So now that you have chosen which networking events to go to, how are you going to make sure you get the most out of it? There are a few things that I do:

1. Take LOTS of business cards – there is nothing more frustrating than meeting someone interesting and having to rely on them to contact you because THEY don’t have a card. Don’t be one of those people. Please.

2. Have a plan. Depending on the type of event, I generally plan to meet – and have a conversation with – a specific number of people. It might be 1, it might be 10. The actual number depends on how much time will be allocated for networking, the format of the event and my mood at the time! Try and have a look at the attendee list so you can see who will be there and where they are from – this can help you can target specific people.

3. Don’t just hang around with your friends. Presumably you have gone to a networking event to network. So go and meet people!

4. Try and learn something about the people you meet. Don’t just fling around as many cards around as you can!  You are better off meeting five people and finding out something about them so that a relationship can be established, rather than “meeting” 25 people you just give a card to. Be genuine about who you are when you are talking to people. Show interest in who they are and what they do. It’s not ALL about you!

5. Followup within a day or so. This can be as simple as sending an email saying you enjoyed meeting them. Or perhaps sending an interesting article you found that is about something they are interested in. Don’t send them reams of information about your business and how you want to work with them – unless they asked for it.

6. Don’t drink too much alcohol at a networking or industry function. It doesn’t take much to ruin a hard-earned reputation. 

7. Have fun!  

What do you do to make the most out of networking events?

I have a lot of people ask me how to write a marketing plan that is simple to follow and cost effective to implement. The simple to follow I can help with, the cost effective to implement depends a bit on the tactics you decide on – and I’ll write about some low cost tactics in a future blog post.

As far as I am concerned, a marketing plan for a small business really doesn’t need to be more than a couple of pages in length.

Make sure you inlcude:

• Marketing goals or objectives
• Key industry trends – these should be based on a SWOT analysis that looks at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, including a bit of info about your competitors
• Your target market – these are the people you want to sell your product to
• Key messages – what do you want your customers to know about you?
• Marketing strategies and tactics appropriate for your target market (such as brochures, website, media activity, twitter)
• Budget – how much can you afford to spend?
• Action plan – when are you doing to do this stuff?
• Evaluation – what has worked, what hasn’t? Why?

Just remember a marketing plan should be a working document that is used, revised, updated, evaluated. Again and again.

I would argue that the most important part of any marketing plan is the action plan. Schedule activities into your calendar, pin them on the wall next to your desk, just make sure you make marketing a priority, and be consistent. After all, the plan won’t work if you aren’t actually doing anything!

Download a simple marketing plan template and get cracking on your marketing today!