Message From the President

Sunday, 18 March 2007

Thanks to Antigua Latin Restaurant for hosting our first Business After Five of 2007. It was great to see all of you that packed into Antigua to sample their awesome food (my favorite--the chocolate and coconut-coated fresh pineapple slices…)  In addition to the great food and drink, we all enjoyed a lively evening of networking.  We have cut down on the number of After Fives this year to one per quarter to make the events bigger, better and greatly anticipated.  You won't want to miss the next one scheduled for May 9th from 5-7pm at Buffalo Wild Wings and our October 30 “Scary Karaoke” Networking at Bobu’s Steakhouse & Lounge.   What can you do to help make the Business After Fives  spectacular networking events? Stellar networking events require the joint efforts of the staff, the venue, and you, the attendees!  Go through your business contacts and invite colleagues, friends, clients and most importantly, prospective clients.  When you call to invite them, let them know that it is a networking event.  Ask that they bring a good number of their business cards.  Take the time to ask them what kind of connections they’re looking for.  That will give you an idea of who you can introduce them to at the event and will also perhaps give you ideas of additional people to invite.  Make sure that you give each of your invitees a reminder call a few days before.  On the day of the event, make sure that you arrive early.  Be there to greet your invitees - remember, they might not know anyone else there!  Have their name badge filled out for them and help them through the registration process.  Make sure that you introduce all of your invitees to one another -- not only is it polite, but it also is impressive to your invitees.  Before each one leaves, make sure that you thank them for coming.  Additionally, a nice touch after the event is to send a note, email or give a call to your invitees to see if there is anything else you can do for them. Networking for others will reap benefits to you! Remember, good networking is not only about how many business cards YOU get, but also how many connections you make for OTHERS.  Once you begin to think of networking as an opportunity to help others, you begin the process of making yourself a trusted advisor or the "go to person" for business connections.  Think about it.  If you bring 5 people to a networking event and make sure that you know ahead of time who they would like to meet and then you make the connection .. . bingo, you've just become a valuable asset to each of your five invitees and all of the people you introduced them to!  Now, you might not get any business out of it immediately or even ever -- but as you continue to make connections for others, your value in the business community grows. Why should I come --none of my client base is here . . . This is perhaps the biggest myths of networking -- that you won't get anything out of it (other than some free food) if your customers aren't in the area.  First of all, re-read the previous paragraph -- remember, its not all about you!  In fact, a good way to begin a conversation is to get others talking about themselves.  Additionally, stop and think about the definition of networking -- making connections.  That's not restricted to "finding me some customers!"  Think broadly.  Maybe your company is thinking about starting a wellness plan -- guess what, we've got Chamber members that can help you with that!  I bet you would also love to hear your employees raving about employee perks.  How about chatting with some of our other business leaders about what services or specials they might be able to offer to your employees!  See, networking isn't just about getting you some customers its about making positive, relevant connections with other relevant, respected businesses in your area.  These are just a few ideas to get you thinking.  Once you reframe your definition the possibilities are endless!

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 April 2007 )

 

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