Get More Clients Networking

Most of the small business owners I know (and I know a lot
of them) are not really happy with the return they get from
their networking. They keep going because there is a
positive return, but they want more. There are easy
actions you can take to improve your return!

One of the most important things to remember for most small
business owners is NOT to sell your product/service at the
meeting. You're selling the appointment! For example, I
give a fr'ee coaching session - that's what I focus on
selling at the meeting. If you have a Mary Kay business,
you are selling the fr'ee facial. Perhaps you are trying
to build your list for your email newsletter, in which case
you are selling the fr'ee newsletter. Find a way for
people to sample your product, and 'sell' the sales meeting
- whatever form that takes.

Before you even enter the room, set an intention. What do
you expect to gain at this meeting? Collect business cards
from 4 potential strategic alliance partners, make 2 sales
meeting appointments, give out samples to 12 potential
clients, collect 6 email addresses - these are only a few
possible examples of clear intentions.

Many networkers have been trained to network further with
others by meeting for coffee or lunch to build a closer
relationship. This activity is great - in concept. In
reality, you mostly waste a lot of time meeting with people
who never hire you or refer business to you. A better use
of your time is to get together with 2 or 3 strategically
selected people for coffee or lunch.

Two groups in my area regularly set up these meetings, and
they have been extremely fruitful to me. There are rules
to these meetings, however, and following these rules will
yield far better results. Here are the rules as I see them:
1. Don't say you are interested in the meeting if you
really don't want to go.
2. Be on time.
3. Have a thorough understanding of your business and be
dedicated to making a profit. If your business is merely a
hobby, that's fine, but this isn't the meeting for you.
4. Listen. Nobody wants you to monopolize the conversation
- give everyone her fair share of the time.
5. Focus on business. Spend 5-10 minutes bonding and
connecting by discussing food, kids or sports, then move
right into business.
6. Have some idea of who your target market is. It will be
very difficult for the other participants to refer business
to you if you don't tell them who you want.

One more thing that will make your investment in networking
go further is to keep showing up! The reason networking
works for so many people is that they build relationships,
and because of the trust built in these relationships, the
referrals flow. You may know about leads groups like LeTip
and BNI - they work because the members get to know each
other very well through repeated exposure at weekly
meetings.

Bottom line: Don't push your product at networking
meetings, have reasonable, clear expectations and build
relationships.

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Audrey Burton, Small Business Coach, is "The Tigress". Get
her FREE Special Report, "Closing the Sale is Not
Complicated!" and her FREE monthly email newsletter at
http://www.TigressCoaching.com .