Network Marketing...
In the B2B space the best way to market yourself, your business, your product or service is face-to-face and one of the best ways I have found is by Networking.
The cost is minimal when you consider the ROI and you might spend $20-$30 on breakfast to attend a particular networking event, it's usually an early start and sometimes the cold, rain and wind outside makes us think twice about leaving our warm beds - what if you get one prospect from this meeting...?
As an SMB, entrepreneur and even a large business of course, we can all do with networking; it is the 'pressing of the flesh' during a handshake, the eye to eye contact, the human touch and all those inuinces that are attached to dealing with someone in person. We get to see what people are really like, twitches, shifty eyes, smiles, bad/good hair and we also get a better impression as to whether we can trust the person or not.
From a personal perspective I attend 2-3 different networking groups in different areas with different professions attached to these groups and I am currently in the early stages of starting up my own networking group as I believe there is a need for it ( more on this at a later date).
The whole idea of networking is around creating and building relationships, let's be honest, we all crave relationships whether these are personal, business, friendships and all types of relationships - we thrive on these as humans. With this in mind don't expect to become someone's BBFF (Best Business Friend forever) on your first/second or third meeting - it requires getting to know people, chatting, discussing, seeing what make s them tick ( and they'll be doing the same me with you), it's building trust. It all revolves around trust; none of us would recommend anyone we have only just met to another client to provide a service, after all, it's our reputation as a trustworthy professional we are putting on the line.
There are a multitude of networking groups around just waiting for you to become a member, if you need help finding one let me know and I'll try and connect you if I can. When attending a networking group for the first time remember that everyone there is after the same thing, making connections, building relationships, obtaining and receiving referrals (eventually) so be prepared. Get your pitch right before you go, have business cards with you, make sure you know what you want people to know you for and what your business/product/service is about. Also, let the group know that you don't know how the group works and that it would be helpful for someone to steer you in the right direction - there is always someone willing to help new members.
As I mention above there are many networking groups around and with these many variations of course! hence why it's always a good idea for an existing member to show you the ropes. This way there are no misconceptions on what's expected of you as a member of this particular group. Some groups are free to join, some have an annual fee, some are on a monthly fee basis and others can be any of these with a joining fee attached to it as well. In addition to the fees there might also be a quota on meetings with other members of the group, introductions to group members, number of referrals per month, etc. The list can be quite extensive on types of groups available and some of these groups can be very strict with their rules so make sure you know what you are in for to begin with before you join.
Click here for some more on network groups and marketing which I found during my research for this article - happy hunting and remember that comments are welcome...