If you just started a new business, you may be wondering “What are the most powerful first steps I can take to market your services?” I know it’s overwhelming because there are so many exciting marketing opportunities. However, there are three particular methods that you can count on to jumpstart your business and get the traction you need to begin building.
When he finally got around to calling the name on the lead, he always received the same response. The customers would inform him that they were no longer interested, because they were working with someone else.
Think about a time when you needed to make a new connection, say, to a reliable auto mechanic. You may have started out by scanning the yellow pages only to realize that there’s no way to know who’s honest and competent. What do you do then? You do what everyone does: they turn to friends, family and acquaintances for a personal recommendation. If the first person you ask can’t offer you a good referral, he or she may know someone who can, and if not, you move on to the next person on your list, and the next. Pretty soon you make the connection you were looking for…even without your set of official networking groups calgary!
Start networking. Networking is still the best way to get a job. Spread the word that you are in job search mode among your friends, family, former co-workers — anyone that you know who could help with your job search. Dig up names from internships or summer jobs and reach out to those people. Join online networking groups (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.).
Practice focusing on one person at a time and make sure that you count to five in your head before moving onto the next person. Where to start? I always start by talking to the prettiest face in the audience and work from there. If there’s someone that you know in the audience try talking to them first and it software defined networking will put you at ease.
The person’s motivation may not be about anything concrete, such as a good or service he thinks is vital to the deal. It may be more of a scorekeeping thing. For example, if you know about recent negotiations the person was involved with, check out the results. Did the person get what he wanted? What he did or didn’t get from the last few deals may color how he negotiates with you.
Here’s a secret about networking (and about relationships in general) – people are scared. We all want to stay in our comfort zones, and we don’t want to risk rejection. So that great contact you made at the last event who never called you for lunch didn’t necessarily not like you. He or she might simply be a little nervous. You want to get to know them better? Make the call. You won’t always get a yes, but I can guarantee you’ll have more lunch plans and interesting meetings than all those people sitting in their offices waiting for their phones to ring. No one is coming – you gotta go out there and get ’em!