This article is geared more towards people who market business-to-business. Think web design agencies and marketing firms that work with businesses on a consistent basis. We will go over some different ways you can get connected with a ton of people that will help you increase sales. The more people you know, the more work you will get. It’s that simple.
Tactic One: Joint Venture Partnerships
Joint ventures are one of the single most powerful techniques you use to scale your business fast. Think of where your clients go and what other businesses they use. Let’s just use a web design agency as an example. Some of your clients may work with the following:
- Marketing Firms
- SEO Firms
- Video Production Companies
- Photographers
- Content Writers
- Business Coaches
- Accountants
- Financial Advisors
- Print Shops
You want to make a list of what other businesses your clients may go to. And once you have this information, you’ll want to make a contact list for the local businesses in your area. You might gather the e-mail, phone number and social media accounts of your local SEO firm.
I like to reach out via email first because it’s easiest.
You can send a simple e-mail, such as “Hi [NAME], I notice that you offer SEO services but don’t offer web design services to clients. I work for a web design agency that doesn’t offer SEO. Maybe we can meetup and discuss how we could help each other? Maybe we can partner.”
You’ll then close with your contact information.
If you’re having a problem coming to an agreement, you can always offer a commission on each job your network provides. Say you approach an SEO firm that has over 500 clients. They send out an email blast to their 500 clients that promotes building websites. These leads go straight to you.
You are leveraging other people’s clients that they’ve spent a lot of money and time acquiring. And you did so without any cost to you.
If your network is large, you will send out mails to a large client list making the possibilities endless. This works very well with local people, but they don’t have to be local.
If you pitch it well enough, you can work with people anywhere in the world!
Just make it appealing to them. Either they get a nice commission or you will be sending them your clients as well. Focus on how it will help their business grow to close the deal.
Tactic 2: Networking Groups
Networking groups can be very profitable if you join the right one. There are a ton of different types of groups with their own rules and regulations. The best way to find networking groups is to do a search on Google or on meetup.com.
You’ll have to do your best to weed through these groups. Some groups won’t provide much substance and aren’t worth pursuing. It doesn’t hurt to check them out, but I recommend that you make sure they have a decent amount of members before going to any of these groups.
The #1 group we recommend is BNI. BNI can get a bad rap and it does suck going every week, but it can bring in a ton of business if you join the right one. I also don’t recommend joining these long term. You should join for a year, run through everyone in the group and then leave or join another one.
Check out our full article write up on BNI for web designers!
Tactic 3: Sponsorship
This is a more old school way of marketing, but it can still work. Sponsorships can help a lot especially when they’re local. You can sponsor:
- Races
- Youth sports teams
- Local events
The idea is gaining exposure, so you’ll want to make sure that you have your logo everywhere. I even recommend going as far as attending these events. You’ll want to make it known that you’re a sponsor. Take this time to network with anyone you can.
In the worst case scenario, you’ve engaged in a great campaign to increase brand exposure.
Tactic 4: Go to Networking Events
Networking events are also a great option, and you’ll find a lot of networking events in your industry. There are events for everything from small business expos to business training.
A basic Google search is all that’s needed to find many of these events.
But you can also use:
- Meetup.com
- Eventbrite
- Netparty
- Craigslist
Choose events that get the most exposure, go and network. It sounds simple, and it is, but you need to attend and make your name heard.
Networking is the key to success in any business.
If you talk to people and network, you never know what these contacts can offer you. Every business needs a network, so either start now or struggle to network later – you’ll need to network either way.
