WebEx: Ideas in Motion

Do you hate networking? Five tips for doing it better.

I am not a great networker.

I don't really enjoy parties, I hate talking on the phone and I don't have a lot of patience for idle chit chat. But I know these are the kinds of things that help keep my professional network alive. And having a thriving professional network is pretty much essential in today's work environment.

So is there a way to network that won't be so painful?

Thankfully, the answer is "yes". From the experts, here are five ways you can keep your network alive.

1. Have a positive attitude.
Okay, I appreciate the irony, especially if you share my position on networking! From the Washington Post Career Coach, "Networks are critical to our success." We have to bite the bullet and here's why.

2.  Be prepared.
If you are approaching networking formally - like for a job search when informational interviewing is an important tool - be ready to manage the entire interaction. The TimesUnion's Tom Denham offers a list of dos and don'ts (including some great questions to ask) to make the meeting a success.

3. Let people who are good at networking help you.
When you work hard to cultivate your core network, you build trust and then, when you really need a referral or introduction, your core network is there, ready to help. Ivan Misner from Entrepreneur explains the value in Key to Networking.

4. Let social media help you.
Penelope Trunk, the wizard behind Brazen Careerist, talks about the value in using tools like LinkedIn, Twitter and blogging. Goodness knows blogging has worked for her (and if you aren't following Brazen Careerist on Facebook, you should be. She offers great content for career development.

5. Face your fears.
So you have read tips 1-4 and thought, how nice but I can't do this. I am still too chicken. You aren't alone. Denise O'Berry at The QuickBase Blog has some down-to-earth tips to help you get over your initial fears. Three simple tricks that will help you take those first steps to getting out there. Remember, we are all human and generally, other people want to help you succeed. You really have nothing to lose!

And finally, I just came across this from Inc. Magazine, an article by Harvey Mackay. He suggests there is one Golden Rule for networking:

My Golden Rule of Networking is simple:  Don't keep score...What makes that a little tricky is that it goes against every naturally acquisitive, ambitious and self-serving impulse in you. [read the entire story]

I hope these help you stay on track. We owe it to ourselves to invest this time in our careers and our relationships. I would love to hear if you have other ideas. Please comment on this story if you do!

 

Tips for Improving Email Marketing - Free Webinars On Demand

Looking for a way to tune up your marketing efforts - especially when it comes to email?

Worldata Research has put together a nice set of tutorial webinars on research, email, tools and a case study to help you get the most from your marketing efforts in 2012.

Each webinar is on-demand, which means you can watch them at your convenience. Click the links below to watch each recording.

The Relevance of Research
5 minutes - watch

Free Industry Tool and Resources
5minutes - watch

Critical Email Techniques for 2012
30 minutes - watch

Creating a Data Driven Culture
30 minutes - watch

PGA Tour Email Case Study
30 minutes - watch

You can record your own WebEx and publish it to WebEx Channels.

Once you complete your recording, if it's a public event, we are happy to tweet it to the WebEx Network. Read this to see how it works.

 

Ken Blanchard Free Event: The Four Keys to Becoming a Leader for Life

Successful leaders are active, thoughtful, life-long learners who are always looking for ways to better themselves and their teams. Leadership is a living process—and life means growth.

In this webinar, best-selling authors Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller will share the four keys to increased influence, impact, and leadership effectiveness in this WebEx Channels free event

Register for this free webinar now (missed it? listen here).

Drawing from their new book, Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, they share the secrets of how your capacity to grow determines your capacity to lead. This session isn't just for people how are leading today but for everyone who wants the skills to move people forward - whether they directly report to you or not. From corporations to small business to volunteer activity - we all have opportunities to lead and create change.

This leadership approach generates the acronym G.R.O.W. which becomes a clever reminder of the techniques you'll use to improve your leadership. This event will cover four strategies that leaders must use to challenge and stretch themselves—both on the job and off—to reach their highest potential.

• Gain Knowledge

• Reach Out to Others

• Open Your World

• Walk toward Wisdom

Whether you’re a CEO or an entry-level employee, don’t miss this opportunity to take these important steps in designing your own long-term growth plan—a plan that can lead not only to continuing professional success, but to personal fulfillment as well.

Details: Thursday, February 23  | 9am PT  | 12pm ET  |  Register Now  | On-Demand Here

 

WebEx Customer Service and Tech Support

Getting the help you need easily.

The quickest way to get help is to contact our support departments directly. While we do our best on Twitter to respond to issues, we don't have access to the same tools they use in customer service and technical support.

Customer Service and Sales

If you have a sales need (need a new account or a larger meeting), contact sales. Their number is 877-509-3239 in the United States. You can also reach sale via this request form.

If you have an account and need to talk about billing or make administrative changes, you need to submit a form and write down your support case number. Then, if the case is urgent, you can call the following appropriate phone number - they will ask for your case number:

• United States: 866-863-3903 (or +1-916-861-3164), from 6:00am to 5:00pm (Pacific Time) Monday-Friday
• Australia: 1800 493 239 (option 3) and New Zealand 0508 555 607 (option 3), from 9:00am to 6:00pm (Sydney Time) Monday-Friday
• India: +91 (0)80 42501698, from 8:30am to 4:30pm (India Standard Time), Monday-Friday
• United Kingdom: 0800 389 9772 (or +44 161 250 0706), from 8:00am to 6:00pm (GMT), Monday-Friday.
• Find additional numbers here (on the lower part of the page).

Technical Support

Start here. You will need to fill out a "ticket" to open a support case. It does ask for a lot of information but not all of it is required. This will speed time-to-response so please fill it out and submit the ticket. There are also links on that page to our Knowledge Base which has answers to a lot of standard questions.

When you are done with your ticket submission, you should see a page at the end with phone numbers. You will need your ticket number when you call (write it down). If you need help urgently, follow-up the ticket submission with a phone call to one of those numbers.

Frequently, folks just want to make sure WebEx is working. There's a way you can check (before the big meeting). Here's the link to our Join Meeting Test page.

The other common question we get is about converting WebEx recordings. The tools you need are here on the WebEx Player page.

It's time to escalate.

You can reach out to the social media team directly. We ask you try the methods above first because we don't have access to the tools these departments use. But we also understand things can break and we want to do everything we can to make sure you have a good experience.

We need some information so we can escalate your issues internally. We have a short list here that outlines the information we'll need from you to get things moving and then our email address where you can send the information.

We hope this helps. We appreciate your business. Thank you.

 

My Tool for Helping Curb My Multi-Tasking "Habit"

I write the blogs for WebEx and I help with social media. I like it but sometimes I feel like I am herding cats.

One minute I am trying to write and the next minute I am checking on Facebook traffic and responding to tweets. It can be exhausting and crazy and as a result, I am always looking for ways to work smarter.

Turns out I have to stop multitasking.

In this great article from Inc. magazine, author Ilya Pozin succinctly maps out the Seven Things Highly Productive People Do. Here's my favorite part:

Stop multi-tasking. No, seriously—stop. Switching from task to task quickly does not work. In fact, changing tasks more than 10 times in a day makes you dumber than being stoned. When you’re stoned, your IQ drops by five points. When you multitask, it drops by an average of 10 points, 15 for men, five for women (yes, men are three times as bad at multitasking than women). 

I think it's really easy to get sucked in to thinking you need to respond immediately to emails or comments on social media. But that's not realistic if you really want to get the work done. And about now you're wondering what does this have to do with WebEx?

Using WebEx helps me stay focused.

I now find it's my meeting tool of choice because I have to turn everything off and focus on what I am doing. The minute I commit to sharing my desktop, to avoid embarrassment I have to turn off my email, my Facebook and anything else that might distract me during the meeting - because everyone on the other end will see what I am doing.

Think about how many meetings you sit in and find yourself messing around on your computer or phone. Are you really paying attention? Are you putting in your best effort? Try hosting a WebEx, I think you'll like it (you can also get the free mobile app).

Now I need to go check and see if you commented on this blog on Facebook or replied to our post on Twitter.