Many otherwise outgoing professionals are hesitant about using networking events to attract new business to them. They feel self-conscious about joining a room of strangers and uncertain how to 'sell' their business to others.
Networking, however, is not about selling what you do to others and remembering this, makes attending such events much more comfortable for the life, business or executive coach looking to grow their business. It's not about who can help you but who you can help.
You can find my first five networking tips here. So now let's take a look at our remaining five effective business networking tips:
1. When you find a regular business network that you know is the right match for you and your coaching business, give strong consideration to helping out or joining the organising committee. This will raise your profile in the group, give you increased exposure to the regular members and put you in pole position for speaking or other business opportunities.
2. Become a match-maker -- think creatively and remember what other members have told you about their business and who their ideal client is. Perhaps you can make new introductions between people in similar or complementary businesses or even link a potential client with another small business owner; both of them will love you for it.
3. How can you continue to build relationships in between meetings? Suggest meeting for coffee as many business owners will be just like you -- looking to extend their contact base and delighted to get an opportunity to get to know you better. Alternatively, if you are time-pressed, ring and say "it was great to meet you the other day, do you have a few minutes now? I'd love to find out a bit more about your business so I can recommend you to others." This then gives you the same chance to share more about your business and the type of clients you are looking for.
4. Be on the look-out for useful resources for fellow members. Whether it's a newspaper article, a website or a book recommendation, email or pick up the phone and share it with someone else. They will remember how helpful you were and keep you to the forefront of their mind should they or one of their contacts be in need of a coach.
5. How else can you become memorable to others? This could be an aspect of your image, like always wearing a particular colour. It might be your business card that includes an inspiring quotation or poem. It could be your strap-line that is fun, punchy or just a little provocative.
Remember, people can usually sniff out insincerity quite easily and you will achieve far more effective long-term success at network events if you work to build genuine rapport with others rather than selfishly trying to convince others how great you are!
No-one likes a hard sell and those coaches who are anything less than professional sales people, can take heart that when it comes to networking, "givers gain." With this in mind, you can approach your next networking event with the confidence of knowing you have at your disposal the perfect opportunity to optimise and increase your client base.
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