A couple of weeks ago I wrote about networking and making the best use of your time. Hopefully some of those tips were helpful. If you are becoming more comfortable with being out and about, what is the next step in helping your business grow? In the city I live in, Las Vegas, you can pretty much network 24/7 every day of the week and a lot of it is Free or inexpensive, i.e. $10-$20 fee to participate.
How do you decide if "joining" a networking referral group makes sense versus going to various events that do not require a membership? I am constantly receiving emails, LinkedIn and Facebook invitations to events that occur on a regular basis but do not require a membership. Some cater to a younger audience, some cater more to women - it pretty much runs the gamut. What to do?
From personal experience and years of investigating, being a member/officer, visiting and "checking things out", I can tell you that the answer depends solely on YOU. Ok, what does that mean?
- What do you expect from a networking group?
- Do you want to pay for a membership and make a commitment or simply go when you feel like it?
- How much are you willing to work to give back to other members?
- How strong is your referral network?
- Do you prefer early morning, lunch or evening networking?
- Are you interested in doing community service work as part of your networking?
Once you review and answer those questions, you are ready to start exploring your options. If you are clear that you do not want to make a commitment, either in money or time, stick with the non-membership events. To make these effective, you still have to be present most of the time so that people get to know you and trust you. Pick a networking group you enjoy and commit to attending their event at least once per month. People need to SEE you frequently. And then remember to give first to someone else. (see prior Blog on networking)
If you decide to make the commitment, I would recommend checking out various chapters of different groups. Time of day and day of the week will make a difference depending on your schedule. If you're getting kids off to school, early morning probably doesn't work. Think ahead even though now it's summer vacation. For years I got up and left my house in the freezing cold to make my 7am networking group in Connecticut. It was well worth it. If you are a B2B person, you want to be sure there are other B2B people in the group. Same thing if you are B2C, make sure you have a solid foundation in any group you are considering.
Ask what the minimum requirements are to maintain membership (is there a referral amount, attendance, etc) and be sure you can exceed the minimum. There is no sense in spending money and not getting any value. Value comes from attending the meetings and working to help others in your group. In many cases, there is only one person per profession. This is great and can really help build your business IF YOU PARTICIPATE.
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