all I can ask is “what was that middle thing?” Once you have asked the question, make sure to give enough time to listen.


• If you are going to talk, be brief. Get to the point of the meeting, tell them what you want, or need or are asking. Let the customer, client and business partner know what the meeting is about, set the stage and you will find the meeting will be more productive. Be honest about your objective and ask them to share theirs.


• Be open in your manner, words, body language, approach and facial features. If it’s a tough question you are asking, or a serious moment, be present and listen. You can close yourself off to endless possibilities in just a few seconds if you don’t invest in building a relationship that is mutually beneficial.  

The next time you hear yourself say “I just wasted another 90 minutes in a meeting that didn’t move me forward” review your objective.  Take personal responsibility for each meeting. Review how it went and plan for the future.  Take what you learn and put it into practice. Be pertinent in your questions, make them effective, be brief in your statement of the objective and be focus on a mutually beneficial outcome! 

One of my mentors favorite mantra is “I don’t want to waste your time or mine”.  Make your meetings count. 

Strategic Planning for Busy Entrepreneurs

Workshop Description:

There is no more “business as usual.” Whether it’s the economy or just changes in your industry, you have to think smart about how you approach business in 2010. The same old ways of getting new business just don’t work anymore.

Strategic Planning for Busy Entrepreneurs shows you how to turn “I need to…” into the daily action items that turn dreams into goals and goals into results you can see.

No cookie cutter solutions here! Kathie’s experience working with all kinds of businesses makes her uniquely able to give YOU action items that will work for YOUR business!

In this workshop, Kathie has taken the most powerful components of her popular 8 month Business Accelerator Program and condensed it into an action packed half-day seminar.  You get what others are paying $1295 for.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity turn one day into the most profitable use of your time, EVER.

Cost: Ordinarily this workshop tuition runs $495. Since we are committed to your success in 2010 we’ve elected to offer this at the price you think it’s worth.  Bring your checkbook or credit card.  At the end of the class write a check or let us know what what it’s worth to you.  It’s that easy.

Thursday, March 11th

Time: 11:00AM—5:00PM
Location: TBD

RSVP for March 11:

Connect & Thrive – Connectworks Strategic Networking

Networking is about the power of connecting for mutual benefit.  Strategic networking is about knowing where to show up, who to invest time with and the best questions to determine either.    We’ve organized this learning – connecting event to kick off the year to provide valuable insights to repositioning your network in 2010.   The market has changed, you’re offerings may have changed so it makes sense your network should change too.   You can expect to:

• Connect with other motivated talented leaders (Like yourself!)
• Learn fresh ways to activate and leverage your network (live and online)
• Practice what you learn
• Have fun!

Date & Time: January 13, 2009 5:30pm – 7:30pm  Postponed until February

Location: The Agency “Ultra Sports Lounge”
1939 SW Morrison St. off 19th and W. Burnside right in front of PGE Park. Click here to view our location on Google Maps.

(Parking available on the street or validated parking in garage beneath facility.)

No host bar – light hors de oeuvres provided

Cost: $10 Register here.

LinkedIn For Busy People

I hear it all the time, “I’ve got a LinkedIn account but what’s the value in connecting with people I already know?” There’s actually a lot more you can do with LinkedIn; they just don’t make it easy to find.

In this Social Networking for Busy People class we answer questions like:

• I’m on LinkedIn. Now what?
• I keep getting requests to connect. What are they and what should I do with them?
• How do I set up my profile?
• How can I use LinkedIn in my job search?
• How can I use LinkedIn to find employees or subcontractors?

We also show you how to use some of the lesser known features such as how to:

• Use LinkedIn Groups to connect with new people
• Use LinkedIn Recommendations to collect testimonials
• Use LinkedIn Questions – for market research and building relationships

Please Note that Registration is Required!

May 26, 2010,  7:30 – 9:30am
Chamber Members – $29  Register here.
Non-Chamber Members – $39  Register here.

Location: Beaverton Chamber Conference Room, 12655 SW Center St., Beaverton, OR 97005

Twitter for Busy People

You may think you don’t need Twitter but wouldn’t you like to…

• Know what’s being said about your company, industry and competition online
• Follow trending topics your target markets care about and are talking about
• Build your mailing list
• Increase your blog readership

Yes! Twitter can do all of that!

In Twitter for Busy Professionals, we answer questions like…

How do I find people to follow? How do people find me?
There is a debate in the Twitter-verse that boils down to “Quantity vs. Quality.” In Twitter for Busy Professionals we’ll show you how to find a balance between the two. You’ll learn how to find people you want to hear from and how to get followers who want to hear from you.

How do I manage it?
Once you follow more than a handful of people, managing the flood of information can be like trying to drink water from a fire hose. There are over 60 apps, widgets and plug ins designed to help you manage that flood. Even if you’re already using Twitter, you’ll get a lot out of Twitter for Busy Professionals because we show you some of the most useful ones so you can work social networking into your already busy schedule.

Who’s using it effectively?
In Twitter for Busy Professionals we’ll discuss a variety of companies both large and small that have used Twitter to build their client base, find out what their customers want from them and get in front of potential problems.

What do I need to watch out for?
Social networking is expanding the rules of human interaction and has an etiquette all it’s own. We’ll discuss the pitfalls to avoid, how create a positive impression and how to manage negative feedback.

Please Note that Registration is Required!

May 12, 2010,  7:30 – 9:30am
Chamber Members – $29 Register here.
Non-Chamber Members – $39 Register here.

Location: Beaverton Chamber Conference Room, 12655 SW Center St., Beaverton, OR 97005

Facebook for Busy People

Facebook is one of the most powerful networking tools on the internet. Not only can you keep in touch with friends and family, you can build relationships with prospects and clients. The fact that you can do so much with Facebook makes the learning curve pretty steep. It would take you 30 – 40 hours of poking around to figure out the tools and strategies you will learn in this 2 hour seminar. (This class assumes that you have already set up a Facebook account and started using it.)

What You will learn:

• Managing Facebook –We’ll show you how to set up lists so you can manage your contacts and make sure that what you share is appropriate for the audience.
• Facebook Pages – One of the most common questions we get is “How do I use Facebook for business without becoming everybody’s friend?” We’ll show you how to set up Facebook Pages, use them to pull in prospects and keep the conversation going.
• Promoting Events – When people sign up to attend an event, the fact that they have done so is broadcast to their network. This is great for Event hosts because it gets them in front of a whole lot of people they wouldn’t have been able to reach. We’ll discuss how to set up Events and get them in front of exponentially more people.
• Advertising – Facebook can target advertising in ways no other online medium can because members voluntarily provide a lot of great demographic information when they set up their account. We’ll show you how to use Facebook Advertising to get in front of just the right people for your service or product.

Please Note that Registration is Required!

April 28, 2010, 7:30-9:30am
Chamber Members – $29 Register here.
Non-Chamber Members – $39 Register here.

Location: Beaverton Chamber Conference Room, 12655 SW Center St., Beaverton, OR 97005

Big Business Accelerator 2 Day Workshop

Resolve to Make 2010 Your
Most Profitable Year Yet!

The most common concern I hear from the owners of new or growing businesses is that they just can’t get their sales and marketing to click.  Before the recession it wasn’t such a big deal. There was enough business to go around, meaning you could get by with mediocre marketing.

Then the recession hit and the cracks really started to show.  Everybody had to work harder to get their piece of a shrinking pie.  Many simply gave up.  But YOU didn’t.

The recession doesn’t have to determine whether or not you succeed.

Sure. There are events beyond your control that can sink your business. But there are steps you can take that contribute to your success…steps you can control.  Your job is to figure out what’s not working, what’s missing, and what you need to do to fix it.

That’s how Connectworks can help.  At Connectworks, we work with a variety of local businesses that are growing despite the recession.  Our clients have decided that they aren’t going to let the “Great Recession” determine whether or not they succeed, and you don’t have to, either.

Learn the Skills You Need to Turbo Charge Your
Sales and Marketing in 2010!

Hit the ground running in 2010: Connectworks has boiled down its 8-month Big Business Accelerator Program into a 2-day, intensive workshop.

In this workshop you will…

• Figure out EXACTLY how much money you need to make to finance the life you want to live.
• Figure out EXACTLY what tasks you need to do every day, week, month to align your daily activities with your long term goals.
• Figure out EXACLY what sales and marketing tactics and message will get your bull’s-eye target clients into your sales funnel.

Make Your New Skills a Permanent Part of Your Regular Activities

With most business strategy workshops, you leave with all kinds of great intentions about what you’re going to do. Then a week or a month goes by and those ideas you worked so hard on are like a giant paperweight sitting on your desk, mocking you.

At Connectworks, we know our job isn’t done when you leave the workshop.  Our job isn’t done until your new skills are part of your regular routine. That’s why we’ve made a half-day follow-up part of the Big Business Accelerator Program.

In this second session we:

• Check in on lessons learned, progress made, and kudos to be given.
• Review what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change.
• Brainstorm creative ideas to further fine-tune your business-generating efforts.

We’re so serious about making business, sales, and marketing strategy skills part of your regular routine we also provide unlimited email follow up and substantial discounts on the other Connectworks skill building workshops.

Need more detail about what you will learn? Click here for more details about what you learn in the Big Business Accelerator Program.

Workshop Dates:
Connectworks will be running 3 different Big Business Accelerator Programs in January.

• Professional Service Firms – Friday, January 22nd & Saturday, January 23rd
• Small Business & Entrepreneurs – Thursday, January 21st & Thursday, January 28th
• Small Business & Entrepreneurs - Friday, February 19th & Saturday, February 20th
• Half Day Follow Up for all groups is Thursday, February 25th

Bonus offering yours for taking! 
Participate in 4 weeks of the Accelerator Info Pak at ZERO Cost. 

To show you how powerful and results oriented this program is, we’ve created the FREE Big Business Accelerator Info Pack. Over the next month you will receive our four part Big Business Accelerator ecourse designed to introduce you to the principles you will learn in the 2 and a half day live course.

Just click on the product link below, add it to your shopping cart and check out. (Signing up for the Info Pack does not obligate you to buy the live class and you can unsubscribe at any time.)