ARK Squared Productions

Had a casual meeting with a business associate today and one of the topics of conversation that we spent some time on prompted me to write a blog post. We were talking about how demanding it can be to be a small business person and lead a normal life at the same time and how tempting it can be at times to just be a hermit and spend hours alone in your office with your computer. “But I’m working!” Is often the excuse, but if you spend all your time in your office how do you intend to grow your client base? Keeping yourself stuck at the office or a home office can keep you stuck in a rut – or more likely, stuck in a downhill slide!

One of the best times of year to get some easy networking done is Christmas – or any holiday people gather for that matter. Either you’re spending time with the ones that you love and care about or the flipside of the coin, you can end up going to tons of different parties that give you a great opportunity to network with people that you haven’t met before. Both are great situations for growing your business and thinking about networking!

One of the biggest mistakes that I see when networking is the Sales Guy that goes around the room trying to get everyone to buy his product right now, that’s not what it’s about. I’ve talked about Networking Do’s and Don’ts in the past, and one of the points that I’d like to expand on is one of the don’ts “Sell, Sell, Sell”.

Following up on our previous post about the Importance of Networking, let’s look at a few things to do and to definitely NOT do when networking…

One of the most important things for marketing your business is Networking. Flyers, brochures and mail outs all have their place, but think about it, would you choose, say, a mortgage broker from a flyer you got in the mail or a referral from a trusted friend or colleague? We all like to go with someone credible and known and what better way to feel that way than to hear about them or meet them directly?