A few months ago my wife was telling me about the troubles a friend of hers was having with her small home based beauty therapy business. Her friend had built a good client base, but a number of them were having less regular treatments due to the effects of the 'credit crunch' on them. She needed to generate some more work.
We discussed some ideas and came up with an action plan including;
* contacting all old clients
* meeting up with other business people she knew in the same market (other providers of services to women in their homes) to see where there were opportunities to cross refer each other
* a party where 3 of them would invite their clients and good contacts to socialise and experience the services of each
The party last week was a great success. 10 new people got to sample the work of the beautician. So she has some new advocates together with 4 new client bookings from the night, another party to do the same in a different village and some work at a hairdressing salon in a nearby town.
Business through networking can take time especially when you are building relationships with new contacts. But don't forget the power of your existing network when you get together and do things for each other. You can generate business very quickly!
Have you thought about any new initiatives with people in your close network recently?
Good Networking!
Dave ClarkeGet
7 networking secrets for business success
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