Business Networking – What’s it all about?

Simple, business networking is a method of advertising you & your business.

Business Networking – Why do it?

First of all you need to establish the reason WHY you want to network?

The main reason most people are interested in networking is to gain new customers as a very cost effective method of advertising.

If you understand that networking is a way to advertise or market you & your business then you need to apply the same principles of general advertising. The main principle of advertising is to do as much as your budget will allow, as the saying goes you can never do too much advertising.

What does every business want ? New Customers or more sales
How do you get new customers or more sales ? Advertising
Which is the most cost effective method of advertising ? Word of Mouth
Which is the best word of mouth medium ? Business Networking

What is the best type of business networking event?
That Depends on what your objective is in attending a meeting?

In general there are various types of networking events currently in existence.

A one off occasional event that provides the opportunity to meet other people with the additional benefit of speakers delivering some information that may be of interest and could benefit your business.
>This type of event provides some time for meeting people, however generally speaking the majority of time is spent listening to a presentation.

Monthly event that is specifically organised in an open networking environment.
>This type of event encourages you to meet lots of new people exchange business cards and could lead to some new business. There is a strong possibility that you will encounter other people from the same industry type as yourself therefore a conflict of interest could arise.

Every other week meeting that is organised as a members meeting that allows business relationships to develop by limiting the amount of members in various categories so that potential conflicts of interest between members are limited as much as possible.
>This type of event will more than likely produce more regular new customers as you develop your business relationships with the other members.

Every week meeting that is organised as a members meeting that allows business relationships to develop by limiting the amount of members in various categories so that potential conflicts of interest between members are limited as much as possible.
>This type of event will more than likely produce more regular new customers as you develop your business relationships with the other members.
>Additionally a weekly meeting provides a greater opportunity of gaining new customers sooner as the more you meet people the quicker you get to know them therefore the better chance you have of successfully achieving the goal of getting new customers.

Relative to cost:
A one off event; is usually free because the event is typically organised and sponsored by business who are interested in attracting you to their services. The free networking side of the event is the reason you will be interested in attending because there is a possibility that you could meet someone whom you could do business with or may want to use your services.

A monthly event; has a one off meeting fee with no membership fees and there is a possibility that you could meet someone whom you could do business with or may want your services for themselves.

A weekly meeting; with exclusivity regarding your business type has membership fees and a meeting fee therefore the overall cost is greater in comparison, however you have a much greater chance of gaining new customers because even when you are not at a meeting the other members are constantly looking out for new customers on your behalf, which in effect provides you with a sales force actively seeking out new customers on your behalf every day of the week.

So which is the best type of networking event?

If your WHY is to gain new customers then a weekly exclusive membership meeting is more likely to produce the results you desire.

If your main reason for attending a networking event is to gain new customers, then experience demonstrates that a weekly organised meeting provides the best opportunity for achieving your objective.

However it is also advisable to attend the free events and the monthly events that are organised specifically for business networking as these events offer the possibility of meeting new people which could result in some new business. The more you attend the same monthly meeting the better chance you have of gaining some new customers which demonstrates the effectiveness of a weekly meeting.

Think about it, you want a return on your investment, both the investment in your time and the money you pay someone for organising the various types of business networking events!

More information about The Local Business Club.