The Importance of Networking
I rarely post here (for the most part I pop in once a month or so and browse threads) but as someone who subscribes to many "offliner" email lists, and who happens to own an offline agency doing SEO, PPC, and social media, I'm really shocked at the general lack of attention on simple, old-fashioned business networking to gain clients.
Examples:
I know someone who started from scratch doing SEO and last year, in his second year, did $600k simply by showing up at Meetup groups and other local events and telling people what he does - he ranks websites.
On a sales training call last night I learned of another offliner who built a six-figure business in under 90 days, again by showing up at networking events and meeting people.
I have a good friend - another sales author/trainer - who has a $10M+ business. When I asked him how on earth he built it so quickly, he told me that he networked 60 hours a week. Every day of the week he went to a different breakfast networking group, a lunch group, and a happy-hour group. Then he would go to upscale bars at night where business owners hang out, and mingle there. (60 hrs/week is an extreme example, but $10M is an extreme amount of income!!)
Every day my inbox is full of WSOs and other offers about the latest magic key to get new clients without cold calling, but I rarely if ever hear anyone talk about good old fashioned networking, which happens to be the *BEST* way to get new clients in *ANY* business!!!!!!!
If you're not networking, do this right now:
1. Get your clothes in order. Get your suits or dresses fitted if they're not already.
2. If you don't have a good business wardrobe then go somewhere like Nordstrom Rack where you can get high-quality clothes at deep discounts. (If you're already rolling in money, go to Neiman Marcus and buy a few $3,000 hand-made suits that will last a lifetime - I did that between 10-12 years ago and simply have them re-fitted every couple of years.)
3. Get on Meetup's mailing list for your city and start going to events. Subscribe to your local Business Journal or look for events on their website. Join the Chamber of Commerce if you can afford it.
4. Buy a good book on business networking like the "Little Black Book of Connections" by Jeff Gitomer and learn how to network.
5. Always have a ready supply of business cards and be ready to answer the question "what do you do" on a moment's notice. And make it interesting and attractive. Don't say "I do internet marketing for local businesses." Say, "I get your website literally printing money for you."
I can tell you that most of my SEO/PPC business comes by word of mouth which has generally resulted entirely from networking. Believe me, people WANT your offline services, so stop cold calling or looking for the latest "magic key" to get new clients, and get to some networking events and meet people!!!
Examples:
I know someone who started from scratch doing SEO and last year, in his second year, did $600k simply by showing up at Meetup groups and other local events and telling people what he does - he ranks websites.
On a sales training call last night I learned of another offliner who built a six-figure business in under 90 days, again by showing up at networking events and meeting people.
I have a good friend - another sales author/trainer - who has a $10M+ business. When I asked him how on earth he built it so quickly, he told me that he networked 60 hours a week. Every day of the week he went to a different breakfast networking group, a lunch group, and a happy-hour group. Then he would go to upscale bars at night where business owners hang out, and mingle there. (60 hrs/week is an extreme example, but $10M is an extreme amount of income!!)
Every day my inbox is full of WSOs and other offers about the latest magic key to get new clients without cold calling, but I rarely if ever hear anyone talk about good old fashioned networking, which happens to be the *BEST* way to get new clients in *ANY* business!!!!!!!
If you're not networking, do this right now:
1. Get your clothes in order. Get your suits or dresses fitted if they're not already.
2. If you don't have a good business wardrobe then go somewhere like Nordstrom Rack where you can get high-quality clothes at deep discounts. (If you're already rolling in money, go to Neiman Marcus and buy a few $3,000 hand-made suits that will last a lifetime - I did that between 10-12 years ago and simply have them re-fitted every couple of years.)
3. Get on Meetup's mailing list for your city and start going to events. Subscribe to your local Business Journal or look for events on their website. Join the Chamber of Commerce if you can afford it.
4. Buy a good book on business networking like the "Little Black Book of Connections" by Jeff Gitomer and learn how to network.
5. Always have a ready supply of business cards and be ready to answer the question "what do you do" on a moment's notice. And make it interesting and attractive. Don't say "I do internet marketing for local businesses." Say, "I get your website literally printing money for you."
I can tell you that most of my SEO/PPC business comes by word of mouth which has generally resulted entirely from networking. Believe me, people WANT your offline services, so stop cold calling or looking for the latest "magic key" to get new clients, and get to some networking events and meet people!!!
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