Marketing doesn’t always mean buying an ad or posting on social media, it means getting out in the community. “Shaking hands and kissing babies”, it worked for Presidents, why not Professionals. Growing your business takes time and effort. You need to be supporting the audience you intend to build. How do you meet these people? Thinking outside of what you’ve always done, have you thought about Community Events? These are the perfect place to meet locals and introduce your business. Your City usually has events for the holidays, do you know who schedules those events? Why not? Your local Chamber of Commerce hosts events monthly, do you know the Chamber CEO, you should! Make an effort to get involved and get to know the people who may need you or more importantly can refer your business. Get creative for partnerships and collaborations with companies or local events. All of that can happen through relationships you build while networking.
Networking begins by showing up, if you make the effort to introduce yourself and have some business cards handy, you will get invited to more events. Good eye contact, a smile and don’t be afraid to introduce yourself. People are just as nervous at these things as you are most of the time, they will be relieved you started the conversation. Take your business seriously and know what services you offer so you feel comfortable when your new acquaintances ask you. It’s called an elevator speech, have a one-minute commercial for who you are and what you do ready at all times. Write it down, memorize it and understand it, you will recite this over and over until people start coming up to you asking you if your they guy that does (enter your one-minute commercial) Questions? Email me at cyndi@lemkesleverage.com.
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