When you walk into a room at a networking event or a conference do you circle the crowd and find a way to insert yourself into a conversation? Do you stand off to the corner by yourself? Do you know how to “work the room?” If you want to be the center of attention at the next work event or if you want to be in the middle of all of the conversation, here are some things you can do to be the “center of attention”:
Know who you want to meet… then make sure you do.
Set a goal of how many quality people you want to meet. Whether it’s to grow your business team or to connect with as a potential business partner. Make sure you stay at the event until you have reached your goal.
Make it a practice to talk to the one individual who is standing by him or herself. They will welcome it, you will be a hero in their eyes and it just might be the best connection at the event! You’ll never know until you try.
Networking is crucial to growing a thriving business because you can’t work in a vacuum. Take advantage of every event you attend.
Entrepreneurs are faced with myriad start up costs whether it’s renting office space or hiring employees or finding ways to market their business or building a professional team such as a business coach, lawyer or accountant. This could mean a large outlay of cash. What can you do to cut back on some of that outlay?
I have tips for marketing business on a shoe-string budget and these can get you started until you have the money coming in to lay out cash for a more intensive marketing strategy:
Face-to-face networking don’t cost much and can do more than you imagine for growing a business. Why? Because people like to do business with someone they “know, like and trust” and the best way to do that is by getting out of the office and shaking a few hands.
Word of mouth and referrals from current customers don’t cost anything more than the time you spend asking for them. Warm leads are better and easier to close than cold leads.
Share your expertise by writing blog posts or sending out newsletters to your list. Writing about your area of expertise shows potential clients that you’re the expert in your niche. Newsletters not only share your expertise, but keep you front of mind — and in the inbox — of current and potential clients.
Offer free information. While you don’t want to give away the farm, you can give information that is useful to your prospects that gives them a sense of what you do and who you are and leaves them wanting more of what you have to offer.
To get individuals to take a chance on you and to leave a known entity, provide them with a guarantee of your services then exceed their expectations.
Don’t forget that social media is an ideal — and for the most part, free — platform for sharing who you are and what you do with potential clients. Remember, though that the operative word is “social” no one wants to be sold to all the time.
What are your best marketing practices that don’t break the bank?
2015 is fast approaching and it’s the ideal time to make plans for your 2015 networking strategy. Networking events not only help grow your business, but they get you out of the office and meeting new people and exchanging new ideas.
Here are tips to assure your networking efforts bear fruit:
Understand who will be at the events and in which areas they practice to uncover who you might want to meet. Pre-planning means knowing what you hope to accomplish: To collect and pass out business cards? Make meaningful connections?
You don’t want to tell a new connection who you are and what you can do for them (although that is certainly part of it). Instead, ask open ended questions to get to know the other person. When you meet someone for the first time, it should be a give and take conversation. He should give you time to tell who you are and what you do and you should have the opportunity to do the same.
Pay attention when the person is talking. Don’t be scanning the room for the next person you want to speak with.
Mark your calendar now for networking events to attend that will kick your new year off right.
Quick! Who is your ideal customer? If you have to stumble around for an answer, then you need to take a few moments — perhaps longer — to formulate an answer so that you have it front of mind every time you meet a potential client at a networking event or even when you’re out for a cup of coffee at a local restaurant.
Here are some things to consider when thinking of who, and how to reach, your ideal client:
Reach them with a story. Every business owner has a story. What’s yours? Use your story to connect with potential clients and as a way to tell what you do without being overly salesy
What do you do that can keep the attention of a prospect? Do you have unique goods or services? What sets you apart from the competition? Know this and you can determine your ideal client — it’s the person for whom you can address a pain point with your goods or services
Look at your current client base and analyze it. What are the common characteristics they all — or most — share? This could put you on the path of understanding who your ideal client is
Once you know who your potential ideal client is, you can work toward going where they are and amping up your prospecting!
Business owners wear many hats and one of those hats is “Sales Person.” If you dreamed of becoming a business owner and not having to be involved in sales, chances are you received a rude awakening. In business, we are always selling if we want to grow and thrive.
Here are the steps I believe are involved in the life cycle of a sale:
The all important prospecting. If you’re not out meeting people and working to make connections and grow your business, it will perish. You need to go where your ideal clients gather, build relationships and begin the cycle of prospecting.
Identify the needs of the potential client. Remember, it’s not a one size fits all approach. You need to listen to what your potential client has to say, understand his or her pain points and see if you have a solution to them.
The better you understand the issues facing your client, the better you will be able to tailor a solution. You need to delve deep and understand how your mousetrap will help them and how it’s better than the mousetrap they’re using today.
Once you’ve decided to work together, you will need to make a commitment and that will likely involve a contract of understanding. “You will provide me this and I will provide you that.” Make sure everything is transparent so you will have a good working relationship from the onset.
The next time you put on your Sales Person hat, keep these steps in mind.
As we prepare to attend Piscine Global in France, we get to thinking about how to make the most of any conference you’re planning to attend, whether it’s one in your own backyard or one on another continent.
Here are our best tips for making the most of your attendance at a conference:
Spend time with the brochure prior to showing up at the conference site. Print out the brochure or conference schedule. Note which sessions you want to attend, why and what you’re hoping to get out of it. Write questions to prompt yourself to either ask them during the session or to ask them after if the speaker doesn’t address them.
Attend the before and after conference events. Many conferences host breakfasts prior to the sessions opening and these are great for getting to know other attendees. After conference events are also great for mixing and mingling and will likely put you in the same room and within chatting distance of the speakers.
Once you get back from the conference, follow up with the people you met there. Send an email, follow up with a phone call, write a blog post. Don’t let the excitement and the information you gleaned from your conference attendance fade away. Keep it alive by after-conference networking.
What will you do to make sure you get a return on your investment from your next conference attendance?
sessions you want to attend, why and what you’re hoping to get out of it. Write questions to prompt yourself to either ask them during the session or to ask them after if the speaker doesn’t address them.