Tips on being an event or community sponsor

In our series on attending events as part of your business networking, we discussed previously how to attend an event, and how to gather leads and connect with them after the event has happened.

This part of the series discusses how you can take part in events in your area or region in a more active role…that’s right, not as a participant/attendee, but as a sponsor.

How can sponsoring help you to be visible to the business community and gain the right contacts? It is actually quite simple, you need more…

So you have a web site.  Or a blog.  Or whatever it is you want to promote on the web.  Promoting online through social media and social networks can seem like waving a magic wand, and if you are putting out what people like to hear or read, it can seem like a simple way to do marketing when you find out folks to pay attention to you, vs. mailing out postcards, stomping the pavement and going door-to-door to introduce yourself to other businesses, etc.

The trick is, though, to get people to listen to you and trust you, eventually buying from you!  When networking online through social media or networking sites, a good rule to keep in mind more…

Networking for your business is a constant job. We all probably belong to networking groups or business associations for which we attend regular meetings. Of course the main focus is to get to know others in the group and vice versa, to build connections and possibly down the road, customers!

But sometimes you want to attend an upcoming event that’s outside of the traditional “networking” scope. Things like tradeshows, community fairs, block parties, etc., can be a great way to have fun and get to know other businesses and community leaders.

In this series of blog posts, I will share with you my tips for how to best maximize your return on investment when attending events. If you follow these tips, you will find yourself getting business in the most rewarding and beneficial ways. By getting folks to be part of your captive audience, and in turn, having those folks be your advocates and possibly customers. more…

If you are part of online web site networks such as Ryze, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, etc. and take part, that’s one thing. But what about networking in person?

We all know from online networking. Do you apply your online “meet & greet” style networking practices when meeting folks in person, though? You should!

Exchanging referrals is something I’m always doing.   How do I do it?  Well, I come from a long line of very social folks, so talking to new people with ease and interest comes natural to me, since I apparently was born walkin’ and talkin’. Haven’t gotten around to shutting up just yet, either!

You don’t have to be actively networking at a meeting or event to successfully exchange referrals all the time, everywhere you go! Once you become good at it, it becomes second nature. more…