From the Welcome Business USA January newsletter:
Q: We do not have a huge marketing and advertising budget, but we do have some money and I think it is time we tried something new. But what? I was wondering if you might have thoughts.
A: A trap many entrepreneurs fall into, myself included on occasion, is turning to the tried and true too often. While the tried and true is comfortable, it also typically yields predictable results.So if you want your business to grow, you need to mix things up sometimes. New marketing tricks can create new results. Here are a few of my favorite, inexpensive strategies:
Networking: I can hear you now – “Yes, we know we are supposed to network more!” I hear ya. Networking is sometimes easier said than done. First of all, it takes time, and secondly, it is not always easy. Yet even so, it is true that some of your best prospects will come from networking at chamber events and so forth.
So here are three tips for making networking easier:
- Act like the host. Rather than waiting around for something to happen, turn the event inside out by pretending (in your mind) to be the host. How would you act? Yep – friendly, confident, chatty, and positive.
- Play around with your nametag: Put your nametag on upside down. Write “World’s Greatest Salesman!” above your name. Silly things like these spark conversations.
- Practice your elevator pitch. The essence of a networking event is that we are asked what it is we do. Having a short, interesting, intriguing answer is one of the most powerful of marketing tools. As they say, you only have one chance to make a good first impression.
for additional question and answer information:
http://welcomebiz.imagz.com/newsletter
Okie,
Hello. I read through your blog and wanted to take a quick moment to share with you a new concept we’ve created called Fast Pitch! Online… Fast Pitch! basically bridges the gap between tools like LinkedIn and more traditional networking events (i.e. chamber of commerce) by creating live human interaction via a web-conference style event.
In short, our web-cast events usually involve 10 professionals “pitching” their business to one another. An online business profile is created by each person prior to signing up… and is used during the event to create a nice visual during the call. Events are usually ‘city centric’ however, we are beginning to create events based on a variety of vertical markets (i.e. technology, women only, etc…).
I am reaching out to experts like yourself. If you are ever interested in hearing more about what we are doing, or would like a demo, please do not hesitate to call me.
Regards,
Bill
Bill Jula
CEO / Founder
Fast Pitch!
http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com
941-730-1793
“No Nonsense Networking”