How Local Networking...

[admin]

Can Help Your Business Succeed

Social networking on the Web is all the rage these days, and rightfully so,it is effective and produces great results for promoting your business. There is another kind of networking that can help you gain customers and generate sales too: face-to-face networking. These local networking groups meet regularly in many communities, and they generate dozens of referrals for their members at each meeting, that often turn into sales. Here’s how to get the most out of a networking group.

. Find out which groups meet in your area. There are several large networking organizations with local chapters. Leads is one, and The Original Power Network Lunch is another. You can find more of them in your local Yellow Pages, Wqmag.com's Calender/Events or by doing a search on the Web. Contact them to find out where and when they meet in your area. Most groups like this meet for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at local restaurants, usually once a week.

. Contact them, and attend a meeting as a guest. Contact the local chapter in your area and ask if you can attend a meeting as a guest. Most will welcome you, although they may tell you that their membership quota is full right now. If that’s the case, ask if they can refer you to a chapter that is still accepting members. The other issue is that most networking groups only allow one person from each profession or industry to join (e.g., one attorney, one accountant, one electrician, one plumber), to avoid problems with members competing against each other for business. If you’re a plumber and the group you’re contacting already has a plumber as a member, you won’t be allowed to join.

. Take business cards with you. When you attend a meeting, even as a guest, take business cards with you. You won’t be allowed to solicit business as a guest, but other members may ask for your card, and you could get some business down the road from this.

. Follow up on all leads. Follow up on any referrals you get during a meeting without delay. Members will often tell their friends or customers that they have referred you to them, so if you don’t contact the referral in a timely manner you’ll make the member look bad. Besides, it’s always better to strike when the iron is hot – you’ll get more business if you contact those referrals quickly.

. If it seems right, join. If the group seems active, and there are lots of referrals being passed around at the meeting, and if you won’t be directly competing with another member, join the group. The membership fees are not that much, and you can always write them off as a business expense.

. Be an active member. Networking groups are only as successful as their members make them. To have a dynamic, successful group, you need to be a dynamic member. Attend every meeting, and always try to give out as many referrals as you can. By helping other members, you’ll get more business for yourself.

Although online networking is very important, don’t neglect the old-fashioned kind – face-to-face. Joining a local business networking group can be one of the best things you ever did for your company’s bottom line!

By John McD

[Wendy Aronson Moore]

I love my social networking, but there is no substitute for face to face marketing. I joined LEADS about 12 years ago and increased my retail sales 80% in 3 months and continue to find it is the most effective, least expensive marketing option for my wellness/weight loss business.

Through 2009 LEADS Club has a New Member Joining Incentive - full details available on www.LeadsFL.com or you can contact me to check availability of your category - [e-mail].