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The spirit of camaraderie that develops among volunteers can strengthen the local community spirit, and naturally it will fulfill the volunteers’ goal of aiding those incapable of supporting themselves. But how much time does it take to plan? You’ll discover that it’s easier to get involved when a volunteer event is pre-planned. Obviously, if volunteering becomes a team effort with friends or co-workers, it’s likely to be more enjoyable.

That is why companies like Adaptive Marketing LLC, that developed financial benefits programs like Leisure Exclusives (MVQ*LSUREXCLUSIVE), are making themselves points of organization enabling their employees to find the time to reach out. Company based charitable works like these used to be annual, limited activities – in today’s world, so much more can be accomplished. To go back to our earlier example, Adaptive Marketing has offered staff opportunities to help with anything from tennis shoe recycling efforts to tree replanting weekends. Once all the pertinent information – location, time, date, specifics, et cetera – had been clearly posted it became very simple for employees to decide how much time they could give and what program they’d join. It is important to let volunteers support activities that fit their outlook. Businesses involved in this like Adaptive Marketing, present their staff with a wide assortment of initiatives in their community. Previous projects have seen improvements made in a wide assortment of areas including education for children and young adults, green projects, and events cultivating the area’s performance art. This gives Adaptive Marketing volunteers opportunities to explore useful avenues in volunteer work and have fun their time volunteering. Most often a company sponsored charity initiative – fundraising with a homeless shelter or assisting at a local school – is either done on a regular schedule or as a one-off event. Staff may well submit – and truly believe – that they don’t have the free time, but usually even they can often find the hours to lend a hand with some smaller one-day event.

It’s common practice for businesses to help to support the community in which they’re based. Adaptive Marketing like many other firms maintains volunteer projects in part to spread positive feeling through the local community by the actions of its staff. The real bonus is, one of the benefits of helping others is the certainty that you’ve done something good – a positive feeling that uplifts the entire corporation. Setting out to help employees become volunteers is beneficial to everyone involved.

This is Steve Schwarzman’s story. Forbes Magazine named him the fifty-third most wealthy individual in the U.S.A. last year, but it isn’t only money that makes this tale so gripping but in addition Steve’s astounding accomplishments in the financial world and his patronage of the arts. His astounding story has been inspirational to multitudes of individuals from the children of the wealthy to the underprivilged and he has made exemplary use of his wealth to change many people’s lives, too. In 1985 Steve and his co-founder founded their business offering up sound financial advice to the American investment community. Since then, it has set the standard in M&A; but be aware that Steve didn’t start out running his own venture straightayway.

Living for most of childhood in near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Steve got his schooling in the Abingdon school district. He graduated from Abington Senior High School, and, pushing on from there, got his bachelor’s degree from the Connecticut University, Yale in 1969. After that, he opted to further his training at the respected Harvard Business School, getting his MBA in 1972. After Yale he would join the team at Lehman Brothers investment bank. By his thirty second birthday, Steve was already on the board. Steve doesn’t solely give of his time and money to a wide range of non-profit organizations, but he has also been a part-time professor at Yale. Moreover, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in NYC. What is more, Steve only last spring donated to the New York Public Library 100 million dollars to assist in their recent building project. In fact the library named one of their new buildings after him.

Steve Schwarzman is nowadays a role model for a new generation of financiers — Times Magazine recently appointed him as one of the one hundred most influential people in the world. His meteoric rise in the business and financial sectors is certainly astounding, and without a shadow of a doubt his generosity has given Americans a one-of-a-kind new standard to live up to. So the world awaits Steve’s next project. By way of a summary, Steve Schwarzman is an individual who has taken advantage of every last business opportunity offered to him, but in return he has at the same time employed his riches and influence as a way to embetter the lives of those around him.

Most highly prominent business people are very active members of their chosen communities and this gentleman is certainly no exception. You have in all likelihood seen mention of Mr. Naveen Jain as the co-founder & CEO of Intelius, Inc. the predictive intelligence service company. Beyond gaining his place on the Forbes list “400 Richest in America” 2000, this maverick entrepreneur has received a variety of distinguished awards including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Albert Einstein Technology Medal, and the WSA Industry Achievement Award. However it certainly does not finish off at that point. That’s because Mr. Naveen Jain and his relatives are every bit as keen about their charitable endeavors and will strive to assist whenever possible.

There’s no reasonable doubt about the fact that kids are truly the world’s treasured resource and indeed its future. They are moreover a main inspiration for this entrepreneur and he takes advantage of any occasion available to support them. This, too, is the primary reason why he is always assiduously exploiting every opportunity he can to lend a helping hand wherever it is even remotely practicable. Consequently, Naveen Jain, his kin and those at Intelius, Inc. have pledged time to philanthropical foundations such as the Children’s Hospital, United Way, and the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club. Naturally, they hand out plenty of material aid but even more importantly they commit their time and energies to the most disadvantaged and susceptible children. Beyond this, he helps finance the Children’s Hospital, hoping to elevate children’s health. With Naveen Jain being an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and the Indian Institute of Technology, it is hardly surprising that education also constitutes a crucial focus in his philanthropic works. This encompasses deserving causes and good causes local, state, and nationwide. Thus, Intelius and its CEO are funding aid agencies and charitable bodies,like, for example Child Rights and You (CRY), Hopelink and the University Preparatory Academy. Providing for the world’s destitute is an equally critical challenge for Jain and his kin and to him, it makes not a iota of difference. While Naveen is intensely mindful that the aspiration to feed every hungry mouth in the world can seem to be an insurmountable task, he is also aware that the irresolvable can actually be accomplished assuming that the whole world strives towards a common end. If this CEO really achieves his goals, there will be a unquestionable conclusion to privation and hunger everywhere some day.

Readers might be pardoned for supposing that as the boss of a highly prosperous enterprise and a devoted spouse and family man would provide him hardly any room for volunteering and support. However, Naveen Jain makes certain that each of his beneficent ventures obtains all the support he can realistically muster. This intently philanthropic businessman is surely much more than merely a business pioneer. He is, beyond that, also an extraordinary person and a veritable community patron.

Networking is, without a doubt, one of the best and most cost-effective ways to build long-term relationships with prospects and referrers. With remarkable networking, you also build a super powerful sales force that will work tirelessly for you to spread the word about your business and services. Their referrals hold more weight than you might know.

Remember, EVERYONE you speak with is a potential client, referrer, center of influence, or joint project partner. Once you start viewing each person you meet as one of these assets, it becomes easier and easier to talk. Don’t be shy – speak from your heart about what you do. It’s what you believe in, so speak with passion. Get out there and TOOT your horn! Why keep yourself a secret?

Here are several things you can do to stay in front of your prospects:

1. Go to Targeted Events: Join associations and groups where you can rub elbows with your prospects in large numbers. Attend these regularly. Plug meeting times into your calendar for the entire year. You have to show up to networking groups consistently and persistently to build relationships. Keep in mind that you are building relationships with clients for the long haul. People are mulling it over. Just keep reminding them how remarkable you are, and eventually they will do business with you or refer an associate.

2. Get Business Cards: A lot of people think their objective is to pass out business cards like mad. So, they run around an event, throwing their cards in front of people and sprinting onward to the next table. A much more effective – and enjoyable – approach to networking is to ask other people for their cards. Business cards are connections to people, and networking is about building relationships. If you end up with 5 cards from people you really connected with, you are better off than handing your card to 20 people who probably threw it away anyway.

3. Make an Impact: When you are asked, “So, what do you do?” make an impact. Develop a unique marketing message that explains the solutions you offer to your target audience. Remember, this person may be a potential client or might refer your next DREAM client.

4. Take Notes: When you return to your table or during the next break, write a note on the back of the business cards you just collected to cue you about the conversation. This will help you remember more about the person later.

5. Follow Up: Make sure to send people you met a friendly e-mail. You can use the notes on the back of their business cards to add a personal touch to each e-mail you send. If appropriate, a phone call or a hand-written note is an even better touch. Then, continue to keep in touch in the future.

Networking events can be an amazing addition to your marketing repertoire. Make sure you are leveraging them to their FULL potential. By following the tips above, you will fill your contact database with amazing people, and you’ll be astounded by the added impact these powerful relationships will bring you. Some may be new clients, and some may be your best source of referrals.

Copyright 2006 Marketing Maven

Wendy Maynard, the Marketing Maven, publishes REMARKABLE MARKETING, a weekly ezine for business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. If you’re ready to skyrocket your sales, easily attract customers, and have more fun, accelerate your marketing strategies at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com