Because I have focused on “Services Marketing’ it’s been important to gather information from a variety of business and professional sectors.

My training and experience is in Marketing Communications, so these topics have caught my attention:

• How do professional service providers describe themselves
• What methods of communication are used
• What results can be expected

Over time, major common methods became obvious. When you need to grow a law practice, home design firm, specialty roofing business or an I.T. services company; these are key steps:

• Main idea you want people to understand about you
• How to develop a list of contacts
• How to organize a list of contacts
• Staying in touch over time to develop relationships
• Who can be an informal partner in referrals, accountability or supplier
• Websites, brochures, manuals and other documents
• Stories, presentations and other spoken messages
• Emails, outlines of conversations and other templates to be customized
• Questions to ask to develop trust

It’s all about people talking to other people, and building community and understanding.

These key steps were put together from books I’ve collected over the years, videos online now, conversations with business coaches and my own experiences. By belonging to organizations, attending fundraisers, serving on association boards and meeting people in organized networking groups, everyone has strong ideas on why they spend time meeting others.

If you have enrolled in the course “Networking For Reputation Growth” and gained insights, then my research time was well invested. If you have ideas on your own experiences or how the course can be improved, please send me an email.

If you have questions, please ask. The answers are “no charge”. When we network, we help each other.