Networking
Networking is an important aspect of business, particularly if you are in sales and let’s face it, we are all in sales. We attend a number of meet-up events in downtown Vancouver mostly through our meetup.com groups. We previously blogged about “How to make the most of networking” here. What surprises us is how bad some people are at networking.

The Elevator Pitch
When you attend a networking event, you need to be armed with two things that are well-thought-out and easy to articulate. The first is your elevator pitch. This is a 30 second response you give to the question… so, what do you do? This is ours:

We provide business and management solutions specializing in the golf industry, but we also work with a number of other industries and charities.

More Information Pitch
Often at these events the elevator pitch is all you have time for or there isn’t a good connection and you move on to meeting more people. However if the connection is a good one from the beginning then often there is a need to expand and share more details. This is your opportunity to give a fuller 90 second introduction about what you do. This is our 90 second pitch:

We work primarily for golf course owners and operators to help them make more money through business and strategic planning, operational reviews and social media. It is really about best business practices and while we are niche specific to the golf industry we use best practices that can be applied to all industries. So we work with some companies outside the golf industry and charities 
as well.

Networking Is Not Sales
Remember networking events are for networking. Do not think you are going to close the sale on the first transaction, but rather that you are beginning the building of a relationship. Don’t try to sell, sell, sell. Simply meet new people who may (or may not) turn into business relationships in the future.
 

Jeff & Tara Ciecko of CK Golf Solutions write two blogs on their website, one is there 19th Hole Blog where they share personal experiences and the Biz Blog where they share business best practices and golf industry related opinions. They have owned CK Golf Solutions for 5 years and provide marketing, social media and business services to the golf industry.

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