With millions of people out of work and those with businesses struggling to hang on, the question becomes…
When does looking for work get in the way of working?
For today’s business person, talking with people and networking with other business people is becoming more of the normal business day where as before it was only about 10% of a business week.
Unfortunately, to frequently take the time to go out and meet with people it is certain that the day to day operations of the business is going to drop. The extra time it is taking to go to a ‘watery egg breakfasts’ and ‘rubber chicken luncheon’ business networking gatherings can be anti-productive.
So how do you go about marketing your business so you can go back to keeping the business’ operations ready to take on the next project?
The answer is found in how you are networking and where you are networking.
There is no way around the business need every business has to meet with real live people in order to market your business. However, why talk to complete strangers? Why not talk to the people you have formed a business relationship?
Use A More Productive Ways to Market Your Business.
Over 80% of the business people I surveyed seldom go back to previous customers or clients to visit with them on the possibility of developing more business. Studies show meeting clients or vendors to put the word out that you are looking for more business will produce a 10% increase in business. That is over 90% better than what the time spent at a business networking gathering will produce.
So Why aren’t more businesses visiting with their clients about doing more business?
- 30% feel it shows a sign of weakness to go back to a customer to visit for any reason.
- 40% feel asking a customer to pass the word that your are open for more business is a sign of failure.
- And the remaining 20% have reasons like they have lost touch or have already sapped their previous customers too much for leads for business when the economy was good.
Build an Internal Business Network
Going to a customer to visit with them in an effort to build a strong business relationship will also build a strong business network. Taking this action would not be nearly as traumatic if it had been part of the business’ operations from the beginning.
Having a regular or periodic scheduled time to visit your customers is far more productive on a number of levels than going to a business networking function to handout business cards that eventually turn into trash.
If you were to poll your clients you would find that over 40% of them would be interested in attending a business networking gathering of your other business’ clients if:
- There was a healthy activity involved
- A learning or experience sharing session included
- An opportunity to build other business relationships
What Business Networking Function Produces More Business
One of the activities I have found that builds the best business relationships is Business Golf.
What is Business Golf. I have defined it as a purposeful round of golf that incorporates the casualness of a social round of golf with a formal discussion of business opportunities afterwards.
Taking your customer out for a round of golf gives you plenty of time to get your message across while finding out how their business is doing…of course all this is done after the golf and not during the golf.
What about the non-golfing customers?
I have the the non-golfers join me and the golfing customers after the golf. We have group sharing session so everyone can network with more than one customer at a time..and they can network with other business people.
But you say..I don’t want my customers to mingle with each other…my questions then is… WHY?
There really is no excuse when it comes time to doing business or networking with previous customers or clients. At the very least it is a professional courtesy to your clients for being a customer of yours.
So, take advantage of the closest business network you have and take them out for the day for a round of business golf..and then get back to work.
Let me know how I can help.
