Whether you are new to networking or consider yourself to be a pro, I'm really interested in your experiences; do you find either people around you, or you, are guilty with any of these? In either case, would you leave your comments below?

1 – "Online social networking is my ticket!" When in reality, either online networking is inappropriate or just one tool for a marketer. If your clients aren't online (and yes, there are some businesses that won't find the best return on investment online), if you think it's going to be a wham-bam money flood, or if it's your entire marketing plan, then it's your ticket to failure and frustration not fortune. Someone, I don't know who, coined the phrase Bright, Shiny Object Syndrome which applies to this.

2 – Corrupted connections. Social networking helps to pour more salt on the wounds of connections that don't go anywhere. Have you been asked to connect lately online maybe with LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook? I get this all the time. Generally I look over the person's profile, or Tweets or status updates for a quick minute before I accept. I find it good to get to know people. But all too often I find myself in the middle of a fast romance: after I accept I get an email touting some product or service they don't even know I have an interest in, let alone a need for. I do find if I don't reply, they go away. Corrupting our connection further.

3 – Too soon or too long U-turn conversations. Even after a cordial online introduction this can happen. But more often it's in-person. It's actually part of the 60-second sick elevator pitch. Some of us can't help but want to talk about us, me, my, I – just way too soon. Or we want to go on way too long about ourselves. See, what is happening? We are U-turning the conversation to be about us, while really taking little interest in the other person which is a better place to start.

4 – Listening with a response in mind. Last month I attended a much-touted new women's networking group event. There were about 80 women there. I met about a dozen women I know from either past or current relationships. Then I met about 6 women that I didn't know. One stood out for me as someone – I don't want to know any further. As she was U-turning her conversation, I told her I discontinued the very service she was representing. Obviously she didn't hear what I said because as she said, "Great, here's my business card," the word "great" told me she had a different agenda.

5 – Follow-up failure. Continuing with this women's meeting last month: I went home with 6 business cards of first time encounters. Silence in this case, is blacker, not golden. I heard from no one. Not an email, not a telephone call, not a hand written "Nice to meet you" note. That is follow-up failure. I don't wake up in the morning thinking, "Gee I need to call that person who tried to sell me her wonderful widget last night." It just doesn't happen that way.

You can listen in for free, to Kris and I talk more about these mistakes: http://begintoshift.com/pages/patricia-kris-interview And subscribe to my blog to get the further details about each one. See that SUBSCRIBE button on the upper right? It says, Subscribe by Email Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner. That's the place!

And now, what about you and the 5 mistakes you may not know you are making? How do you relate to them?

5 Networking & Sales Mistakes You Don’t Even Know You’re Making is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by Phil Davis NY via Flickr

It makes sense in some parts of the world to have this as we are in those unpredictable, dreary, cold winter months. And it occurs to me there are some similarities of this day and – the reluctant marketer.

If you find that your networking is unpredictable, dreary and cold, why not escape? Here are a few ideas of what you might want to escape from:

1 – Your networking sucks. You know it. How? You don't have the results you want. Oh sure. You attend events, make contacts but they seem corrupted somehow. I can remember years ago when I was and overactive networker. I would come back to my office with dozens of cards and feel so overwhelmed the next step was to - escape!

2 – Your elevator pitch is so humdrum there's no hum, let alone a drum to beat. Bragging moment (I think:) You know those BNI kind of meetings where you go round robin around the room for introductions? I must be doing something right in putting into action what I talk about because usually the person just after me tells what they feel. "Geez, I wish I went just before her!" Even you want to escape from hearing what you have to say in that 60-second pitch!

3 – You've managed to take the drudgery out of following-up with an easy plan: you don't follow-up. I didn't even have an Apple app to remind me to follow-up when I first started selling. Those were the days: the office sales support would hand salespeople a handwritten list first thing every morning of follow-up calls to be made. But the guilt isn't escaping you as you let follow-up fail.

So just for today anyway, escape! Or try to. Here's how:

1 – Don't attend any networking events today. Just let yourself be free of the whole stress of it.

2 – If you feel compelled to give that elevator pitch that is going to dive to the basement anyway, run for the nearest exit.

3 – instead of looking at those business cards with dread, just pile them up until tomorrow.

How are you going to escape your fear reluctance on the one and only day deemed – escape day?

Can the Reluctant Marketer Escape Any Fears? Today is just that day. is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Are you a solopreneur or small business owner who is frustrated about being able to increase revenues in this dour economy? Maybe it's about time you give collaborating with others a serious look. It's not just for the online elite or celebrities! Inspired by the article, 50 Benefits Of Joint Venture Marketing, here are the top ten pain in the butt reasons to get your rear in collaboration or joint venture gear:

1. Long-lasting business relationships are difficult to find. JVs will test your boundaries and limits, and expand your perspective. They will also improve your self-confidence, communication and relationship skills. Three years ago, I was super independent and just beginning to JV. I was choosing partners who were “unavailable”. What I learned about those initial experiences is that I only partially believed in, and committed myself to JV’ing. Consequently, my JVs weren’t lasting beyond 6 months. Eventually, when I was willing to constructively face confrontation and exercise my assertive skills, long-lasting JVs and results became possible!

2. New products and services are a low priority. What’s fun about JVs is that they stimulate your creativity and desire to provide more value to your customers. - Because they boost your motivation to “get the job done”, which means also decrease perfectionist and procrastination tendencies. Talk about many benefits all at once! Of course, this is contingent on finding the “right” partner because if your personalities, skills and strengths are too similar or not complimentary enough, then the JV won’t have lift. Conversely, if there’s great potential and new “products” between you, then your vitality will be renewed. And your customers will feel that emanating from you!

3. You think outsourcing your workload has to cost a fortune. Outsourcing and delegating one’s weaknesses to a supplier (e.g. Webmaster or Virtual-Administrative Assistant) becomes more enticing and probable because your JV budget is larger than what it would be when you’re operating solo. If you don’t make that smart strategic move, then your business will stay stuck at a certain plateau. In human terms, that typically translates into being unmotivated, uninspired, discouraged and sometimes even disillusioned.

4. Up selling and backend products fall victim to forgetting. Your business’ profit potential is dependent on how fluid one “product” flows into the next, including the up sell and backend “products”. Getting “there” usually happens faster when you’re in a JV because as a team, you have a bigger pool of prospects to poll and communicate with, and to therefore gain clarity and plan for the future.

5. Creating products takes too much time and effort. If you enjoy creating products but you’re impatient about getting them out the “door” or your Inner Critic doesn’t allow you to complete them, then this point will really bring it home for you.

6. You can't afford to invest in yourself. In any collaboration worth its time, there will be opportunities for trade. One collaboration allowed me to exchange my expertise for highly specialized personal life mission coaching. The result was, not one penny out of pocket for either person sharing their expertise for their personal development.

7. Joint venture deals require money I just don't have. In a down revenue time, wouldn't you just love the luxury of someone else to share costs with? Collaborations are usually partnerships where is there is unlikely greater out-of-pocket expense because of being able to divvy up costs among the collaborators. Your budget is better off.

8. If other businesses are struggling, there's little point in joining up. Have you heard there is strength in numbers? The morale and emotional strength in people that are optimistic by nature but just at a similar bump in the road can help you leave your worries behind.

9. There's just no time. Nonsense! You know that's just not true. How many things do you already procrastinate about? What kind of actions are you already taking that fit the category of what some call, "brainwasher" actions like computer games, way too much time on social media, activities that make you think you are creating but are spinning your wheels action and you know it? You have time to put a spark back in your business efforts.

10. The – take your pick – depression, recession or a slow economy is a time to pull back. Au contraire! It's a time you want to act more quickly. I tend to get a little lazy at the end of the year with the holidays and all. For you, it may be the looming dark cloud of a slow economy. Whatever stimulates you to pull back, a collaboration can be just the thing to help you move forward. You have the momentum of new energy, new products and new ideas that help new optimism to take hold.

Regardless of what is ailing your business, collaborations can be good for the health of revenue and profits. So what’s it going to be for you? Pick your poison of the top ten to take you down or – the sky's the limit! And if you want to know all the nuances in the most successful way to find and profit from collaborating, then let us help you with true-life lessons. Get your Complete Guide to Collaboration, with a 60 minute teleclass recording and slideshare presentation, at http://bit.ly/CollaborationeBooks . Or if you want it on Kindle, it's published there now, http://bitly.com/CollabGuideKindle .

What's your biggest pain in the business butt reasons that you might want to consider collaborating?

Top 10 Pain in the Business Butt Reasons to Collaborate is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by Adam Crowe via Flickr

Branding is the impression that a company projects into the market place. But branding is more than business card printing, it includes developing a professional reputation and providing good customer service. Writers at iperform have this take on it:

Branding is the impression that a company projects into the market place. It defines the reputation a company has with consumers and a good brand can result in high sales. Traditional methods of branding use printing services to provide promotional material. But branding is more than business card printing, it includes developing a professional reputation and providing good customer service.

1. Know the Target Audience

Successful branding relies on knowledge of the audience for the company’s products. The marketing, sales and ethos of the business should revolve around information about the targeted consumers. If the company produces material for a younger audience, service and sales should reflect this. If it markets towards an older audience then the sales and marketing strategies are different.

2. Marketing and Advertising the Brand.

Effective branding depends on marketing material that is suitable for the company’s clientele. It involves an appropriate and memorable logo and good targeting of advertising. For example, printing business cards which feature a teddy bear may not be acceptable for an IT business. Alternatively, advertising in an IT magazine would be good marketing. Targeting advertising and print advertisements to the correct audience is an important consideration for successful branding.

3. Developing a Good Reputation
Branding is more than innovative use of printing services. It includes developing a reputation for the business that will translate into good will and a solid consumer base. A good reputation relies on aspects such as trustworthiness and reliability. It can be developed by providing fast and efficient customer service. It is worth spending a little more on staff training to ensure that customer service skills are superior. Customer service can translate into a high quality reputation.

4. Transparent Complaints Procedures.
High quality customer service also includes having transparent complaints procedures. Good branding depends on the ability of an organization to improve their services and the perception that they will do so if required. A company that employs a clear customer complaint procedure will be seen to provide superior service. Offering refunds or exchanges of goods if the customer is dissatisfied will also enhance the company’s reputation and help with developing a good brand.

5. High Quality Products Mean Good Word of Mouth

A company that produces high quality goods or services will always have more potential for profit than one that does not. Word of mouth is one of the best methods of promotion. If products are not of high quality, customers will tell friends and neighbours of their disappointment, thus damaging the reputation of the company. Developing a brand with a good reputation and positive customer recognition depends on the production of quality goods and services and good word of mouth in the community.

Branding is a multi faceted aspect of a business. It can take time to develop a well known brand but once it is achieved it is an effective promotional tool that translates into high profit. Combining good marketing skills, and old fashioned service skills, will ensure that the business becomes well known in the marketplace.

What other marketing or customer service skills fit into successful branding? What other tips can you offer?

5 Secrets of Successful Branding is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by timlewisnm via Flickr

This special online event is brought to you by Biba Pedron, from Your Business in Style Today I introduce you to Carol Deckert, Networking Expert/Coach of http://www.carolconnectspeople.com

Thank Goodness for Professional Relationships!

One Saturday morning, I received a telephone call asking me if I was in London. Thoroughly confused, actually being wakened from a very deep sleep, I said no, never have been to London, wasn't planning to be in London - in fact, never have I been issued a passport! My caller, whose identity will remain private to avoid any retaliation from the guilty parties, continued by telling me that someone must have hijacked my identity on FaceBook and is sending messages to my connections telling them that I was mugged and held at gunpoint, robbed of all credit cards, cell phone and money and now am stuck without funds to pay my hotel bill and get a return flight back to the USA. This scammer asked them if they could help by sending money that would be paid back upon my return to the US. I was dumb-founded, just couldn't believe that something like this had happened to me - I'm a small business owner, building a business by teaching others to build relationships. What could a scammer expect to get from me?

You have no clue how shocked I was! We always think that those situations happen to others, but it could never happen to me . . . but, I'm living proof that it does happen to innocent people. Without that phone call, I would not have even known what was happening. My business could have literally disappeared - without any wrong doing on my part!

As I sat down to start working yesterday, I found quite a few emails and messages from online friends, both on FaceBook and on LinkedIn, all asking pretty much the same question(s) with their number one concern being my safety. Think about that - how awesome is that for people who I have not met face-to-face, but have built an online relationship with - to take the time to make sure I was safe and to know that someone was misrepresenting me! I thank them all from the bottom of my heart!

Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to telephone me, send me an email and drop me a note. This has been a real eye-opening experience for me, but I'm looking to make it a positive one!

As a Networking Coach, my business is based on building relationships. Thankfully I have been successful in this area, because good online friends, like you, are very supportive and caring, during times like this. If I had not built these relationships, my online contacts could have very easily disappeared, without any notice to me, when spammers took my account and used it to what they thought, would be their advantage. All the hard work and dedication I have put into building my reputation online could have disappeared within a second or two, without my knowledge!

I have filed a report that this was a 419 Scam with FaceBook and followed their recommendation to immediately change my password, there was not much else I could do.

In the meantime, I'm letting everyone know that this was a hijacked account and to take all precautions possible to insure their protection of their identity. Thankfully, my connections know, like and trust me and for that I am truly grateful!

I'm documenting this frightening experience on my blog, and on several others, with the intention of spreading the word as far as possible about identity theft and the consequences to the innocent victim(s).

You have no idea how much your support means to me, thanks so much for taking the time to telephone me or send me a note! Relationships DO work . . . if you didn't know, like or trust me, you would have "assumed" (and been wrong) that this was really me, asking for money to help me get back home. Communications from me are usually about business, quotes, tips, tricks, general advice so it was clear to my connections when they received this IM that this could not really have been me, requesting they send money to help me get home!

One other point I wanted to make . . . I don't message my IM with the exception of using Skype and I only message with those I know on Skype - I don't search for new people to chat with, I chat with only people who have connected with me in some way and we have exchanged Skype details.

Please, do take care and protect your identity. Online business can be fun and financially rewarding, but don't get carried away thinking everything is A-OK without keeping an eye on what people are saying about you. Set up Google Alerts, do everything you can to find out when and how your name is being used. With a bit of caution, you can be very successful with your online connections. Online reputation management is critical to your business success.

Comments, thoughts, suggestions on what else I could do about this situation would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts!

To Your Networking Success!

Carol Deckert - Networking Expert/Coach

Carol Deckert is a Networking Expert/Coach. She's the founder of Referrals Unlimited Network, has more than 10,800 first-level connections in LinkedIn and approximately 1,800 “friends” on Facebook and more than 5,000 followers on Twitter! Carol knows you do need the numbers before you can accumulate quality connections, because not every connection will be a good one for you. Through her individual and group coaching, she helps others learn to do what she did, saving them lots of time and heartache, by teaching them how to network efficiently and effectively. Contact Carol on Skype: deckert1116 and follow her blog http://www.carolconnectspeople.com

Thank Goodness for Professional Relationships! is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by turahbird via Flickr

My complete list of what I want in a collaboration partner is two pages but length is not as important as the specificity.

Get it out of your head! Otherwise those attractive ideas, to bring you just the right partner, just float up and away.

I did, and that somehow makes it more real. No; if you read the leading post to this, How To Find Your Best-Fit Joint Venture Partner With Less Time And Energy, I did not write down my ideal mate list many years ago. But I was crystal clear and highly motivated to find my man. Today we are doing more, being more and wanting more.

So, let’s not assume we easily take the time to get clear on anything we want, including a joint venture!

Get your description of your ideal joint venture partner down on paper and you can start and then continue conversations at a pace that will likely surprise you. Knowing someone to the degree where trust moves the collaboration forward is more easily facilitated with clarity. Even with the ideal joint venture characteristics, other variables may mean conversations take days, weeks and even months to reach agreement. The time frame is dependent on mutual clarity, trust and goals.

One thing that can enhance the trust is to share this list with your potential Ideal Joint Venture partner. Make it part of your exploratory conversation. Joint venture success is more of building rapport and trust in both the beginning and ensuing conversations. When you get clear about what you want in a joint venture partner, you will find you also attract someone who is likely as this same stage in his or her search for collaboration. Willingness to share each others lists puts you and this potential partner at a similar starting point and you feel more connected with commonalities.

One of the reasons for joint venture breakdowns is lack of rapport and regular communication that fits both partners’ preferred styles, which can lead to micromanaging or cheating. Issues like this can be minimized if the partners take time early on to communicate the factors that are most important to each, thereby deepening rapport and trust.

“The power of intention is the power to manifest, to create, to live a life of unlimited abundance, and to attract into your life the right people at the right moments.” - Wayne Dyer

What have you done in attracting your best collaboration partners, those Dynamos as we like to call them?

What are one of your top tips in finding the best joint venture partners?

I've enjoyed giving you some ideas about collaboration and joint venture partners. I'm getting ready to kick off another collaboration event which you will find here starting – this evening! So come back later for wisdom from seven women – it's a collaboration that came together as a result of many of the ideas you can learn about in the excerpt of this eBook http://bit.ly/CollaborationeBookExcerpts

But WAIT – before you order all four of them you will see listed, make sure you apply the coupon discount code, available for a short time: it's BOGO.

Collaboration Emotional Rapport: how do you know to go further? is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by Brenda Cooper via Flickr

Is it possible to find a joint venture partner with no investment in time and energy? No. Is it possible to find someone to collaborate with in a business venture that benefits both, even all parties, with less time and energy than you might have imagined? Absolutely! There are opportunities both within your present sphere of contacts and everywhere you network, to attract the partners who you want.

Just as in the Law of Attraction (LOA) that you might be familiar with, there is a process to bring these right joint venture opportunities to you and all in the course of your normal, daily conversations. It starts with getting clear on what you want. Then you need to be willing to relentlessly focus on this and enter into conversations with the same clarity and focus to keep this positive energy with you around the people who you meet. Here's an excerpt from the eBook, How To Find Your Best-Fit Joint Venture Partner With Less Time And Energy:

Getting clear on the Relationship
So you have been seduced by the possible benefits of joint ventures. You’ve done the inner work to rule out alternatives that might get similar results. If you aren’t clear about the alternatives and haven’t done this work, then you'll want to get our eBook, Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures Boost Business Success. It will give you enough information to assure you that you have made the best decision and are ready to joint venture.

With that preliminary work complete, you are now on the path and have set an intention to find joint venture partner(s) where you can add additional streams of income, increase your mailing or eZine list, and enjoy the rewards of sharing talent and resources, and laughs too.

Have you thought through the characteristics you want in this partner? The LOA process can work easily for you once you get crystal clear on the qualities you want in this person. The operative word in LOA is – want. I think back to many years ago when I was single and wanted to attract that marriage partner, for life. Most of us have had that time in our life of dating and wanting to find the perfect partner during that time. How detailed did you get in your mind about that one special person? For me some of my wants were: a man, good looking, slim physique, smart, showed either potential as a bread-winner or was already earning a family-supportive income, enjoyed children, wanted his own children, was fun to be with, and the picture in my mind just started there as the traits list went on.

But I didn’t get clear that quickly and so the men I attracted for a while weren’t quite fitting the bill. When I did decide to take the time and look into my heart as to all that I wanted, there he was. He showed up. Peculiarly at the same time, I was saying good-bye to a recent boyfriend. And here we are, 41 years later… still together.

While you don’t have to have a want of a 41-year joint venture, you do want to be clear if you want a project, a short-term or a long-term venture. Notice in my preliminary description of my perfect mate, it is all about what I want. You don’t see anything like; “I don’t want him to be ugly,” in my list. While I had no clue about the LOA at that time, intuitively I had an image in my mind of everything I wanted. If I had dwelled on anything I didn’t want, that is what would have showed up.

Have you started your trait list of successful collaboration or joint venture partners?

What are some of the things on your "desired" collaboration partner list?

How To Find Your Best-Fit Joint Venture Partner With Less Time And Energy is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

How do you collaborate in a project with Dynamos where everyone benefits?

In the six types of entrepreneurial profiles with the six types of commitment issues, you get a good look at the brief descriptions to determine which one best describes you. This helps you discover how you can attract more JV Dynamos instead of JV Duds to your beautiful blossoming business. Reminder of the one profile we are looking at:

1. The Adventurer: You’re a natural risk taker who is very adept at exploring new ideas and markets.

Attract JV Dynamos: As tempting and addictive as it may be, instead of automatically rushing in to start (or end) partnerships or change your partner, think about whether it’s premature or none of your business to give these ideas your attention and energy. Realistically, all you can and should control is you. You do yourself and others a disservice when you jump in and try to control (including fix) others. Regularly practice letting go of this control (and yes, it’s not exactly easy), as it’s not your responsibility or right in the first place. Also, tell your partner how your adventurousness and high levels of risk tolerance can complement her potentially less adventurous and risky ways. Be careful though that there’s not too much of a gap between where you and your JV each sit on the risk and adventure scale. Most of all, allow your adventurous spirit to infuse your partnership with possibilities that may not have been there prior to you coming together.

What are the other types to know the Dud and Dynamo affects? Here are the remaining six types:

2. The Innovator: You’re a natural troubleshooter or consultant, who sees connections and finds solutions that others don’t.
3. The Maverick: You’re a go-getter who is highly individualistic and whose ultimate motivator is money.
4. The Nonconformist: You’re a daydreamer who is very talented creatively/artistically and intent on not getting boxed in.
5. The Thinker: You’re an intellect who needs lots of quiet time for thinking and self-reflection.
6. The Rebel: You’re a straight shooter who is willing to break rules to be successful.

Have you identified your type? An excerpt may help you decide and then you can be further along to attracting those JV Dynamos you want to help build your business.

You can get your excerpt of this eBook or take a peak at all four at http://bit.ly/CollaborationeBookExcerpts

But WAIT – don't order them yet because we have something special planned just for you.

Attraction actions to give you more collaboration Dynamos instead of Duds is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by wsh1266 via Flickr

One of the things that is almost critical for business success today is being willing and able to collaborate. Whether it's being a guest blogger or co-hosting a telesummit with a dozen guest speakers, I have a track record of both failure and success. A most successful and rewarding collaboration I partnered in with Monique MacKinnon of Energetic Evolution subsequently led us to co-author eBooks about how to successfully joint venture. Here is the first sneak peak of the eBook, Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures: Psychology + Soul, and a series of posts intended to give you an insider's tips of knowing how to select who you collaborate with in a project where everyone benefits.

According to Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel, authors of the ‘Ebook Secrets Exposed’ (http://www.ebooksecretsexposed.com), people’s Top 3 (out of 10) most powerful motivators are:
(1) Make money
(2) Save money
(3) Save time

But why do so many entrepreneurs avoid developing joint ventures (JVs), which can positively influence both their bottom lines and facial lines. Allow us to explain, creatively.

Here, I mix and match the six types of entrepreneurial profiles with the six types of commitment issues. Take a good look at the brief descriptions below and determine which one best describes you, and how you can attract more JV Dynamos instead of JV Duds to your beautiful blossoming business.

1. The Adventurer: You’re a natural risk taker who is very adept at exploring new ideas and markets.

Attract JV Duds: Your habit of being in overdrive and thinking about the future can at times impair your creativity and judgment about who a good match would be for you. Since you enjoy being on an adrenalin high, you tend to spring for partners who are unavailable, overly dramatic, or inappropriate. This habit keeps you stuck in the cycle of attracting short-term partnerships that over time suck the life out of you and your business. Plus, because you prize your personal freedom, you fear losing it. Even just the thought of living a boxed-in life makes you gag. Why else did you become self-employed anyways? What does freedom mean, specifically working solo... that you have liberties that partnerships do not themselves offer? Ah yes, that may be so. However, the grass can be greener – and that includes financially more prosperous – on the other... the JV partnership side. JV partnerships can give you freedom from financial insecurity and worrying about having to do it (your business) all alone. They also allow you to contribute to your target market in a bigger and better way: a perk that the corporate world doesn’t offer. A word of caution, though, this financial security comes only when you first feel emotionally secure... alone, before even venturing into partnerships. The reality is, a healthy and prosperous JV relationship ensues when both parties come together to create an exponentially powerful outcome. It’s not like the Jerry Macguire movie, where Renee Zellweger romantically reveals the following to Tom Cruise: “You complete me.”

Does The Adventurer sound like you? If it does, you'll want to stay tuned for the part about Attracting JV Dynamos to complete this style.

If you are an Adventurer, what do you do to attract the more successful collaboration partners?

Want to attract more collaboration Dynamos instead of Duds for your beautiful blossoming business? is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Online social networking is like eating potato chips: most people CAN'T eat just one. Some people eat so many that the real nutrition that comes from talking and meeting with people face to face escapes them. But for introverts, at least as I have found, this can be deadly. We can fall victim to --- social attention distraction.
How much is too much?

Do you have a profile on Twitter? FaceBook? LinkedIn? Another of several hundred that you DON'T want to admit to? (I fess up - I just accepted invitations to two more this last month. Yikes! What's an introvert to do?)

The popularity of social networking sites such as FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com more than quadrupled from 2005 to 2009. But still … with cell phones, laptops, the Internet, actually only 23% of adults think they personally spend too much time using the Internet, computers and mobile communications devices.

Time on it's own is not the one way, too much or too little. Allow the context of how you spend that time help you decide if it's too much. Yes; you can meet new people, and reconnect with former friends. You can find prospect clients. You can even communicate easily, in a way that gives you time to respond, the introvert's preference. Still, some of the use of it is, too much.
Recently when I was reading my FaceBook newsfeed I noticed one of my connections that had a status update that garnered 20 or more comments.

I thought, "Wow, I wonder what they are talking about?" Usually most newsfeed comments have 3 or 4 comments so this sparked my natural curiosity.

Even though the topic wasn't of great interest, "Go look!" I encouraged myself. I took a peek. It turns out to be – a conversation between just two people making arrangements to meet at a local restaurant!

"Are their telephones working?" I thought. I was amazed. Likely not at all introverts.

Social networking sites were created to make money, not to improve our lives or enable us to live out our possible deep fantasies to be on stage. Most of these websites collect data about their members for the purpose of attracting advertisers. I couldn't help but wonder as I looked at this – now that they have set up their lunch meeting, how many ads will they each see from restaurants? What about coupons? Did anyone else need to be privy to that planning?

To stop yourself from the potato chip addiction consider a few ideas:
1) First, set your intentions for being online networking,
2) Find out where people who would help you meet those intentions also hangout,
3) Make an appointment with yourself to be there – just like an in-person appointment give it a start and stop time,
4) Connect and engage! Meet, talk, and know that others are watching so keep your conversation as meaningful for all as possible.

I'm most interested to know what your thoughts are about wanting more or less connection.

How much online social networking is too much for you?

How do you know when your connection has crossed over to social online networking addiction, or social attention distraction?

What is the point that you will want more connection with someone and pick up the telephone or Skype?

Social Attention Distraction: Introverts Do You Want More or Less Connection? is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer