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Like it or not networking is an important component of growing a small business. Unless you are in a position to hire someone to do it for you, you’re on your own to build rapport and share information about your business. Meeting people and growing your community, is a critical ingredient in lead generation and ultimately the success of your business. Dale Carnegie said, “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing” and yet, raise your hand if you HATE networking. (I don’t have to see you to know you’re raising your hand!)
Things are changing. Traditional networking at the after-work business suit mixer still exists, and can be fun and beneficial (for some), but let’s face it, it’s a lot more difficult to win people over with your charming personality and amazing product or service if it’s written all over your face that you don’t want to be there.
Luckily there are so many other ways to make connections and grow your community. Let’s talk about a few of them. I’m going to assume that you have a well defined target market here, if you don’t, you should totally check out Melissa’s blog Why Your Marketing Message Must Matter to Your Target Market
Meeting people and growing your community, is a critical ingredient in lead generation and ultimately the success of your business. #networking #smallbusiness @fesykmarketing Share on XHere are five ways to make networking easy and fun.
Find Your Tribe
We live in a world with so many new and innovative ways to find people. Your local chamber of commerce is probably the most traditional way to network and meet new people to do business with. However, there are so many other types of organizations that are designed to help business owners find each other. These days there really is something for everyone.
Even in smaller cities you can find networking groups for singles, couples, women, LGBTQ, Mexicans, French speakers, foodies, board game lovers… the list is endless. Type in any of the words above (or your preferred segment of the community) and networking opportunities on Google and you’ll see a nice list of opportunities to meet new people.
Online tools like Meetup.com and Eventbrite.com also make it relatively easy to find these smaller niche groups. If you find the right group of people to network with, size doesn’t really matter. It will be the quality of the connections you make that will help you grow your business. Remember – the stronger relationships you have, the easier it is to rely on your network to help you market your business.
Volunteer
Anyone who has spent time volunteering knows the rewards of giving back. Volunteering creates new opportunities to meet people and meeting new people provides the chance to grow your network. Choose the beneficiary of your time well and you will not only feel great about what you are giving your time to, but you will give yourself a chance to meet new people and grow your business in your down time.
There are loads of volunteer matching organizations online and most cities have a hotline you can call for assistance. Type in kids, animals, seniors, sports etc. and volunteer opportunities and you’ll be on your way.
Go Online
If meeting people really isn’t your thing and your product or service can be shipped or provided outside of your city then the Internet is a great way to get connected with your target market. Go to Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other platform and type in the group you want to reach. You can find large numbers of people in even the most niche areas. Many businesses have Facebook Pages create special opportunities to network online. Twitter parties operate in a similar way. Online networking is more of a long game when it comes to meeting people and building relationships if you are selling a service but it can still be incredibly effective. Especially if talking to people in person is the opposite of fun for you.
Find Your Wing Person
Do you have a friend who loves to network? Do you have a friend who hates to network but loves you enough to chat people up at networking events? Take the intimidation out of walking into a room of p
eople alone, by bringing a friend along. Perhaps you can help them talk about their business with new people while they talk about yours. It’s almost always a little easier to approach people when you know the person beside you has your back.
Just Meet People
Go to a party, go to the park, go to the gym, join a team, work at a coffee shop for the day and be open to meeting new people. Your amazing product or service is a natural thing to talk about when you meet new people. If you know how to find people that will be interested in what you’re selling it becomes even easier!
I like to look at networking as an opportunity to make new friends. I realize this doesn’t appeal to everyone, but with this approach it becomes easier to find your tribe. Even if it’s at an event you really don’t want to attend.
In closing, it’s really important to define fun for yourself. If it’s hanging out at home alone with a good book, then perhaps an online book club of readers who like something related to your niche product or service might be a great opportunity for you to meet like-minded people. Once you know what you enjoy doing it will be far easier to create fun opportunities to promote yourself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elissa Fesyk
Elissa Fesyk has spent the last 25 years creating an amazing career in marketing and events by having fun, networking and building lasting relationships. Learn more at FesykConsulting.com