Every January many people make a New Year’s resolution to get into shape. Gym membership sales are at an all-time high in the month of January. If you go to the gym in January it can even be hard to find a treadmill or weights because there are so many people working out.
But come February, the crowd thins back to those that had been going long before those New Year’s resolutions kicked in. As you can imagine, most New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past the first thirty days. It seems that everyone has a tendency to go back to their old habits and forget that they decided to get “into shape”.
Is the Busyness of Your Business Keeping You from Growth?
Now is also a time that many businesses make goals or resolutions for the New Year. They decide to join a networking organization to grow their prospect list and ultimately grow their sales. They have great intentions of going to the various events to make new connections. But again, old habits die hard. The busyness of business gets in the way.
And, joining an organization for your business is the same as a gym membership. If you are not being active in the organization then your success within the organization will look exactly the same a year from now. Just like your body if you join a gym and never go. Just because you join doesn’t mean changes will occur. You still actually have to DO something.
I attended a holiday event this week for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor’s Bureau. I’ve been a member for a very long time. Some years I admit I am not as active as I should be. This year, with our new Account Manager we were more active with them.
Are You Out of Sight?
And guess what? Our referrals and orders from them increased. Proving to me that the old adage is true, “out of sight, out of mind”.
I met a gentleman at the event who inquired how I liked being a member. He said that he didn’t feel as if he got a good Return on his Investment (ROI). I asked him how active he had been. And he admitted that this was only the second event he attended this year!
Of course, no one knew who he was. If he had made any earlier connections they had long forgotten him. So it wasn’t the organization's fault that he “wasted” his money. It was his own because he didn’t put in any time or effort into his membership.
Consistency is Key
Consistency is key to any sales initiative you may want to implement. And in that way, less is more. If you know you can’t consistently attend events and/or volunteer for committees then limit the number of organizations you belong to. If you are going to be very active in one organization, maybe that’s enough.
We happen to “divide and conquer” with our staff among several key organizations in the area. A couple of us are very active at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, one Account Manager is active in our local economic development organization and another is more active in the Greater Miami CVB. Hence our increase in business from them this year.
Don’t Join If You Can’t Commit to Participation
We also strive to become a true partner with the organizations we belong to. We work to recruit members for the various organizations because we truly believe in their value to businesses and our community. And you know what? The organizations truly appreciate our efforts and partnership. We aren’t just about taking from them and securing business. We truly want to give back.
And how do they show their appreciation? They refer more business to us. A big event is coming to town and they need promotional products for their event they know who to recommend, us.
A new company is moving to town and they need all new branding materials. Again, they recommend us.
Being Active Increases Your Interactions
By being active members in the organizations it also helps us to interact with our clients outside of a true selling situation. I think it’s one of the reasons most of our clients have been with us for more than 10 years because they see us being active in the community. They are serving on committees with us or socializing with us at an event or fundraiser. They see our work ethic and integrity. They know we care about our community and are working to keep it strong.
We also nominate our clients (and prospects) for various awards from these organizations. Even if they don’t win (even though many have), they appreciate that we thought of them.
We also like to help our clients grow their businesses by encouraging them to join the organizations that best fit them. And when they do, we make sure they get the introductions that they need to the people they want to meet.
So, if one of your goals for your business is to expand your network and grow. Be a bit more specific. Explore the organizations in your area and pick the one you feel will give you the best opportunities to meet your target clients. Then plan your attack. Schedule the time to be involved. Be consistent with your involvement and stick with it (don’t give up in the first month) for the year.
I truly believe if you give it your best effort you will see a good return on your investment of your time and money! And your business won’t look the same this time next year.
Happy New Year!!
Danette Gossett is the founder of Gossett Marketing, co-founder of Promotions Rescource LLC and co-author of the best-selling book “Transform” with Brian Tracy. Danette utilizes her more than 30 years of advertising agency and corporate marketing experience to develop effective promotional campaigns and products for her clients. Visit GossettMktg.com or SalesPromo.org and follow us on twitter @MarketngTidbits.