Posts Tagged ‘chamber of commerce’

How To Use The Chamber Of Commerce To Your Best Advantage

First and foremost, by becoming a Chamber member you’re exposing yourself to the owners of most, if not all, of your area’s largest companies. If you properly cultivate and nurture professional relationships with these movers and shakers, you’ll assure your maximum exposure and influence.  You will become an asset that they will remember and turn to when your expertise is required.

Be sure to attend as many sponsored events as time and budget allow. By becoming more involved in your local Chamber you’re expertise and fields of specialty will be highlighted to more people.  Always hae a good supply of business cards that reinforce your services, and don’t be shy to hand them out.  You never know when someone will need to get back in touch to demand your services.

Volunteer to speak at as many member meetings as they’ll let you. By educating your peers (other business owners) about what an improved web presence can do for their business, you create a need.
You’re also educating them as to just how much they need you and your services to attain those benefits.

Always have more business cards than you think you’ll need when you attend events. Use the 3 foot rule at these events for sure. For those that don’t know, the three foot rule says that you should introduce yourself and give a business card to anyone who comes within three feet of you. By doing so, those people will have a reference when they hear your name again or need your services.

If you have the aptitude or inclination, run for office of your local Chamber. There’s no better way to give highlight to your business than by being the leader of such a respected institution as the Chamber of Commerce.

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Start Your Own Local Small Business Interest Group

If you feel like it’s not going to be feasible for you to break into some of the existing networking groups available in your area enough to make an impact, you should consider starting your own group. We’re not talking about trying to compete with the Chamber of Commerce or BNI®. This is more about starting a “special interest” group where you can educate small business owners who will ultimately be your clients.

Be creative. If it is impossible to gather many assorted business owners together in face to face meetings, take advantage of the online tools that are available.  It is very simple to offer virtual seminars or “webinars”.

By using direct mail in combination with some efficient phone strategies, you can assure yourself that you’ll have attendees interested in what you have to say and offer. Always provide high value free content and/or education in these webinars or seminars.  Attendees will perceive you and your business from the proper perspective; one which sees you as being able to help them maximize their internet exposure and profits.

When offering face to face meetings, look for free or low cost meeting spaces. Many of these are offered by local libraries and even banks.  Another popular location to source a low-cost meeting room is a local community center or even a YMCA or YWCA.

Many hotels have meeting spaces for small to medium groups. An advantage of using hotels is that you can get basic catering, often at very affordable rates. In many areas a room with coffee and donuts for up to 30 people is well under $100.

Check Craigslist ( http://craigslist.org ) and/or Kijiji ( http://kijiji.com ) and use them yourself to reach out to your local community. There are appropriate areas on both of these websites for you to offer your services and do some prospecting for free.

Use these ideas or a combination of them to find something that works for you. Don’t stop until you discover just which combination of educating and prospecting will keep your sales funnel and your pipeline full.