The Easiest Way To Win New Clients

Most business people complain constantly about the lack of time to do all that they need to during the day. It makes sense therefore to have as many activities as possible on auto-pilot. That's why I like networking as a method of keeping my client portfolio topped up.

Or perhaps I should say I like networking when it works for me automatically and with very little effort on my part. That was always part of the brief I gave myself when I started to think seriously about networking.

Like every other business professional who starts his own business I very quickly got enmeshed in the day-to-day needs of the business. And then, quite suddenly it seemed, we had a pressing need for more clients.

It was funny really. There I was a "Marketing Expert" and I hadn't given nearly enough thought to how I was going to market my business. Of course I had a plan, but it was a relic of the way I used to think in my 'large company' days. The plan looked great on paper, but implementing it would take far more time than I had available.

A friend said I had to get into networking. He took me along to a Chamber of Commerce breakfast. The food was OK, but there wasn't anyone in the room who worked in the sort of company who I wanted as clients.

That was the first lesson – "you've got to go where the people you want to meet go." I was a bit relieved by this conclusion because I hadn't really enjoyed the atmosphere at the breakfast.

In my marketing plan I had a hit list of the companies I wanted to work for and the job titles of the people I wanted to meet. The question was where and how could I get to meet them?

And there was another even bigger question: "How would I get to meet them at a time when they needed my services?" When I eventually worked out the answer to that question my life became a whole lot easier.

Now I know that the secret of good networking is to meet the right person at the precise moment when they need your product or service. And that's what I eventually succeeded in doing, time and again.

Now that I am nearly ready to retire I share my marketing techniques with others. Anyone who joins my Marketing Club will learn how to network really effectively. Like most things, it's easy when you know how.