A small-business contractor told me an interesting networking story the other day. We’re not talking about the kind of networking you do at the chamber of commerce or by handing out brochures at a trade show. It was about entertaining prospective customers. This fella isn’t in the portable sanitation business; rather, he provides septic system inspections. But his fun business-to-business marketing approach might spur ideas you can use to sell restroom services.
The Missouri business owner wanted to spend some time pitching his services to a real estate company in his hometown. So he bought 40 tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game, rented a coach bus and took everybody in the firm to the ballpark. Along the way they went to a nice restaurant for dinner. Everyone had a blast cheering on the redbirds … and the contractor hopes he spread a whole lot of goodwill that will lead to future work for his company.
The Major League networking experience must have cost that contractor a small fortune, funds that could have been spent to advertise his business in many ways. But he’s confident the baseball outing will pay dividends.
How much would you spend to have a captive audience of your targeted customer base for dinner, drinks and a ballgame? How far would you go to woo a builders’ group to fill another construction restroom route? Would you write a big check to get to know a busload of event planners?
A GOOD INVESTMENT?
When you consider what this business owner planned and the potential benefit to his company, you might say, yep, that sounds like a good investment. But up until you heard this story, have you ever planned a grand networking gesture like this? Have you even taken a carload of potential customers out to lunch at Subway?
When it comes to business-to-business networking, many of us are guilty of not thinking big. This contractor may have spent a few thousand dollars treating his potential customers, but you can bet they were all talking about the swell time they had the following day at the real estate office. And the next time the Realtors need an inspector, there’s a good chance they’ll be calling the generous baseball fan.
So how do you get started making your own big networking statement? Consider these first steps:
Target your audience. Whom do you want to fill your tour bus – or minivan – for a networking outing? It could be the membership of the local builders’ association or the board of the county fair association. Or you could go smaller by inviting one building company’s executive team or a handful of wedding planners. To get the best bang for the buck, the group should include decision-makers who can land you new work or ensure repeat business for your restroom company.
Set a budget. How much can you reasonably spend on a special networking event? Temper your plan with realistic expectations. Would one new customer or job resulting from the networking put a significant dent in the cost of a night on the town? Can you justify taking from an existing budget for marketing purposes? Review where your marketing money is being spent and judge if it’s being used effectively. Perhaps you’ll determine that money would be better spent on networking than an ad in the phone book, for example.
Choose an irresistible activity. It should go without saying that you can’t build goodwill by planning an event nobody is excited about attending. Go back to our example; not many people in the St. Louis area are going to turn down a free trip to cheer for their beloved Cardinals. Major league sports are a compelling attraction. Think about the irresistible activities in your hometown or region – maybe a casino night, a golf outing at a more exclusive course, a big touring musical attraction or the popular new nightspot everyone is talking about.
Pick the right date and time. Choose a time and day for your networking event that presents the fewest conflicts for the folks you’re inviting. You probably want to stay away from Sundays, which many people reserve for time with the family. Avoid holidays, holiday weekends and daytime hours when business owners or managers may be too busy to get away. Weekday evenings Monday through Thursday might work best.
Keep it fun. Think party rather than hard sell. You’re a cruise director more than a used car salesman for this type of outing. Get to know people on a personal level. Talk about their families and shared experiences over a beer or two; if business comes up, that’s fine, but don’t bring the party down. This is not the venue for going on and on about your service protocol or pulling out a brochure showing your restroom trailers. This networking opportunity is about making friends. You can reel them in as customers later.
A MULTIPRONGED APPROACH
Some small-business owners might frown on this type of outing, calling it a “junket’’ with a high cost and uncertain payoff. I see it, rather, as just one of many ways to promote your business in a competitive marketplace. Don’t plan a party at the expense of other proven marketing programs – such as targeted advertising, participation in business-to-business trade fairs or creating a float for the hometown parade. But there’s no reason you can’t mix business and pleasure once in a while in hopes of landing a big customer.
