Network like the rich and famous. Where do you find your best prospects? Customers are not a dime a dozen, especially in today's economy. For this reason before deciding whether to attend an event, you should follow the rules that we gave before for defining your best prospective customer. Ask yourself if this is the event where such a potential customer will attend. Customers have their preferences among events just as you do.
They're also looking for ways to meet others. If you find out where your ideal customer goes, You should make it a point of attending and talking to them. I have often gone to events that it would not normally attend just to get close to a potential customer, and of course a potential sale and you may meet someone completely unexpected. It's such an event. If your best customer profile attends this event. You can bet that others just leave That profile will also be in attendance.
In the long run, you will enhance your opportunity to capitalize on the event by being very discerning about who will be there. It is similar to the way you choose parties to attend and your personal life. No need to do this with an attitude. But you need to be aware of where you should go and why not all events will fill the bill. For example, if you were selling high end networking systems, you would not likely attend a chamber of commerce event for small business. Not that the chamber does not have anything to offer.
It's just that your best customer is not likely to attend such an event. Though people attend chamber events may be connected to your best customer. Nevertheless, you will likely want to attend a business symposium directed at the larger corporations potential customers are more likely to attend events that other like minded companies will also attend. On the other hand, We're selling services to a small business than a chamber event will be absolutely ideal events to attend will be one of your components of the calendar that you need to keep up to date at all times. Consistently attending events will allow others to get to know you better, even if it is only face recognition at first. When people know who you are, and you're always around, they're more likely to talk to you and find out more.
It's a great feeling when someone comes up to you and says, How are you doing? How's your business going? Let's check. Now it's time to find the best events especially for you. We're going to start off once again with our customer definition. Using your customer definition to start the process is key to finding the right events for you to attend.
Let's go back to how you define your custom And pick out some keywords so that we can do the appropriate searches. Even if you use sites like meetup for your searches, you will be much more effective and efficient. If you use keywords to describe the types of events that draw your target audience. You have not used keywords before now's the time to be informed. I am going to give you some tips for getting the right keywords from idealist.org. First, we mentioned determine your audience.
If you target that an area's pet store owners and Zoo employees and you want to mingle with these professionals. It must be an event that is lucrative for you, especially in terms of getting the business you need. Once you have established your audience, do some brainstorming around the words or phrases that will attract your audience. First, let's take a look at longtail keywords. A longtail keyword Word is really a phrase of three to five words and sometimes more. This will help you find the exact event you want to attend as a good event.
Next, you need to keep eye on trends. Trends show you what's popular on search. If any of the trending search queries or topics are related to your niche, these would be events that you probably want to attend. And finally, incorporate location based keywords. Adding a country region state or city name to a main keyword can help you stand out from the crowd. And it will help meetings that you want to attend show up higher in the search results.
Local keywords work best when there is a physical location for the meeting, or perhaps or even your own business. Now, the important part is when you've gone through all of these components is to prioritize your keywords According to your profit per sale, the best keywords attract people to events that you want to meet. And hopefully those visitors to those events will eventually want to buy from you. So one of the secrets of finding great keywords is to know which phrases will affect your bottom line. So now let's take a look at what is in a roster. First, let's consider what we think is normal.
Most event pages on the web will show you how many people are attending. Some will display the names of the people that have said yes to attending and often you will be able to figure out their profession. It will not be extremely easy but it will be simple to find out if the audience meets your criteria. Next, we are going to take a look at meetup and Facebook attendees. meetup show attendees and you can click on them to find out more other events may not be as generous with the information I know of a few that use Facebook events to promote their meetings with Facebook, you will be able to see each Yes, and a photo which will be clickable to their profile. What a great way to get to know who's attending ahead of time.
Now knowing the person before they meet you is one of the keys to success when attending a networking event. Now, you may be thinking that this is a lot of work, and you're right, success often comes disguised as easy. But when you look into it, there's a lot of work in behind that needs to be done. One thing about searching the roster for attendees is that you will be able to see photos of people and perhaps recognize them at the event plus you will have some background on them so you can ask the right questions. Let's take a look at the ideal date. Before we connect with the meeting organizer, be sure to You are permitted to attend the event.
This means going to the website and registering or simply asking the host when you connect with them. So many events are category restricted, and you may not be allowed to attend. Now, interestingly, if you register yourself, other people can see that you are attending, what a great way to get some free publicity. So first, let's look at connecting with the host. Before you attend the event, reach out and communicate with the host of the event. This is your chance to ask questions about who usually attend how many people show up and what the protocols are.
Do they give out door prizes? Can you bring something of value to offer as a prize? Do they have a specific format they use for business? I've attended events through several organizations, and each has a different way of running an event. Leads groups often have 32nd pitches at the beginning of them And more in depth presentations on a scheduled basis. I've also been to events where it is a free for all.
Meaning that is business after business as an event where people just mingle, you absolutely need to know the format so you are prepared ahead of time. prepping yourself, make sure the date fits on your calendar. Make sure the audience is just right for what you want, and that you have connected with the host defined protocols. You have your pitch ready, you know you're mean you are prepared to answer questions about your business. And you have pre prepared a set of questions to ask others so that you can tactfully find out if they are a prospect or not. Now, on to the event finally being recognized.
It is not Who you recognize but who recognizes you that counts. When you go to an event it is likely that you will know at least one person. If they live in work in the same area as you, the host will be the first person to greet you. And it is likely you will be remembered just because you took the time to call ahead and find out more. The host can always introduce you to whom you want to now, make sure you do that introduction. You should make it a point of being a regular attendee, as this is when people will start to recognize you and know you.
As you recall, people do business with those they know and trust. So let everyone get to know you. ideas to remember from this lesson. First, where to find the best events, finding events, if you look into meetup.com chambers of commerce, business associations causes community centers, surface organizations and much more, you will have enough events to infill your entire calendar. Remember that you should learn more about events to make sure your target audience will be in attendance. Where to find the best events?
Keyword searching is the best way to discover events. Use audience specific location or expertise areas determine your keywords. You will find many events through meetups and Facebook although there are other events pages available in most areas. The roster what's in a roster? Do your research and look up attendees at an event. Names and occupations make it easier to know if they're the type of person you want to do business with.
You can take your research one step further. Look up the people and find out more about them. use LinkedIn as a source for getting business information as well as the date, the ideal date. Once you find the event where you think it is best for gaining business connect with the host to find out more. The more you know about the event, the easier it is to be prepared. Preparation is 90% of the battle.
Also plan to attend on a regular basis that so people will get to know and trust you. In the next lesson how to predict the future. You will take a look at other aspects of events such as clothing, ways to talk to strangers and what to do about eating at the event.