The Marketers’ Senate

Everybody in business has one thing in common. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a
salesman, a coach, a dentist, an artist, a lawyer, running a nonprofit organization or
a work-at-home-mom What we all need is to have people know about us. We can
be the very best in all the world at what we do, but if we haven’t got any customers,
clients, or patients what good will it do us?

If you’re just starting out or want to take your business to the next level, you’re
probably a lot like many others in the same boat. You’ve got a limited budget for
promoting your endeavor and there are so many things you could easily spend it on.
It’s like being a kid in a candy store all over again. So many choices, each as
enticing as the next. All the selections seem to be calling out, “Pick me.” “Pick me.”
“Pick me.”

I’m talking about logos, Web sites, graphic designers, brochures,1-800 numbers,
business cards, advertisements, Yellow Pages listings, and memberships galore.
They all cost money and they’re all shouting, “Pick me.”

What if you can’t pick one, though? What if you need to bring in more business
before you can spend money on bringing in more business?

The solution is very simple and it boils down to just one thing: networking. That is
by far the least expensive and most effective method of marketing known to wo/
man.

If you’re serious about becoming the success you know you were meant to be, I urge
you to do two things now: 1) STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER and 2) create
visibility for yourself because that’s where it all begins.

That means leaving the safety of the confines of your cubicle, office, or spare
bedroom and getting out to see and be seen over and over again. After all, when
people are in the market for your product or service who do you think they’ll think
of to help them: someone they met once at a party 18 months ago or someone they
see and speak
to repeatedly?

One way to get yourself noticed is to set a routine and stick with it. For example if
you think the gym might be a good place to meet prospective clients, go regularly at
the same times and days. You’ll get to talk to far more people–and form
relationships with them–than you would if you went on a drop-in basis, and it’s
relationships, after all, that are the crux of networking.

Check out the supermarket. It’s an often overlooked, but excellent place to create
one-on-one visibility. If you go at roughly the same time and stand in line for the
same checker each time you go, you will find that you start chatting to the checker
and before you know it, he/she will remember you and start calling you by name.

Over time, his or her memory will increase from the realm of “paper or plastic,” to
what you do for a living, the name of your company, etc. Supermarket checkers
come in contact with an awful lot of people and they share a lot of information with
their customers, too.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this person, who has access to probably several hundred
people a day, knew you, what you do, and even better yet, had a ready supply of
your business cards in his/her pocket? It can happen and it all begins with starting
a routine and forming a relationship.

Join and become active in your professional association, a service club, your
Chamber of Commerce, Attend networking meetings. Go for a walk in your
neighborhood. Coach a Little League team. Become a member of a professional
leads exchange group like my own BRE Business Referral Exchange. Lead a Brownie
troop. Join a book club. Take up a new sport. Start a new hobby. Pick up the
phone just to say “hello.” Go to seminars where your customers go. Invite your
customers or prospects to attend a workshop with you.

BOTTOM LINE: It doesn’t matter what you decided to do to get yourself noticed.
Just do it, and do it consistently. You’ll find it’s a low cost way to build your
business; you’ll learn a lot from others and have fun at the same time.

© Copyright 2003, 2006 Leni Chauvin

Leni Chauvin, The Client Attraction Coach,™ is a leading authority on business
networking and client attraction marketing. She helps self-employed and
commissioned professionals attract more clients and make more money without them
having to spend a fortune to do it. For tons of F-R-E-E networking and marketing
resources, including the e-course, “7 Key Client Attraction Strategies for Solo
Professionals” visit http://www.attractclientsgalore.com.