I
t's been an interesting week, revisiting mini-articles from my Ezine 'Competitive Advantage'.
Today I heard about a networking group that has closed because attendance numbers were too low. I'm sure there will be others who struggle to survive. Some groups are all about referrals, some are supportive and others are more social in their approach. It isn't feasible to belong to them all so decide which are best for you and your business and give them your loyalty.
Attend them regularly and really get to know your fellow members. If networking is to continue to be as powerful a marketing technique as it has become in recent years, then each group will have to be nurtured by its members.
I belong to several groups on Facebook. Some of them bombard me with messages, some try to 'upsell' me to buy a paid service and others are as quiet as the grave. I know it's difficult to please everyone, but a regular update at reasonable intervals will keep members interested.
This is the last part of my look at whether 'traditional' networking techniques also work with the latest online or social networking media. I believe that, for the most part, they do. Whether face to face networking between small business owners will ever beat online - and result in more sales more quickly - I don't think so.
While it may be possible to meet many more people online and in a much shorter time period, the key to successful sales will always be to build relationships - and that takes time and effort.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's posts - and would really love to hear your comments.
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nce again, I found an article from a back-issue of my Ezine to include on this topic.
If you network regularly and visit the same groups, you’ll probably see the same people quite often. Not only is this a good opportunity to build on relationships, but you can expand on your original introduction. Talking about success stories or projects you’re currently involved in may bring to mind people they know who could be facing similar challenges.
If you go to ‘Speed Networking’ events, you often get 2 or 3 minutes to talk about your business, so it’s worth having a few case studies to reinforce your message.
But, as I’ve said many times, these conversations aren’t just about you. Encourage the people you speak with to tell you more about what they do. Have some questions prepared – ask them how they’ve been getting on since you last met and think about who you know who may be a good contact for them.
While it’s nice to speak to people you’ve met before, don’t forget to make time to introduce yourself to new contacts too!
Networking online involves joining groups too and, because of common interests, you get to know the members quite well. I do enjoy being able to meet so many new people, with such diverse talents, although I've been quite taken aback by the amount of blatant advertising in posts by people I've only just met!
There are many similarities for both online and offline networking here.
T
his is the second part of my investigation as to whether offline networking techniques will also work for online social networking. For this exercise I'm looking at some mini-articles I originally wrote about networking for my ezine 'Competitive Advantage'.
Choosing which networking events to go to can be tricky – and trying to get to them all would take you away from your business for too long, especially once you factor in preparation and travelling time.
Look through your invitations carefully. Are the events where your potential clients are likely to be found? Do you believe you could meet useful contacts there? Be selective. Once you’ve identified networks that meet the criteria, put future meeting dates in your diary so that your business gets lots of exposure by showing up regularly and you build long term, mutually beneficial relationships.
With online networking, it's just as important to know where you're going to find the contacts you most want to meet. While you don't have travel time to consider, it can be all too easy to spend more time than you can really spare on social networking sites!
I think this works offline and online - what do you think?
This week I've been asked to give a talk on effective networking at a Southern Entrepreneurs event in Havant on Wednesday evening. I'd love to see you there if you're in the area!
I started holding workshops to help small business owners network more effectively back in 2004. With so much emphasis now on online networking (via Facebook, Twitter, Ecademy, LinkedIn, etc), I thought that this week I'd take a look at some of the offline techniques I teach and see if they apply online as well.
At one my workshops, we discussed how to come up with an attention-grabbing opening statement, in answer to the question “What do you do”?. Speaking to a delegate after the workshop, she asked me why I recommended to focus first on the problem and not on the solution.
It’s all a matter of thinking about what motivates people. Some people are motivated towards pleasure or reward but even more are motivated away from pain or discomfort so that’s where you need to start.
The response you want is for someone to say “That sounds interesting, tell me more.” Or “How do you do that?”. Then you move on to talk about the solution you can provide (not the process).
You can use these motivators in your one-minute pitches too. First highlight the problem your typical clients have and then tell them how wonderful things will be with your solution. This is a really strong combination of motivators that will resonate with people who are in the market for what you offer.
I think this one passes the 'offline and online' test - what do you think?
It's been an interesting week, revisiting mini-articles from my Ezine 'Competitive Advantage'.
