First Step Marketing

The following advice may be used for any occasion at which you need or want to market yourself and your business. The 15 essential elements of successful networking are:

• Be enthusiastic! The word ‘enthusiasm’ is said to have its origins in early Greek and means ‘God within’, suggesting that enthusiasm shines from and through you.
• Arrive early at all functions and set a clear goal of what you want to achieve.
• Pretend that every function you attend is your own function and that you are the host, so make a point of making everyone feel welcome.
• Talk! If you don’t speak, you don’t exist. If you are the shy type, look for like-minded people and introduce yourself.
• Learn to introduce yourself quickly, professionally and clearly – and with a little humour if the occasion calls for it.
• Be yourself – people will relate to the real you. . Take a genuine interest in others, and allow them an opportunity to speak.
• Don’t just collect business cards and brochures and store them in a box – call the people you meet, invite them out and build strong relationships.
• Try to sit with people you have not met before.
• Make sure your breath is fresh and your fingernails are clean. For that matter, check your toenails too! You just never know …
• Prepare at least four snippets of information on your business so that you can share them with those you meet.
• If you have a product, ask the host or hostess if you may display it. Arrange beforehand to display posters, banners or any other forms of promotional material too. It’s all about making yourself as visible as possible.
• Print business cards and brochures that explain what you do, but make sure that they are clear, well presented and professional.
• Offer the organiser a voucher as a promotional give-away as this will offer you excellent exposure to the entire group. If you sell a product, give the product as a prize, and if you’re a consultant, offer a free consultation.
• Learn to read other people’s needs. But there is only one way to do that: and that is to listen — and listen properly!

What do successful networkers have in common?

• They add value to someone’s life.
• They encourage rather than advise.
• They take a genuine interest in what other people do, and show it.
• They attend meetings regularly.
• They follow up on leads and referrals.
• They believe in the value of learning.
• They don’t believe in failure.
• They don’t fear critics.
• They come prepared.
• They know where they are going and how they will get there.
• They radiate energy because they know that what you radiate is what you attract.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Market yourself and your business, how to network and promote yourself effectively, start from zero

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 30th, 2009 at 8:27 pm and is filed under Career Management, Marketing, Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.