7.       LinkedIn Contacts – By participating in groups and by adding “updates” regularly, you can easily stay in touch with a large number of people.  Little Johnny : “Mommy, where do referrals come from?’. Mom: “Well, Johnny they grow on trees. It’s a special kind of tree. It’s called a referral tree.”. Little Johnny:  “Mommy, how do you get the referrals off the tree?’. Mom: “Well, duh, junior….Obviously, Obviously, you shake the damn thing!”. Mom is right. Referrals do grow on trees. You just have to shake the tree. Here is a summary of the results. Referrals from my network. MORE >>

For instance, I have 600-ish LinkedIn connections. It also includes social media: endorsing them on LinkedIn and tweeting about their articles or speeches Back in the 1980’s “ A-Team ” Members Hannibal, Howlin’ Mad, B.A. Bad Attitude” Baracus, and Faceman, shot, bombed, stabbed, slugged, hacked, connived, cavorted, and charmed their way across the TV screen. They were heroes for hire, looking out for their teammates and their clients. You need an A-Team to look out for you, too. Your A-Team members are your best referral sources. Take good care of them. And don’t worry. R.A.M.P MORE >>

You can find connections through LinkedIn. Prospecting – present participle of pros·pect (Verb). Search for mineral deposits in a place, esp. by means of experimental drilling and excavation. Look out for; search for: “the responsibilities of salespeople to prospect for customers” Source: Wikipedia. We’re all looking for business. Most of us network.  Some of us write. Some give speeches or workshops. Some use the Internet. All of these can be effective business development tools. But they’re essentially passive. You’re waiting for something to happen. Your niche. MORE >>

Your contact database and LinkedIn connections. It’s hard to predict when or from whom you’ll get a referral. But it’s a safe bet that you won’t get many if your contacts don’t remember you. You need to stay on their radar screens. m not talking about the people you see regularly. They’ll remember you. But there are probably dozens of people who would refer you – or, more precisely, introduce you – if they saw an appropriate opportunity. You need to stay top-of-mind with these contacts. Scott Ginsberg offers some useful ideas on this in 12 Ways to Keep Your Business Relationships Alive. MORE >>

Block an hour each day on your calendar for networking calls, emails and LinkedIn activities. New LinkedIn Contacts. You’ve got big plans for 2012.This is supposed to be your break-out year. You followed my advice in For Effective Prospecting, Use a Scorecard and set detailed sales, networking, and marketing goals. What a year. To make your goals you need: 150 face-to-face meetings, 500 phone discussions, and 150 networking events. How are you going do all of this and still serve your clients? Yikes! Your head is starting to hurt. Relax. Do it gradually – but systematically. MORE >>