In today's fast paced world, many small business computer consultants are wrapped up in their daily fire fighting activities at their client's location and have almost no time to attract new opportunities or build strong strategic alliances.

One great way to keep a new business growing while building relationships at the same time is to join a networking club.

There are many networking organizations throughout the country, they can range from your local Chamber of Commerce to private networking clubs that their sole business is to run networking clubs and allow their members to create long lasting strategic relationships. Networking groups in general have in place, structured programs or agendas to facilitate members to introduce themselves and give their 30 second infomercial.

Your infomercial is where you can score big with new opportunities, and this is where most people that attend networking functions or social events sink. You only have thirty seconds to get their attention and make a lasting impression. You need to introduce yourself, give a quick testimonial and a very brief description of what your company does, and then, ask for referrals. Asking for referrals is the most important part of your infomercial. This is where most crash and burn.

What I often see by many people new to networking is they are too vague when requesting referrals; they have the tendency to ask for any company or anyone that can use their services. This might be what you really want or your product/service can work for any company, however, when I am listening and trying to help someone with sharing my warm contacts, it is hard to find just any company in my rolodex or Blackberry.

What is much more effective is that you ask for a specific company type, location or person, for example, my company IT Matters can work with any small business in Calgary. When I am delivering my requests for companies, I usually pick three industries and then deliver a very specific request. Let's say I would like an Oil and Gas company, a law office and a dental office this week. My infomercial would be something like this:

"Hello my name is Stuart Crawford, and I am in charge of business development for IT Matters, a Microsoft Small Business Specialist and Certified Partner. Our clients love us because we take IT off their daily worry list. We provide computer and network support to the small business marketplace in Calgary. A good lead for us this week would be, a CEO or President of a small Oil and Gas

company, a real estate lawyer and a dental office in Northwest Calgary”

Now what normally happens is that people listening to your infomercial are now saying to themselves, yes, I know the President at XYZ Energy, or my kids go to this awesome dentist in NW Calgary. By being specific in what you want, will increase your chances of walking out with some good leads. What also works well is when the person providing you with the lead makes a warm call to the party expecting your call to open the door for you. This works well in the early stages of a relationship in a networking club. Also, leads and great opportunities do not happen immediately, it will take some time to develop these strong relationships.

To find a networking club in your area, look up your local Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade. You can also look up local meet up groups on http://www.meetup.com. Most cities have several different styles of networking clubs, check them all out, and do your research prior to paying your membership and find the one that fits the target market that you would like to capitalize on. Remember that some of the best ones do not cost you a cent.

Another tip is to make sure you follow up with everyone you meet at a networking function, exchange business cards with everyone, you never know who they know. The best practice is to have a templated email ready to go and get it out immediately following the event. People obtain lots of new names and companies at networking events and almost all of them never follow up, this will set you above the crowd, and open some new doors for you and your business.

The most important message about networking is - be memorable.

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