Do you want to boost your business? Is connecting with new customers on of your goals? Are you wondering if your marketing message is falling on deaf ears? Do you sometimes feel like just another face in the crowd? If you are in business, to one extent or another, the answer to these questions is probably YES.
The real question is WHAT are you going to do about it. Well, the person with the answer is probably somewhere around you in the same crowd asking questions of their own.
Questions YOU might have the answer to.
Now you just need to find a way to meet up.
In today’s business world there are lots of opportunities, via networking events, seminars, symposiums, and even through new media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In to find people who are asking questions and looking for partners to source answers in the crowd. The trick is in finding them. And it starts with a MeetUp.
It’s easy to say, “I’m too busy”, “we’re short handed”, “I just don’t have time.” But don’t fall into that trap. You need to get out of your office and connect with others to find the answers you seek.
Here are a few examples of ways to connect with others – AND if you are in the greater Phoenix area – actual activities you can plan to attend:
- Turn a Twitter , Facebook, or LinkedIn contact into a real connection. Just this week, I finally got to talk with Patti Dragland – @StrategicSense – from Calgary. While we had been tweeting to each other for over 9 months, we had never spoken. Patti took the initiative with a simple DM – “Time for a Skype” and soon we were chatting away, exchanging ideas and best of all – Patti will now be with us in Phoenix come November 12th at the 4th Annual Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference. Now that’s taking a meet up to a new level.
- Reconnect with Thought Leaders in your own home town. A great example of this is with Kathy Kolbe – @KathyKolbe – creator of Kolbe Index that IDs instinct, M.O. or natural strengths relative to work, learning, and actions. I’ve used Kathy’s company for years. We’ve sat across the room from each other in meetings, but we’ve just never had a chance to get together and really chat. That’s ending today – we’re meeting for lunch at Olive and Ivy. We both decided it was time to meet up.
- Kick off you morning at an educational networking event. Locally, one to try is the monthly AZ Entrepreneurs gathering. This month the topic is “Marketing and Sales Strategies for Your Business” where seasoned sales and marketing veterans Randy Gustafson, Michael D’Hoostelaere, and Jeff Hanlon are setting aside the normal panel format and opening it up to questions from the crowd from the very beginning – the format is simple – ASK your key questions – let’s find a solution. They even invited ME to be part of the answer team – so if you want to ‘meet up’ you will find me there early in the morning on October 13th.
- Make a Day of it at AZEC09! Sometimes you need to dive deep and invest a whole day in gathering new ideas and making new connections. Set your MeetUp engine into overdrive November 12th for the 4th Annual Arizona Entrepreneurship conference where hundreds of local entrepreneurs will gather to learn from and with each other, to connect and re-connect, and most of all to shine a light on what’s working for business – even in this economy.
So, want to boost your business? Get that Meet Up on your calendar.
You’ll be glad you did.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker