Business networking to generate leads requires a long-term commitment.
But business networking that is consistent helps generate new referrals and leads. Business owner May Hui discovered this with her business which is in its 3rd year. She's the founder of Catch Matchmaking, a Los Angeles-based company that connects single professionals.
May is pictured on the right with co-founder Katie Chen.
May told me that one ingredient for networking success is staying in touch with contacts:"Building relationships with everyone we touch everyday is vital. We do our best to be consistent at our networking functions so we are "top of mind" when a contact comes across a single person. "We do a great job with getting to know someone outside of the networking environment as well, taking the time to have coffee or exchanging information with them. "Another key reason for business success: using social media to keep in touch with the younger generations. Text messaging is very helpful to expedite communication with our clients and eventually generate referrals from friends and family."Click here for a
related post on business networking.
Business networking requires a long-term commitment and focus.
Business networking is important as I learned again this morning while at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce referral breakfast.
During a group exercise on "How are your partnerships building your business?" one member, Walt Whitney, shared how he spent $ 1,200 on a networking group for one year. He didn't receive any direct referrals from the group. Then he went to breakfast with one of the members who is a financial planner. She brought along another financial planner and then they introduced Walt to someone else. It was that connection who introduced Walt to 3 clients!Walt diagrammed how the business networking proceeded. He drew about 5 circles before he actually met the client.Here are other lessons on business networking I picked up from the LA Chamber meeting:- Business networking is a long-term proposition (6 months to 12 months for some businesses)
- Build relationships before expecting business results
- Ask others about their business needs - don't just talk about yourself
- Actively network others and you'll be seen as a "go to" resource
- Be clear about the type of client or customer you're seeking
I recently did an interview with May Hui, the founder of Catch Matchmaking and she said business networking consistently allows her to stay in the top of the minds of contacts who have the potential to refer new business.Click here to read the full interview with May Hui of Catch Matchmaking.Business networking is a viable way to generate qualified leads and find new business. But it will take time and it will take a commitment to stay within a networking group.
Click here for a related post on business networking and remaining consistent.
Business networking -- does it really help to win new business? Or is it just a time intensive way of handing out business cards with the hope that someone will call you?Let me give you an example of a networking event that produced two new web projects for a client of mine and may result in additional ones in the months ahead.In December of '07, I attended an early morning seminar on doing business in the Hispanic market at a local television studio in Van Nuys. KFWB-AM and Washington Mutual were sponsoring the seminar. I grabbed my coffee, a bagel and walked through the crowd chatting and shaking hands.I caught the attention of one person who gave me his card, I briefly explained what my client did in web development. He mentioned he was on the board of directors of a non-profit and they needed their web site revised. We went on. I stayed in touch with him through January and in February I was in touch with a woman who was heading up the project. I connected her with my client with whom I worked on putting together a proposal.By March, they had the project. The non-profit was for a corporate organization that helps people advance in their careers.That proposal led to a second proposal with an engineering firm that needed their web site overhauled. That project was awarded in July.Both projects totalled about $ 20,000. Not bad for an initial 1-minute conversation.A third project may come in the next month or two.Follow-up was required in order to make both projects happen.Marketing author Dan Kennedy says "everyone can show up once." I heard him speak a few months back in Anaheim. He said the secret to doing business in a slow economy is to consistently follow-up.Do you do a good job of showing up at business networking events? If so, great.But how is your follow-up? Do you have a consistent way to follow-up new leads not just one or two times . . . but five, six and seven times? Or more?If not, find ways to make follow-up happen.I'll be exploring this in the weeks ahead and will post on effective ways to follow-up with new business leads to make business networking more effective.
