Are you frustrated with the results you’ve been seeing from traditional live networking events? Well, did you know if you run a strong online campaign that will help you convert more prospects who you meet offline? That way, the people you do meet face to face at live networking events have many ways to stay connected with you and to learn more about your area of expertise.
Here are 5 key ways to help you double your networking results:
1.) Make sure you’re networking with your target market or referral partners
If you want to double your networking results, the first thing to check is to make sure you’re not fishing in the wrong pond! There are hundreds of different networking events and opportunities you could spend your time attending. But, that does not mean that they are necessarily the right crowds for you. Seek first networking groups and events that attract a higher percentage of attendees who do fall in your ideal target market profile. It’s much harder to get the visibility you want in a group that is diluted with too many people who are NOT your target market.
2.) Build a great content site
The first place people often visit is your website. If you have a website, (which everyone should!) make sure to fill it with useful content versus simply filling it with pages of features and benefits. Whether you sell a product or a service there are lots of ways you can educate your target market in the area of what you do for customers. The more you can educate, the more you can build your expertise. Building your expertise is the quickest way to garner their trust and confidence in you and your company.
3.) Share your video links
Often times at business card exchanges and other live networking events, people do have a hard time remembering names to faces. So, a great way to stay top of mind and in their long term memory is to follow up right away with a video message. This will not only re-engage them with you, but you can go even further and educate them more on what you do and who you help.
A video site such as YouTube helps to spread your message even faster. Additionally, since people will see you, your brand, a video and audio – it gives it more authenticity and character because there is a human factor. Keep your eye out for independent directors or people that just want experience. You can get some good work done for a reasonable price. And it will give your business the exposure it needs.
4.) Connect your live networking onto Social Networking
A great way to follow up with your live networking contacts is to invite them to connect with you right away on the social networking sites. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are excellent ways to stay directly in touch with your clientele. You’ll be able to send out daily or weekly messages, useful tips, and really get a read on what type of content they like to see on a regular basis.
Additionally, they can like, share, or retweet your content. Using a service like Hootsuite will save you a lot of time because you can combine all these networks into one and plan out different times you will post a link from your online business. This is a great way to capture the times people are really social on your timeline.
5.) Invite your networks to subscribe to your Email list
Getting more people to subscribe to your email list allows you to build a relationship with them over time. It allows them to learn more from you and your expertise. These are the people that believe in your brand. Sending out freebies or genuinely engaging with the readers helps to build long term revenue from the people on your list both directly and indirectly when they refer you to their contacts.
There are great services like AWeber or MailChimp that help to send out messages, newsletters and more to gain more subscribers. These subscribers will usually bite the information you send out and this generates into sales. This way you don’t have to worry about posting every day and keeping engaged with your readers. You can plan ahead of time using tips from others that correlate to your specific business to draw in your loyal leads.
People ask me all the time for great networking groups they can get involved in. In the Greater Phila area I would highly recommend 2 of the groups I belong to:
1.) The Entrepreneur Forum of Greater Phila. http://www.efgp.org and
2.) Letip http://www.letipofdoylestown.com
Please share your suggestions on what networking tips have worked well for you below in the comment section or here.
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Here’s to Your Networking Success!
Business Growth Expert, Yoon Cannon has helped hundreds of CEO’s, Entrepreneurs & small business owners gain dramatic results in your sales, marketing & strategic planning. Yoon’s mission is to encourage, equip and empower Entrepreneurs, so you can accelerate explosive business growth!
Having started, built (and sold) 3 other companies, Yoon offers a fresh, outside perspective from a seasoned entrepreneur. Yoon’s clients represent B2B, Direct Sales industry, Family-Run Businesses, Franchises, Healthcare/BioTech, Law Firms, Manufacturing & Small Business Owners.
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