CentreO Blog

We are all in constant search of new business connections.  Hundreds of articles have been written on expanding your professional network, getting to the right people and Linkedin tricks.

Yet we rarely pay attention to connections or meetings that are nor premeditated. How often do we have a casual run in with a friend of a friend or a colleagues’ relative? Yet, because these potential contacts come to us pretty easily, we tend to ignore them or dismiss as invaluable.

Why should we?

Last week I was having dinner with a friend of mine when her cousin walked by and joined us. Me and my friend had a lot to talk about, but I decided to break the routine and just listen. In under 20 minutes, I’ve learnt that Maggie, my friend’s cousin, was in the same business as I, running her own successful company in Singapore and looking for partners in other Asian countries.

Now if I knew a person like that existed, I would have invested time and resources into reaching out to her. Yet when she simply walked into my life on a weekend afternoon, I was very close to ignoring her and going about my day.

What I learnt form that was very simple: every connection is valuable, no matter how easy or difficult it was to get it.

So now, every time I run into somebody I don’t know, I never  ignore a chance to know them!

Have you had any fortunate meetings lately?

Dating and business seem to have very little in common at first glance. One is romantic and emotional, the other practical and reasonable. And yet, it seems that success in either of the two, quite often depends on the following points:

Research

When in comes to dating, we constantly compare ourselves to others. We learn what our competitors have to offer and do our best to become the best in show.

The same applies to business – we do care about competition. And perhaps what we should take away from dating, is the enthusiasm we have at actually beating the competition and learning from them. We can not change our (or our company’s personality), but we can develop our products or services, introduce new features and get inspiration form the competition.

What is you USP

When presenting ourselves on a date, we often emphasize the one thing that we do best, because we subconsciously know that it will make us stand out.

The same goes for our products and companies. Choosing your best advantage and working on making it even stronger or selecting a niche product or service is often a clear road to success.

Weed out the unsuitable matches

In dating, we pay a lot of attention to assessing potential candidatures. Once we realize that they are not a match, we simply let go. It seems more difficult to do it with clients, especially for new businesses. We tend to hold on to anyone who looks our way and are scared of loosing them. Yet some clients may not be right for you at this time: your company may be too small, clients’ demands may be not fitting to the service or there may simply be no “chemistry”. So let’s not be afraid to let them go.

Being direct

In dating and in business, we are often afraid to ask direct questions and keep relying on hints and signals. And in both (dating and business) this approach can lead to us missing out on valuable contracts or a possible relationship. Being clear and direct can be stressful, yet it will get you the answers you are looking for and allow you to move forward.

Dealing with rejection.

Clearly, no one likes rejection. It hurts in business and personal life. And is inevitable in both. So what will eventually make a difference is how we bounce back from it. Learn from your failures and use them to propel yourself to success.

There have been plenty of articles on the topic of “how to choose the best picture for Linkedin” and yet mist of us still choose not to give it the needed attention.

A recent experiment caught my eye, when a company CEO, unable to choose what picture would work the best for him,

Started changing his profile pic regularly for several months and measuring the results (by contact requests, messages and page visits). He finally did find the perfect picture he was looking for, but what was surprising is hoe much of a difference these pictures actually made.

Here are a few interesting tips:

–       the toughest thing is combining the professional with the personal. The picture should represent your company and yet is a picture of you as an individual.

–       Look alive: the worst thing you can do is look tired and worn out in your profile picture. So if you are doing a professional shot, make sure you sleep well, have a good breakfast and channel that positive energy through the camera!

–       Be genuine: when taking a picture, think about something that really excites you about your job. A recent success, a favourite client, an upcoming deal…Whatever it is for you, it will shoe in your eyes, giving them that natural spark of energy and enthusiasm.

–       Don’t get big: a headshot is perhaps the most popular choice for Linkedin pictures. However, avoid doing extreme close-ups, which make your face the ONLY thing in the frame. These pictures may come across as arrogant.

–       Don’t hide: no matter how shy you are about your looks, replacing your face with a silhouette, cartoon character, slogan or logo is not the way to go. No one would trust Bug Bunny with their business, especially online. Showing your face is a big trust factor.

 There are definitely a lot more things to take into account. But the truth is, a different approach would work depending on your industry, Linkedin goal, profession and job title. So why not try a small experiment of your own?

And if you are looking for a professional photo-shot session, do not hesitate to contact us at sales@centreo.hk!