Make the move from entrepreneur to expert by sharing your knowledge with others.

By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author and Member, Chi Chi Okezie

As an entrepreneur, your level of industry knowledge and experience can be a prime factor in determining your business success. Your potential clients, vendors and business partners should believe in your abilities as well as the products and services that your company offers. Developing your personal brand can greatly affect how people perceive you and influence their willingness to do business with you. Here are several ways in which you can define yourself as an expert in your field and position yourself and your company for success.

#1: Join an online networking group.
Globalization is becoming increasingly important in almost every industry. Get involved with an online networking group in order to create and expand awareness of your company, products and services. Building an international client base and developing relationships with professionals in other industries and geographical locations will enhance your credibility. It will also improve the appearance of your company or organization as it relates to cultural awareness and diversity.

#2: Write about what you do best.
Whether they will be published in a book, journal, newsletter, e-magazine, website or blog, write and submit articles on your industry or profession as it relates to your skill set and business knowledge. Keep your colleagues, customers and potential clients informed by updating them on recent industry trends and challenges. Offer solutions to problems that they or their companies may face. Help them to make decisions that will improve their business processes and practices.

#3: Teach an online class or teleseminar.
Teaching classes increases your visibility, credibility and professionalism. In particular, offering classes online allows you to reach a wider range of students (and potential clients) and can give you an edge over your competition. If you are more comfortable on the telephone, set up a teleseminar using a conference call service. Once you have selected your preferred method of communication, hold training sessions on your products and services. Lead professional or business development seminars to help others realize success in their endeavors. And offer additional coaching or one-on-one sessions for those who would like to learn more from you. The more value that you offer, the more people who will attend your classes and recommend you to others. Teaching will also strengthen your knowledge and experience in your field, thereby elevating your expert status.

#4: Do interviews with the media.
You can gain exposure and awareness from being interviewed by the media. There are several channels that entrepreneurs can use to soar in their professional and social endeavors. Online magazines, radio, press releases, blogs and newsletter interviews are excellent ways to build your image as an expert in your field. You can include transcripts of your interviews in your corporate media kit. This will build your credibility among your clients, colleagues and business counterparts.

By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Chi Chi Okezie

Online networking is a valuable marketing tool that professionals can use to increase their business. The internet is a great way to attract your target market and maintain customer loyalty. Online networking can also help you to achieve business success by building your company’s credibility. It is an effective way to market every aspect of your company to potential clients, customers, partners and employees in a professional manner. Listed below are a few tips on how you can generate business through online networking.

Use online networking to attract your target audience, partners and employees.
Create an individual and/or company profile on a networking website. Your online profile should outline your education, experience and background in a particular field, your company history and a description of your ideal client or target audience. This will better illustrate the work or services that you offer, and thus attract the right customers for your business. If possible, include testimonials from past or present clients and customers to enhance your profile and credentials. Also consider listing the types of professionals and companies that you are seeking for strategic partnerships or projects. This will make your profile more appealing to people or organizations that would be interested in working with you or for you. If you operate on a referral fee service, online networking is a great opportunity for you to gain new clients; a detailed description of your company will give others a better sense of who you are, what you do and who would be most interested in doing business with you.

Use online networking to market your products and services to existing and potential clients.
All business professionals should network online to sustain business relationships with their customers and clients. Stay in contact with your customers and clients via email to announce new products, share important company news and inform them of recent industry trends. And remember: clients and customers respond well to incentives and discounts. Running an online promotion can help to increase your sales and get more buzz about your products and services.

Use online networking to promote a professional image for your business.
Online networking can increase your company’s professionalism. When your organization is linked to a credible professional group with a diverse membership base it shows that your company is well connected and active in the business community. Becoming a member of an online networking organization can help you to present yourself as an expert in a particular industry or field; you can use your profile to display your designations and certifications and highlight your professional involvement within your industry or business sector.

Chi Chi Okezie joined Cambridge Who’s Who in June 2007. Using the resources and networking tools available to her via Cambridge Who’s Who membership, Chi Chi was able to receive additional exposure for her company on www.cambridgewhoswho.com, including a feature in the Cambridge Business (CamBizTM) Directory, Announcements, Who’s Who in the News and Cambridge Events sections. SIMPLEnetworking LLC will also be spotlighted in the Featured Business section of the upcoming Cambridge Who’s Who e-newsletter, “Who’s News.”

Cambridge Who’s Who applauds Ms. Okezie for taking full advantage of her Cambridge Who’s Who member benefits and thanks her for the kind words about our services and staff that she submitted for the Cambridge Who’s Who Success Stories website.

For more information on Chi Chi Okezie and SIMPLEnetworking, LLC, please view her contributing author profile.

By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Chi Chi Okezie

Online networking is great tool for expanding your network and cultivating relationships with your existing contacts. For online networking to be beneficial for all parties involved, it is important to follow a few etiquette tips while establishing and maintaining business and personal relationships. People are most likely to do business with those whom they like, trust and respect. In order to create a good rapport with others, it is essential to conduct business in a professional manner. Business protocol is very easy and practical to achieve, and its rewards are powerful. This article is filled with helpful tips for establishing sound business relationships, treating your colleagues with respect and demonstrating professionalism while engaging in online networking.

#1: Follow up
An excellent way to build your credibility is to follow up in a timely manner and stay connected. Following up shows that you are focused and business minded in your endeavors. Failure to follow up can create gaps in communication that can hinder the progress on your online networking. It is also good to stay in contact with your business counterparts since you are communicating online and not seeing each other in person. You should not let an extensive amount of time lapse in your communication efforts. Even if you do not have any particular news to share, sending a quick message is always a good idea.

#2: Be Patient
When meeting people and conducting business over the internet, always exercise patience. Allow your business counterparts sufficient time to respond to your requests, comments, suggestions or questions. Being demanding or overbearing can appear aggressive or insensitive when conducting business or establishing relationships.

#3: Get Permission
No matter what you do or suggest, always ask for permission. It is a form of courtesy and consideration, which shows that you respect the other person’s privacy. Asking permission in advance improves your credibility and trust factor especially when conducting business over the internet. Ask for permission to include your counterparts on an email listing or advertisement. If you would like to introduce them to potential customers or clients also ask for their permission before making a formal online introduction of the two parties. Also, make sure that it is OK to refer them to others with their direct contact information.

#4: Say Thank You
Using the phrase “thank you” and showing an appreciation for others’ efforts is very important when conducting meaningful business. There are several creative ways of displaying a gracious attitude over the internet. You can close your message with a “thanks in advance” sentence or email a thank you e-card. Another great way of showing appreciation is by referring your business counterpart or creating awareness about their business to friends and colleagues. And follow up with them in regards to the progress of the professional or social endeavor in which they agreed to offer assistance. This is also a great way to stay connected with your business counterpart.

The above tips and suggestions will increase your professionalism and help you to develop strong and meaningful business relations. Remember that the key to successful online networking is to respect and show appreciation for your business counterparts.

Chi Chi Okezie joined Cambridge Who’s Who in June 2007. Using the resources and networking tools available to her via Cambridge Who’s Who membership, Chi Chi was able to receive additional exposure for her company on www.cambridgewhoswho.com, including a feature in the Cambridge Business (CamBizTM) Directory, Announcements, Who’s Who in the News and Cambridge Events sections. SIMPLEnetworking LLC will also be spotlighted in the Featured Business section of the upcoming Cambridge Who’s Who e-newsletter, “Who’s News.”

Cambridge Who’s Who applauds Ms. Okezie for taking full advantage of her Cambridge Who’s Who member benefits and thanks her for the kind words about our services and staff that she submitted for the Cambridge Who’s Who Success Stories website.

For more information on Chi Chi Okezie and SIMPLEnetworking, LLC, please view her contributing author profile.

Cambridge Who’s Who would like to congratulate member, Chi Chi Okezie, owner and producer of SIMPLEnetworking on publishing her new book, “SIMPLEnetworking: Creating Opportunities…the new form of success!” Okezie’s book is a travel-sized guide filled with networking tips, tactics and techniques. To read an excerpt or to purchase this book please visit http://tinyurl.com/2nesco.

SIMPLEnetworking provides seminars to help students, young professionals and business women to enhance their professional, social and cultural skills. For more information about SIMPLEnetworking visit http://www.snseminars.com or email info@snseminars.com.

Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Writer Chi Chi Okezie’s Biography