Everyone knows networking is important to building a business; however, it takes more than just attending a few network meetings to do the trick. Now don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you join and attend a ton of networking groups, although I do recommend attending a few quality groups each month. What I’m going to suggest are effective and inexpensive networking tips to grow and strengthen your business relationships. Several years ago when I worked for a high profile attorney in Dallas, I discovered how crucial networking is to attaining, retaining and growing a business, especially for service providers. The lessons I learned from this networking master were simple yet very valuable. For starters, any time this man met or had an appointment with anyone, he would come back with notes scrawled on a notepad about the person. On those notes were the names of spouses, kids, the kids’ ages, birthdays, anniversaries, places the person grew up, favorite vacation spots, hobbies, anything he was able to draw out in conversation. The key here is that he talked to people on a personal level showing genuine interest. He engaged conversation with them as a person rather than a business prospect. Then all of that information went into his Outlook contacts. Important dates were set in the calendaring system for reminders. For example, when a birthday or anniversary was about to come up, Outlook would remind him and he would send a card or personal note to that person. The main objective was to keep relationships alive and his name on their minds. Another great networking strategy he used was to clip a newspaper or magazine article relevant to someone’s business or personal interests. He would write a short note on the article and send it out in the mail. No fancy letter enclosed, just a short note to let the person know he was thinking of them. E-mail articles can be sent also but won’t have the personal feel of something mailed. Here are a few other networking ideas to consider: • Follow-up after every new contact with a short e-mail or letter letting them know you enjoyed meeting them. • Serve as a board member or volunteer for charities. • Attend charity events or make donations from your business. • If budget allows send chocolates, a bottle of wine or flowers to important clients on their birthdays. • Have small toys or books on hand to give clients’ children when they visit. • Host casual wine tastings at your home or office for existing clients. Setting up a system of continued contact will make the job much easier. Over time, these strategies will pay off with the rewards of better client retention, enhanced business image and referrals of new clients.
Article Source: http://bizymoms.com/business
Beverly Ambrosio is a Personal and Business Coach for Women, Certified NLP Practitioner, entrepreneur, author and speaker known for her "goals to results" coaching. Beverly specializes in business growth, strategic planning, and internet marketing. To learn how you can begin coaching with Beverly, visit www.coachbeverly.com today.