How to find the right people:
1. Networking Events - Networking events are still a great way to meet people in your region and in your industry. If you are going to a trade show, try to review the people who will be attending the trade show before you go. If you know who will be in attendance, you have a better chance of meeting the people you want to meet and of making the most of the trip. Additionally, remember to network intelligently. Distribute your business cards, and if you think the person may be able to help your business, make a genuine connection with that person.
2. Personal Recommendations - If you know that someone in your network knows someone that you are interested in talking with, ask your contact to introduce you, and possibly help to set up a meeting. Again, focus on making a genuine connection with each party you talk with.
3. Industry Associations - Look into associations within your industry to connect with people. The people you are looking for may work with or are very involved with the association, or they may simply belong to the association. If you are not already a part of an industry association, you may want to join one. Not only will they help you to network, but they will also keep you up to date on your industry, including what your competitors are doing.
4. Social Networking - You have probably heard much about social networking sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. One of the surprising things is that sites like these can help you to build a virtual network of people in your industry. Join LinkedIn and start connecting to people you already know. You may connect with other people through these connections. Join Twitter and start Tweeting about things that you think are interesting to the people you want to connect with. Start a blog and do the same thing. Try to sort through the people who are just looking to boost their follower count, and instead are actually looking to connect. Additionally, if you are going to pursue a social networking strategy, you will want to make sure that your website is easy to use - that is where contacts and consumers will go after they make the initial contact with you to learn more about you and your company.
5. Use Your Website - What results pop up when you type the name of your most popular product into a search engine like Google or Yahoo? If it is not your website, but a competitor's website, or simply a review of your product, you might want to put some attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This will help to bring your website to the top of the searches. If necessary, redesign your website to make it easier for contacts and customers to understand your company and its products. If people can find your website, and can learn about your company on the website, you may not have to search for the "right people." The right people may come to you.
One important thing to remember: once you have the relationship, keep building the relationship by staying in contact. Additionally, if you do decide to develop a social networking strategy, remember that it will take a firm commitment to continue to update the Twitter stream and blogs. This content generation does not require much of your time, but it will need to be present in your mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment