Networking to grow your business

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or are just getting started in your business, networking can be an affordable and effective way to market yourself.

The basic premise of networking is that you meet with a group of  like minded business owners to learn more about them while they learn about you – and see if your products or services are a good fit for them or someone they know. Your local Chamber of Commerce, trade shows, seminars, and anywhere your ideal prospects hang out are all good opportunities for networking – and many towns have dedicated networking groups like LeTip or BNI that meet on a regular basis.

Remember though that with networking, it’s usually most effective to try to capture contacts and leads than to try to close a sale on the spot, so get your elevator speech ready and have plenty of business cards on hand. It’s really best to focus on your prospects and get their business cards instead of trying to thrust your card into the hands of everyone you meet.

Bob Burg’s book “Endless Referrals” is an excellent guide to making the most of networking events and will show you how to get more referrals for your business no matter what you do.

If your town doesn’t already have a networking group that you can join, consider starting one of your own! A networking group can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be, but at it’s most basic all you need to get started is a small group of business owners who want to grow their businesses and a place to meet. Make a short list of say 10 local business owners that you’d like most to network with and either call or mail them an invite to your group, and ask them to invite 5 or 10 business owners that they think highly of.

Most groups that I’m aware of either meet in a conference room at a local hotel (some chambers of commerce have meeting rooms available for their members) or at a local restaurant that has a private room available for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Chances are good you can negotiate a discount on the food you order since you’ll be providing the restaurant with a small group meeting on a regular basis, and each member can pay for their own meal at the time of your get together.

From what I’ve seen, most successful networking groups allow only one type of each business in so they all get more or less equal exposure, but if you’re the organizer of a group like this – you get the most exposure as the leader.

Whether you attend just one networking function, join a local group or start your own – networking can be an effective way to grow your business with just a small investment of time each week.

Have you attended any networking meetings or are you currently part of a networking group? Let me know about your experiences and how well they’ve worked to help you grow your business.

Photo Credit:  Teamwork and team spirit from Yuri Arcurs Website