Networking and the Entrepreneur…We Must Work the Room

As an entrepreneur, I carefully execute my marketing and promotional strategies due to budget and time constraints. Besides email campaigns, select direct mail, cold calls, and ‘free’ publicity, my other source for getting the word out about my business is through networking. Virtual and face-to-face business socializing is a good way to build relationships and successfully sell my services. I find that getting out and working the room is even more productive than most of the other forms of marketing and publicity.

Lately, I was at a networking event where I found out from an author that she had just been invited to attend a large event in London to promote her book. This event was to be held in one week and she needed 2,000 postcards to help with her marketing. She had already spent hours that day trying to find a local or online printer and trying to upload the images, which was posing a problem. She had taken a break from her efforts to attend the networking event. She expressed that, although she was excited about her venture, she was overwhelmed with all of the activities involved in preparing for her London trip. I calmly said, “I can help you,” and gave her my business card. I was able to do this because I was working the room.

The next morning, before 8:00 a.m., her email was in my inbox. Attached were the text, an image, and her vision. I quickly started the tasks to fulfill her order. By the end of the day my new client received a draft of her postcard by email. She approved, and two days later, the box with 2,000 postcards arrived at her doorstep.

At the following month’s event, she expressed her happiness to have met me through networking. As the guest speaker at this event, she also took time up front to relay to the audience the important role her “new virtual assistant” played in her marketing efforts.

We both realized the benefits of networking!

Visit my new client at her Web site: www.writeanalysis.com

Make it Happen networking event is by KYMS Image http://www.kymsimage.com