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Here’s a short lesson about leveraging business events to build business relationships.  It begins with the news that Bryan Flanagan, Zig Ziglar’s #1 business trainer, is coming to Dayton on January 24, 2013.  For my Ohio friends and colleagues, including my connections on LinkedIN, this is your chance to make a face-to-face connection with one of the industry’s best sales trainers.  (See details on line.)

However, this post is also a reminder about the importance of facetime with those whom you have a relationship and those with whom you would like to develop a relationship.  That’s where networking comes in.  From a career perspective, networking is often cited in the top 10 things a career professional must do regularly in order to be successful.

John C. Maxwell wrote a book called, “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect.”  In these four words, Maxwell reveals why so many people struggle in their careers — their relationship-building skills are either weak or not employed.  In part, I blame technology.  LinkedIN and FaceBook are great communication tools, but they lack the relationship-building power of face time.  It’s time for career-minded professionals to step away from the computer and get in front of people.

Sales managers, sales professionals and other supporters of the sales function, have an opportunity to spend a day with Bryan Flanagan.  The benefits are clear: you’ll learn a lot, be entertained and possibly start a relationship with Bryan or someone else you meet.

Create More Value

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Bosses make firing decisions. Customers make lay-off decisions. Think about it.  And if we think a little bit longer it becomes apparent that employees at any level can be the root cause of either. It’s NOT the government. It’s NOT the economy. It’s me and we.

What I do every day determines whether I have a job tomorrow.  But, it’s more than that.  What I do today adds to or subtracts from the value of the organization.  Am I a net asset or a net liability?  Am I adding value to the organization or sucking the life out of it?

Am I taking ownership of every responsibility that is mine? “That’s NOT MY job” is an excuse that just doesn’t cut it in a highly competitive global marketplace. The terms of sustaining my career require me to serve my customers at new levels of excellence in ways not specifically defined by my job description.  The formula is simple …

“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.” — Jim Rohn

Are we as an organization, providing the world-class value people are looking for? Even in the worst economy, people will give up something to acquire something they value. So, whenever we act consciously or subconsciously, individually or collectively in a way that reduces value, we are hurting ourselves and the organizations we work for.

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” — Warren Buffett

Think in terms of excellence all the time! In the academic world, the expression is, “Publish or perish.” In the business world, we need to think, “Excel or expire!”

— CC