My Keynote Address

Today I was fortunate to give the keynote address for a group of about 90 local business leaders.  The group I spoke to is a networking group, and about 30 visitors attended as well. You have probably heard of BNI (Business Networking International). It is a great organization for networking and building business by word of mouth. And, the chapter that I belong to is absolutely fantastic. In fact, it is the largest BNI in Northern Virginia. They are like working with family. They really care about each other.

What is the purpose of the BNI keynote?  The purpose of having each member do a presentation is so we can all understand a member and their business. Because this group really wants to help each other, it’s an important part of our weekly meeting.

The mission of FAMILY Magazine is to help businesses that want to sell to our readers be successful, and grow.  We all know that in today’s cluttered marketing world, you really need to reach your audience 9 different ways and FAMILY Magazine does offer several ways for companies to reach our readers.  At this presentation I focused on our print magazine.

After the meeting, one of my guests, Ritzya, the Drama Coach, came up to me and offered presentation advice. I will share her top three tips –
1.    Make a strong presence. Keep their attention.
2.    Stay within the time you promised. Don’t go over.
3.    Tell stories, some at the beginning and some during your presentation.

Her ideas are great and certainly something that we could all do to make our presentations better.  Here is a link to her website if you’re looking to improve your speaking, your personal pitch or your image.
http://www.thedramacoach.com/4436.html

When BNI members conduct their keynotes, they’ll typically mention who makes a good referral for their company.  Since I went over my allotted time today (true to form), I wasn’t able to share this information with my group.  So, who is a good referral for FAMILY Magazine?

What is a good referral for me?
A good referral for me is a company sells a service or product to women who have children. If you are talking to someone with these attributes and they say, “We are putting together a new brand or new marketing plan” they are a great lead for me. You could say to them, “Have you looked at FAMILY Magazine? I am friends with the publisher.”

Another good referral might be a company that is just starting and wants to sell to women, AND they have an advertising budget. You might be helping them with other aspects of their business, so you will be able to see if you, or your wife might purchase their product. You could ask them if they are putting together a marketing plan. Then suggest they also look at FAMILY Magazine.

Sometimes FAMILY can work with a very small company that is just starting when they have a small marketing budget.  They might not be ready to have Mary Kay with Blue Shamrock Communications step in, but we can be creative and help them get going. If they are looking to reach women, we can help them.

     You might listen for these key statements:
We are reaching out into the Washington market.
We are looking for ways to promote our business.
We are looking for a good way to communicate with moms.
We want to do more social networking to reach moms.

What would be a bad referral?

We really are not a good source for an in-home day care or companies that cannot afford at least $120 a month for advertising. To really work with them and promote them through our weekly newsletter and social networking (as well as a print ad), they really need to make a commitment towards marketing of at least $120 a month.

How do you give me a referral? A personal email introduction is a great way to give me a referral.  Be sure to include their name and phone in the email.


In case you missed it, here are the main points of my speech:

Women make almost all the buying decisions for almost everything we all use.  Readers of FAMILY Magazine make some of those decisions when they read our magazine.

You need to be persistent and consistent with your advertising because women keep information a long time.

You can count on FAMILY Magazine to help build business.  We have several different methods that reach our readers to achieve this.

A good referral is a company that is targeting women and ready to make a consistent investment into reaching women.

Because at FAMILY Magazine, WE REACH WOMEN

    If you have questions, please send me an email.  Brenda’s Email

I’ll leave you with my motivational quote for the morning –
“Watch the sunrise at least once a year, put a lot of marshmallows in your hot chocolate, lie on your back and look at the stars, never buy a coffee table you can't put your feet on, never pass up a chance to jump on a trampoline, don't overlook life's small joys while searching for the big ones.”

-- H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Writer