I have spent my whole career in marketing and sales and the one thing I can say, with total certainty, is that there is never any “quick fix”. Yes, you can get a lot of short-term visibility with some marketing techniques, but long-term, consistent success requires time, effort and patience.
This is never more true than when it comes to networking.
Visibility is everything – you have to turn up and put the effort in, otherwise people will forget about you.
I realise this sounds harsh and I don’t mean it to be, but successful networking is built on establishing and nurturing long-standing relationships, so you have to be there, in the room having those conversations.
I often meet people (and I am sure we have all done this ourselves at some point) who have got so busy with their work they have stopped going networking and then, when they do eventually return they find that everyone has forgotten them and their business… so they are back to square one.
But how do you keep networking when you are busy?
Well the trick is to find one or two meetings which really work for you and make sure their dates are always in your diary – make those meetings non-negotiable.
After all, if you don’t look after the future of your business who will?
Then, depending on your workload you can add in other events on an ad-hoc basis.
Plus, the added benefit of keeping up your regular commitments is that when you attend additional events you will meet people you already know, so you can strengthen these relationships too.