Tina Gleisner

Where to Find Tina Gleisner

Blogging is a way of life, but at some point you have to decide which blogs are the ones you're going to focus on. I've got several blogs now and unfortunately, this one didn't make the cut. Don't fret as my focus on marketing simply has a new home. Here's where you can follow me:

• Home Tips 4 Women, a blogsite where I write quite a bit and will soon be joined by members of the Association of Women Home Owners
• Marketing Solutions 4 Home Professionals, a blogsite (under development) where I share marketing tips (including those found here) and will soon be joined by marketing professionals who join the Association of Women Home Owners
• Handyman Nuts & Bolts, where I started a blog devoted to handyman type information, plus fun stuff going on in my life

You can also find me on various Social Networking sites:

ActiveRain (activerain.com/tinag), a community of 150,000+ Realtors and other professionals involved in real estate

LinkedIn, ... several different ways to connect there:

• My personal profile, www.linkedin.com/in/tinagleisner
• Group for home owners: Association of Women Home Owners
• Group for home professionals: Home Pros @ Assn of Women Home Owners

Facebook, several different ways to connect there:

• Personal profile: www.facebook.com/tinagleisner
• Fan page: www.facebook.com/HomeTips4Women
• Fan page: www.facebook.com/MarketingTips4Pros
• Fan page: www.facebook.com/HandymanTips4You

Twitter, where I decided one account was enough ... twitter.com/tinagleisner

Women's Networking in NH - How Many Groups?

Here I sit trying to sort out 2 women's groups in NH that I'm not very familiar with, and honestly it's a struggle understanding them all. The good news is, we've got so many choices ... and they're all becoming much more active in helping their members showcase their businesses. The challenge though, is sorting out which ones to join (in addition to your professional and local business groups like the chamber) and even then, you still need to decide which meetings to attend.

I decided to start the list of groups, at least those I'm aware of. PLEASE everyone, help me complete the list with any groups you know and I've missed.

• 4 Walls 1 Roof, Bedford - 1st Thur, breakfast
• 4 Walls 1 Roof, Portsmouth - 3rd Wed, dinner
• Business & Professional Women (BPW), Nashua - 3rd Thur, lunch
  
  • Have heard there are BPW groups in Londonderry and Haverill, MA
• eWomen Network, Portsmouth - 3rd Thur, dinner
• New England Women's Network, Manchester area - 3rd Thur lunch (Pam Oliwa) 
• New Girls Network (Sherrill StGermain)
• Seacoast Women's Network (SWN), Portsmouth - 3rd Tues, dinner
• Southern NH Women's Business Network, various evenings & locations (Manchester area)
• Women's Business Center (WBC), based in Portsmouth, multiple meetings across southern NH
• Women Inspiring Women, maybe 2nd Thu, dinner
• Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network (WREN), multiple meetings across northern NH

Would love to hear from everyone about the following:

• Would you like to create a shared Women in NH calendar where we could put all of our events to help with scheduling?
• Should we consider opening up our various business showcase events to members of other women's groups, as we're all trying to support women owned businesses?
• What other ideas do you have for collaborating across multiple womens groups in NH?

Everyone can simply add their comments below, and that way we can all participate in the conversation. Thanks everyone

Treat Customers Like People

I volunteered at our local Habitat for Humanity event last weekend. With my husband leading the International Sidewalk Astronomy night in Portsmouth, I went to the fund raiser as a guest and volunteer. Working at checkout, most people gave me their auction bid number. I explained that we value them as the generous people they are, and I preferred to learn their names. Most smiled and introduced themselves.

In our hectic lives, I find it sad that we accept being identified by number, to feed the many systems we deal with each day. Life is about people, about the relationships we have with family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances in the communities where we live. As technology becomes more prevalent in our lives, we have to work to maintain a balance between systems that save us time and relationships that re-charge our emotional batteries.

I wondered what others were saying on-line about this problem, and so I borrow from another blog on Treating Your Readers Like Human Beings, Not Numbers (scary that I've got a url, but couldn't find the authors name). The original post focused on blogging, but I've personalized this to all types of communication on-line and off-line.

In real life there is a hierarchy within the community of people we interact with. These roles may change over time based on the actions of one/both people ... but we are forever, all human beings and should be treated accordingly. Successful relationships, be they on-line or face-2-face, require that you consider each individual and your relationship with them. You want people to feel like your friend, and where the opportunity presents itself, you want to move people higher up the hierarchy.

1. Mentors - are people we look up to because of their expertise in some area. Mentors are people willing to share their expertise with others, such as Gail Zona, Next Step Business Strategies, who teaches classes through NH's Women's Business Center.
• For these people, you want to roll out the red carpet.
2. Friends - are people we work with in co-operative initiatives to create win-win solutions for all participants like Gayle Sanders, GRS Home Design, who is helping me build 4 Walls 1 Roof.
• I appreciate these people and find ways to show that appreciation.
3. Partners - are people who don't always share interests or preferences but work together for mutual benefit, so translating into my small business ... these people are my suppliers.
• I am respectful but I don’t say yes just to be friendly.
4. Colleagues - are people doing the same/similar work or ... work in the same company/community. As owner of My Handyman, they include business owners/professionals involved in construction, real estate and the business community in southern NH.
• I am polite and helpful.
5. Acquaintances - are people I encounter occasionally at networking events but don't interact with to any extent.
• I say hello to these people.
6. Guests - are people who might visit my business, my home or interestingly, one of my web sites or ... we might chat on-line without ever meeting.
7. Clients - are people I know only through work, typically because we have a monetary relationship (which may be true of some people above, but that is not our primary relationship.)
• I will try to make eye contact and smile.
8. Casual Visitors - are people who might casually view your web site or blog, but won’t talk to you, they are just there.
• I ask “how can I help you?”
9. Strangers - are people you won’t ever notice. They might see you on a Google search results page and not even click through to your web site.
• You may ignore them or not.

Fantastic Video Explains Blogging

I just found an incredibly good blog with a simple, yet comprehensive description of blogging. I also think it's important to share with you how I found the video:

• Attended the Portsmouth chapter, 4 Walls 1 Roof member meeting on Wednesday
• Donna Rattee, a builder and realtor shared tidbits from an "online marketing" class. The instructor was "Monika McGillicuddy," and she said google Monika!
• Explored Monika's blog and found this video. I decided to learn how to include it here and soon, on My Handyman and 4 Walls 1 Roof web sites.
• Enjoy this terrific blog from Lee LeFever, the Common Craft Show

Enjoy the videoand please share your comments here. Why? When you provide comments, you include your digital signature with a link back to your blog/web site. Link backs help raise your rankings by the search engines.

The Power of Pink

Sometimes life gets too complicated and you have to make time for a little fun. It started about 2 weeks ago when Tomboy Tools announced a pink hammer special promotion. Later that day my friend and fantastic networker, Deb Sarhanis, called to check in with me. A half hour later we had planned our very first  Pink Pajama Party!

So what exactly is a Pink Pajama Party? It's simply a Friday night get together for women to relax with old friends, make new friends, eat healthy (and not so healthy) food and have a great time. The "pajama" part means wear comfy clothing which might be jeans, sweats or whatever you define as comfy (I couldn't resist these super girl pajamas.

The "pink" part is the fund raising to sell a 100 "Hammer Out Breast Cancer" hammers. They even say  Hammer out Breast Cancer on the hammers , so if you know someone who's been affected by this sad disease, here's a fun way to help find a cure. $3 is donated to Susan Komen foundation for every hammer sold ($14.95 for one hammer, March 2008 special is 2 for the price of 1 hammer plus shipping). 5% goes to www.breastcancerstories.com, as each quarter I donate 5% of all Tomboy Tools sales to a local non-profit organization that helps women.

So if you want more details about the party (Friday, April 4) in Hampton, NH or you want to support a good cause and buy some pink hammers, just email Tina, tinag@pobox.com

                                                   

Massachusetts Conference for Women

Called a friend earlier this month and learned she was exhibiting at the 2007 Massachusetts Conference for Women so in typical fashion, I volunteered to help so I could learn more about events and exhibiting. The conference brought together an amazing group of high powered women who have succeeded in a wide range of professions, as business owners and employees.

A great format to give you many different perspectives on any topic - each session was comprised of 4 panelists plus a facilitator. Here is the list of amazing women (mostly) speakers, many of whom are authors and/or published nationally.

My favorite speakers include:

• Rene Syler, anchor of CBS News' The Early Show and author of Good Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting
• Liz Lynch, founder of the Center for Networking Excellence and author of 102 Secrets to Smarter Networking
• Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale, entrepreneur and founder of Barnes, O'Neale & Associates. She's an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, educator, and author of 7 Keys 2 Success
• Catherine Kaputa, founder of SelfBrand, a NYC based brand strategy firm and author of U R A BRAND! which I'm reading right now

 

Networking at Events

I attended the Massachusetts Conference on Women a few weeks back and met an amazing number of successful women. Women who have started their own businesses, have written books and/or been published in national publications. They're also interested in giving back to women as they did on some incredibly powerful panel sessions, i.e. the last one I attended was on Legacy - What Do You Want to be Remembered For (something like this).

Liz Lynch was one of these women and her company is the Center for Networking Excellence LLC. Her books 102 Secrets to Smarter Networking and I'm watching fascinated as to how she stays in touch with the people she met at the conference. She's using a "7 Days to Smarter Networking e-Course" where she sends out a daily email with some networking hints.

Here is a recap of today's lesson (almost feels like I'm back in school):

• Arrive early as that is when the energy is highest. With just 15 minutes you should be able to make 3 to 4 connections (maybe I'll do better after writing this).
• Eat beforehand as it's awkward to shake hands and ex change business cards when you're also juggling food plus a drink.
• Bring business cards to build your professional image. I actually keep extra packs of 25 or so in my car, my husbands car (finally) to avoid running out of cards. If you don't have business cards yet, you can get free ones at Vista Print.
• Wear clothing with pockets to make it easy to reach in and get a business card. I keep my cards in a rubber band in my right pocket, and then cards I receive are easy to keep separate
• Project a positive image as Liz says "Winners are drawn to other winners."

Always remember that networking is about building relationships for mutual benefit. I try to tell women that are nervous about going to events alone, to simply go up to someone who is standing alone and introduce yourself. By focusing on helping someone else, you'll forget to be nervous yourself.

Marketing to Women

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to attend the 2007 (3rd annual) Massachusetts Conference for Women. I'll be writing more about this conference over the next few weeks as I picked up books by some of the speakers. Right now I just want to log the items in the "goody bag" as unfortunately, I didn't do this for The NH Mirror fashion show in October and have regretted it ever since. Here's what's in the bag:

• Canvas bag (functional but not exciting) with State Street on one side, other sponsors 2nd side
• Luna Sunrise "blueberry yogurt" nutrition bar
• Premiere (1st) issue of a new Women's magazine, Lola, published by Boston Globe Media. The editor, Kara Baskin (editor@lolaboston.com) promises a "magazine of substance that respects and reflects the intelligence, feistiness, and dynamism of the Boston woman.
• An upscale key chain from goruneasy.com ... from Reebok by the look of the site
• BJ's one day shopping pass for the club closest to you
• Postcard from IRIDESSE Pearls with list of locations
• Postcard from EMD Serono Inc, a leader in US biopharmaceuticals ... looks like a recruiting tool
• Magnet from the Massachusetts Women's Resource & Referral Network
• Material (2 sheets, both 8.5x11) on Harvard Pilgrim Health Care ... sales tool
• Anti bacterial hand sanitizer (small bottle) from Raytheon, one of the event's sponsors
• Nice (3.4 oz regular package) of Blue Ocean Hand Cream  ... strange but I couldn't find a web site on the packaging or after several different Google searches

I didn't connect with too many of these items but maybe because I don't live/work in Massachusetts. There were quite a few more items (at least 20) in The NH Mirror goody bag and knowing they were LOCAL and WOMEN OWNED businesses (almost all) made me really think about them more, i.e. until I made some type of connection.

How to Ask Customers for Referrals

We enjoy interacting with our customers and do an excellent job of focusing on their needs. It is also fair to leverage these conversations to help build our business. Here are typical excuses for not asking for referrals ... and ideas to help you overcome these hurdles. Because your customers already know and trust you it should be easy for them to refer you, and the odds of winning new customers is greater when this happens.

• You think referrals should happen automatically? This is wishful thinking as very few people do this and it is a learned skill. Your customer may not think of this (unless they are in business and involved in sales themselves) ... until you simply ask them.
• You are afraid to ask (but it does get easier with practice, especially when practice brings success)? Wait until your customer has experienced your products or services. Most often they will say "Of course I'd be happy to."  One way to determine if they're ready to refer you is by asking for a testimonial which I'm starting to do for My Handyman.   
• You don't know how to ask? Listen for the perfect opportunities to ask. When they tell you "We love your product" or even better, "Thanks for helping me find a solution to this problem." That's the perfect time to ask if your customers know anyone else who would love your product.
  
  • One idea I haven't tried yet ... "If you were in my business, what 3 people would you call?" Any type of question that helps you learn how your customers feel should work - go for it.
• You are uncomfortable about asking a favor? If you believe you bring value to one customer, then  asking if you can provide similar value to someone they know, should be a win-win for everyone.

The ideas shared here are not mine along, but a summary of an article written by Barry Farber who is a noted speaker and author.

 

How to Start a Lively Discussion

I just got this idea from some other women ... and it was too good not to share.

Instead of using the old, tired "How are you?" which most often gets a response of "fine" or "okay" ...

Strike up a real conversation with "What's new and exciting with you?" This sets a positive tone from the get-go, and invites more dialogue versus a one word answer.