Successful entrepreneurs thrive on work, so let's just make this about how to network, or "How to maximize your networking efforts within your time restraints."

There are so many different kinds of businesses and so many ways to network, it will be difficult to go into comprehensive specifics, but the most obvious one is to use the internet. The internet has become the new marketing tool of so many businesses, not all legitimate, it has almost reached the lowest form for many, but it is still a useful form for many successful businesses. Use it, try to tailor it to your needs, but don't depend on just the internet, and don't waste a lot of time trying to make it work for you and forget other avenues.

Telemarketing is history, so forget it.

There is no substitute for actual face-to-face contact with real potential buyers. Depending on your business, work the networking possibilities of your local Chamber of Commerce, or trade shows. Meet and get to know your potential clientele. It is time consuming, but there is not a better means of making good clients than actually meeting them.

Many businesses are not the types that lend themselves to the individual contact method, however. Mass mailings and e-mailings can be utilized to reach many people with minimum time investment. Make the mailing powerful and personal. Include photos so the reader can get an idea of the person behind the mailing. Make it catch their interest immediately, before it hits the round file; or on the net, the delete option. Make your appeal personal, vital to their lives, and almost too good to be true. To good to be true won't work. "FREE" is the most overused catchy hook in the business. We all know that there is nothing free in life, so when they see the catch, you lost them; "Almost FREE" or "Worth so much more than the cost," maybe. If they see the need, feel the desire, and think they can't afford to pass it up, they still need to feel some connection to the supplieryou, that's the networking factor.

Word of mouth advertising is the most powerful and underused method of spreading your efforts. How to accomplish it is a matter of making the clients have a vested interest in you, your product or service, and your success. How to accomplish that is an entire course, since there are so many different ways, but essentially, it comes from asking the clients to spread the word. That can be accomplished by giving them a coupon to share with their friends, or creating links on your web-site, or something as simple as saying, "Here, give my card to your friend and have them call me." The possibilities are endless, so be creative, ask, and let that entrepreneurial ability, which got you into the business, shine.

Learn more about this author, Will Kester.
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