Planning November - 3 Ideas for How to Grow In-Person
Over the past half a year InsuredTY has focused primarily on building a digital presence. We have built a website, posted content on our blog and Youtube channel, created social media accounts, and run paid advertisements on Facebook. While these steps have helped us build a valuable skill base and digital footprint, they have done little towards making hard sales. This experience calls for a strategic change which will help us get our foot in the ground before scaling on the internet.
The following is 3 ideas for how we kickstart in-person growth this November. All of them involve being more active in the local community and fostering relationships.
Networking Events
Attending events allows you to connect with other professionals both in your field and outside it. There are many different kinds of networking events. Networking events can be online or offline, for a specific field or profession or just a generic socializing opportunity. Some events give each participant a chance to introduce themselves while other may just be open mingling. Either way it is important to come prepared. Coming ready with an elevator speech and name card (or virtual version of) is critical. It is also worth brushing up your website and social media so that it looks good when you direct people at the event to it.
It is easy to find networking events on websites such as Meetup, Eventbrite or even using a simple google search. If there are no convenient events in your locality, or non of them suit your specific needs - that’s a great opportunity to start your own! Organizing events is a sure way to build and foster some great relationships in the area.
Strategic Partnerships
There are many benefits to establishing a strategic partnership even as a small business. A partnership can help you reach more customers, share recourses and grow your reputation. Before reaching out to people it is important to do due diligence to make sure its a good fit. The other business should be similar enough that it is relevant but different enough that you aren’t direct competitors. This post on the subject gives a good example of a baby powder manufacturer and a daycare. Beyond that it also important to make sure that your values align and that partnering with the other company will not damage your image.
A strategic partnership might be hard to strike with no sales, but if you present your value well - such as capital, skills, products etc. there still may be a chance to make it happen!
Be the “go to” person
The idea behind this is to become the local person that people go to for a certain something. To be the “X” guy. This is done by satisfying a certain basic need of the community in a way that has people coming back and sending their friends to. This is much easier for more concrete services such as a carpenter or a plumber but is possible to do also for more abstract fields of expertise. It all starts by putting yourself out there and helping people with problems in your field of expertise.