5 Ways to Increase Business Through Networking

So you have decided to join an organization that promotes networking as a key benefit to increasing your business. Great, now you can sit back and watch your business grow, right? WRONG!!!

Networking is no different than any other advertising your business may choose to do. Though many people don't consider "networking" to be advertising it has the same basic criteria of any advertising medium, trading time or money to generate a positive return on investment for your business.

Is there a magical formula that will guarantee results? No. But here are 5 ways our clients have increased business using networking to generate more clients and more cash:

1) What's Your Story?

I don't mean your life story. What I mean is what is your business story in 30 seconds or less? More explicitly, what is your story, how well do you tell it, and how easy it is to duplicate.

The objective of the story is to make the audience go "wow" or "tell me more". For example, do you remember Domino's story? "Piping hot pizza delivered to your door in under 30-minutes or its yours for free". Granted the wording may not be exact but the message is identical and we all remember it. This is a great story, in less than 10-seconds you know exactly what the Domino's person does and the benefit to you.

The power of any story is that your prospects may not be "in the market" for your products or services today, but if the story is compelling enough it will be remembered when the person enters the market. Or, just as important, they many know somebody else in the market for your products or services and be able to retell your story.

Although this article will not show you how to write a compelling 30-second story, that is a future article, for now just think critically about your story. Is itcompelling enough that if somebody approached you about your business, they would say "wow" or "tell me more"?

2) Get Involved

In most organizations there are many ways outside of the networking functions to get involved. Involvement is critical to having any type of success. For example, Chamber members are encouraged to participate in committees, breakfasts, after-hours, etc. which are all powerful ways to increase your exposure. Participating in these types of functions allows you to meet business contacts on a more personal level. Although participation in these events do not necessarily mean they are a platform to talk about your business, they inevitably lead to the question of "what is your story?" or "what do you do?". And we all know what to do there.

3) Let People Know How to Refer Your Business

Example: You are at a networking function, telling your story, and handing out your business cards like crazy. The evening is going great, and you are making some great contacts. But what happens when everybody goes home for the night?

Let's face it, unless you collect business cards as a hobby, most people collect their business cards with the intention of following up, impressed by some of the businesses and what they do. Like clockwork though they get busy in their business and forget the pile. Eventually the business cards end up in the trash and when your prospect is "in the market" for your products or services again they are stuck trying to remember "who was that person again?" or "what was their number?"

Just as important as telling people your story is telling your prospects where to find it again along with your contact information. Most of us cannot remember more than 20 phone numbers by heart, maybe 20 web site URLs and typically no more than 60 names, which means we need to trigger the memory with an association between your business and something that is easy to remember.

Try adding to your story your version of "when you are in the market for my products or services you can find my story and business information Here. 'Here' could be a trade directory, Yellow Pages directory, newspapers, search engines, or any medium where it is always easy to find you. Basically you need to pick a recognized source where prospects can find your story and contact information 365 days a year. This gives the individual an association between the medium they know and your story, and makes it easier to commit to longer-term memory. It also makes it easier for them to refer your business to other individuals they know who may be interested in your products or services.

4) The Power of Questions

Before attending a networking event review your power questions. We all go to a networking event for a specific reason. In your case, what is that reason and what are the questions that will help you accomplish that goal? Its is too easy and too broad to say you want to meet other people or try and drum up business. What is your real purpose for attending an event?

Example: Your may be in the business of selling supplies to companies and you want to meet 1 business throughout the evening that you can present to in the coming week. Before going to the event, review your story and review your power questions. The key to the power questions is make them all about the person you are talking to and chosen to extract information that will help you get closer to your goal. This will help you identify potential prospects as being able to achieve your short-term goal, 1 presentation in the next week, as well as your long-term goal, meeting more people, more potential prospects, and more referrals.

Consider the short-term reason for attending a networking event and the long-term reason and decide what information you need to be actionable. In future articles we will go deeper into power questions and how to structure them to make they all about the person you are talking to while still giving you actionable information.

5) Attend Events When Feeling Good

The reality is that networking events are socials with a business element attached to them. Part of the magic of networking is the ability to learn more about a person than just their business. Just as business owners want to surround themselves with successful business owners, they also want to surround themselves with people who will make them feel good.

If before you go to an event you are in a really bad mood, or totally stressed out, change your attitude or DON'T GO. You are not doing anybody a favor including your business.

You should only attend any networking event when you are in the right frame of mind. Feel good about yourself, your business, and really want to meet and bond with people who you may be able to help and who may be able to help you. The minute you walk through the room, people will sense this and will want to talk to you. If you enter a room overstressed, upset, or just plain grumpy, people will sense this as well and stay away from you.

Summary

As one component to an overall marketing strategy, networking is a great way to meet new people and generate more clients and more cash for your business. However, attending networking events without a plan and strategy is like making cold-calls; if you make enough of them eventually you will get a sale, but that doesn't mean it was necessarily a good use of your time. The above are just 5 ways to strategically look at networking events. By no means is this list complete, however, there are many other tips and strategies that can work as well.

I look forward to hearing your tips and successes and see you at future network events. Keep growing your business.

This article was provided by Darby Sieben, President of KS2 Solutions.
KS2's Mission is to help your business control and measure the effectiveness of your online presence.

Article reproduced with permission.