I see so many people looking for the ideal group to get leads that will turn into business. I have attended many networking groups and have only been impressed by a few. The groups that impressed me the most were the ones that had a lead verification requirement. For example, I am given a lead by a person in the group, that person must then introduce me to my new potential client and help with getting the first meeting arranged. This way the lead is actually a true lead and not someone they met in a lineup at the grocery store. I have also gone to groups where they have internal leads. These leads mean that you have done business with someone inside the group. I do not have a problem with this when there is actual business conducted. One person I know had someone from her group drop into her shop to see her wares without a purchase and it counted as a lead. That same person went back another week and purchased a vest and this also counted as another lead. Finally that same person returned the vest the following week to get credit for a third lead. Needless to say, my friend soon dropped out of the group to find a better one.

Leads groups are only one avenue for finding additional business. Alliances can provide the same thing but the lead is even warmer. This means that you get a good introduction and a recommendation from the alliance partner. I have seen a new lawyer make an alliance with a small accounting firm in order to build his new business. It worked very well for the lawyer but the accountant was not too impressed as nothing new came his way. An alliance is a two way street so if you get introductions, you should make sure you give introductions as well. Leads can also come from service organizations. Before you get any leads here, you will have to be thoroughly integrated into the group. These organizations tend to lean on each other for favors and eventually do business with each other. Gaining business here does not happen very quickly, you must be directly involved with fundraising and other events.

Leads can come from almost anywhere if you are actively attending events and letting people know what you do. Leads can also come from your current customers in the way of referrals. The best leads are warm leads and eighty percent of your business will come from current customers.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. is a speaker, author (over 170 books, articles, and publications), and consultant. She has provided marketing, sales, business development and training expertise for companies such as Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Varian Medical Systems, Accenture, Avaya, Cisco Systems to name a few. Dr. Daoust has also done extensive work with small businesses in developing their marketing, training, and operational plans. You may contact Dr. Daoust at http://BizMechanix.com You may also view her latest publications at http://BlueprintBooks.com Dr. Daoust also writes for the National Networker http://theNationalNetworker.com

Despite a red hot 26-14 start to the 2005 season, the Orioles once again couldn’t contend with the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox for the AL East crown as they went just 48-74 the rest of the way out and finished well behind the leaders of the pack. The Orioles gained many backers in the early going as they got off to a fast start. The odd thing was that these initial backers, for the most part, continued to stick with Baltimore for the remainder of the season, despite the breakdown the team experienced and as a result, a lot of people lost a lot of money on the Orange birds. These early bandwagon jumpers, in non bandwagon-like fashion, stuck with the Orioles and it ended up costing them as they finished their last 122 games at -31 units. This further emphasizes our point of handicapping individual games and not teams over the course of the season.

The 2005 Baltimore Orioles are the perfect example of why it is vital to do your homework. Pay special attention to trends developing as the season unfolds. Vegas was able to trap plenty of Orioles backers last season, but if you are able to recognize when a team is in a terrible slump, you’ll be able to start betting against them at the right time and you’ll make some nice gains instead of taking huge losses.

The 2006 Orioles have all the makings of a mediocre team. Their pitching staff isn’t good enough to keep them in games consistently. Last season, the Orioles were terrible as a home favorite at just 11-18 against American League ball clubs. Watch to see if a similar trend develops this season. You may be able to take advantage of road underdogs beating up on the O’s at home, especially within their division. A lot of these starters are talented but rough around the edges, maybe Leo Mazzoni will have the effect that Baltimore fans are hoping for and get this staff turned around. Daniel Cabrera and Eric Bedard are both guys who could use some help developing, but Bruce Chen and Rodrigo Lopez have a little bit of experience and should be able to help guide this young staff. The bullpen returns to Jorge Julio, who was the team’s go to guy for three seasons before losing his job to BJ Ryan last year.

In my opinion, Baltimore has a great player in Tejada. His numbers are incredible but they even suffer slightly as sometimes he tries to do too much at the plate to help his team win. Javy Lopez is one of the better catchers in the game and he’ll move to DH this year to make room for newcomer Ramon Hernandez. Last season Melvin Mora really came through with 27 home runs, 88 runs batted in and a .283 batting average. Brian Roberts injuries are a concern for this ball club but if he can regain his early 2005 form, this team will contend in a very tough division, maybe the toughest in baseball. But overall, they just don’t have enough fire power to help out a mediocre pitching unit. Acquisitions like Kevin Millar just don’t do enough to put a team over the top, especially one who has to contend with two of baseball’s best franchises.

This article was written by Jimmy Boyd. Pick up his Baseball Picks here.