Move Your Mouth To Build Your Business
by Paul & Sarah Edwards

Networking is the best way to start and build a small service business.  Face-to-face contact establishes relationships that lead to business.  Once a business is established, you get word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers.  But until a business is self-sustaining, “word-of-mouth” means moving your mouth.  You’ve got to tell family, friends, colleagues, and vendors about your business and make a concerted effort to meet and talk with new people.
Though most successful home-based businesses are built on word-of-mouth marketing, we’ve found that many business owners frequently overlook networking.  Far too many start-ups rely entirely on advertising and direct mail and wonder why they don’t get enough business.  Consequently, many start-ups run out of money or just give up, figuring there’s no market for their product or service.

So why is there such resistance to this useful marketing method?  Going to a party with strangers is one of the most frequent sources of anxiety in social situations.  We suspect misgivings about networking stem from a similar anxiety.  Here are four common misgivings we hear about and fresh ways of overcoming them.

DEMYSTIFYING NETWORKING

1. I don’t have time to Network.  Wouldn’t we all prefer to field phone calls from people eager for our service?  Of course.  But if the phone isn’t ringing, networking is the best way to make it start ringing.

Staying current in your field is mandatory.  If you make networking part of an ongoing investment in keeping up-to-date on your specialty, you can combine marketing with business and professional activities.

2.  I don’t like to mix business with pleasure. Most people don’t.  But how often does someone ask you, “What do you do?”  How often do you ask someone what they do?  That question is an invitation to network.  Most people are eager for a chance to talk about themselves and are flattered when someone else takes an interest.

3.  I don’t want to be a pushy salesperson.  Networking is not selling.  Networking is meeting people and establishing relationships.  It’s finding out if people are in the market for your service, not immediately attempting to sell it.  Selling comes later.

4.  I don’t like to sell-period.  Networking is the ideal way for someone who hates to sell to get business.  By the time you get the opportunity to sell, you may have established a relationship.  You have already identified some interest in your product or service.  The selling job is half done.

A POSITIVE APPROACH

1.  Stop waiting for something to happen. We often hear people complain that they’ve attended various events hoping to network but “didn’t meet anyone.”  In probing further, we find these people are approaching the event as a guest.  Instead, act like the host, greeting people yourself.  Striking up a conversation can be as simple as saying, “Hi, I’m Paul  Are you a member of this group?” or “Are you a friend of Sarah’s?”  or “Do you come here often?”  If you smile and extend your hand, 99 percent of the people you meet will smile back and introduce themselves.

2.  Open the door to conversation.  Have you ever met someone who, in describing his or her job or profession, leaves you completely in the dark?  Such conversations end quickly because you don’t want to appear foolish.  You’re likely to nod and scurry off saying, “Nice to meet you.”

Don’t make the same mistake yourself.  Practice introducing yourself in a simple 25-word statement that provokes interest, using terms an eighth grader will understand.

For example, instead of saying, “I am the president of LegalTech, I install third-party vendor systems for vertical markets,” say something like, “My company is called LegalTech.  We help lawyers gain the skill and confidence to use a computer easily.”  Bang!  That starts a conversation.

3.  Cool it.  If you’re too much of a go-getter, people get up and go-away.  No one likes to feel as if they are No.100 on your list as you make a mad dash to “work the party.”  Take your time, meet and enjoy fewer people.  That will pay off more in the long term than glad-handing your way through the room.

4.  Keep the fire burning. Some people burn out on networking.  They try to squeeze in several power breakfasts and several dinner meetings every week.  Dragging yourself to so many events is exhausting.  And when you’re exhausted, you won’t convey interest and excitement about your business.  Two well-selected events per week are ample for most full-time business people and will leave you time and energy to follow up.

Networking won’t produce immediate prosperity, but it’s a surefire, low-cost way to get a business started. 

(Thanks to  NVP Phoebe James for sharing this article with us!)