Networking – attend an event

There are plenty of great groups that have a variety of detailed themes surrounding networking, breakfast groups like BNI or SWAP. Women’s network groups, local Chambers of Commerce, council business support networks like Pittwater Business and many others.

A client mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago that in the last 6 months he had received business worth $26,000 through networking referrals received from the group he was a part of.

I have personally experienced a huge financial payback from being part of these groups but as important as the money has been the friendships that have been built. Many years after being part of that group we still all use the services offered by people we met through the group. If you measure the lifetime value of a client [LVC] the dollar value that has passed to those businesses is certainly got large.

So if you are not part of a group consider joining one.

Is your Client List out of date?

Chances are your list of clients has some records that are out of date.

Setting yourself the project to update it will have more than one beneficial outcome. For a start you will get an updated list, to whom you can send some marketing material.

Chances are that you will also come across some people that you should call to say Hi or better still start a conversation that may lead to more new business. Either way you win.

If your list is too big to work through by yourself you may be forced to delegate some of the update process to others in your business.

This could have a couple of up-sides as well. It will introduce your clients to one new point of contact in your organization and it may show you a capability exists that you can delegate more tasks to.

Hopefully you have the list residing on a database that is used for marketing. If not it may be in your accounting software or sales records.

Friendships Last (even with clients)

I hope you have had that experience where you bump into an old friend and happily chat away about all the things that have been happening since you last met. It’s almost like you pick up again where you left off and time has stood still but you have plenty to talk about and share.

I have also had the wonderful experience many times where this happens with an old client, and more than once it has led to new work.

Past clients are usually also friends – so why not think of one today and just take that extra couple of minutes to call to see how they are going?

There is a very good chance it will be the best call you have all day!

… and if it is, (or even if it isn’t) schedule a time each week when you make such a call.

Lessons from China Trip

I was lucky enough to spend a week in China just prior to Christmas with a couple of clients sourcing products. There was much that was interesting but one thing that stuck in my mind was the huge screen in this massive railway station. More particularly the wording of an ad that played that at the end simply said “Need everyone.” (read as “No Bludgers”).

While their welfare system is nowhere near ours, their national work ethic leaves us for dead.

There were a hundred other lessons, but this blog is to help you in business so the other point that struck me were the huge banners in each of the factories we visited (they all have one or more of these hanging in the factory) which proudly display slogans like

“Improve quality, become the best”. Is it time to remind your team? Maybe more subtly in a team meeting.