DO ...
Make friends without business sales pressure or tactics
Join community service organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Women in Business
Join other volunteer organizations https://tinyurl.com/ventura-volunteers
Play in adult sports leagues or take up golf or tennis
Join a fun club … fishing, hunting or the like
Become a community leader (city council, school board, churches, charitable organizations)
Use online social networking sites, like Facebook and LinkedIn to engage with people
DON’T PAY FOR LEADS ...
Bark
A London-based lead supplier who ripped me off for over $2,000. Not one valid lead … many people I called simply hung up on me. The bank refunded my money.
Thumbtack
Another loser. I got two new accounts. One was a Homeowner’s Association which never provided me the requisite information to create their website. A second was a chap in San Diego who cost me an arm and a leg before and after his business closed down.
Alignable
A waste of time.
BNI and Other Such Groups
Watch out for Networking Groups like BNI. They require attendance at weekly meetings. Three misses or tardies and you are 86’d. In a year, I didn’t get one referral.
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I have new procedures in place to weed out these kind of problems ... besides following the script of the do's and don'ts listed above.
I only do business with people who I can meet with face-to-face.
Run a background check, explore online presence including Google reviews, Yelp and social media.
Research their product, service and competitors.
Do a deep drive into their current marketing channels.
Must be well established.
I prefer doing business with brick and mortar businesses, and not home-based operations.
Here’s the bottom line.
I’m addressing this article through the eyes of a marketing consultant, web developer and graphic designer ... at least as a professional services provider.
My best source of new business comes from personal contacts or referrals, and other direct marketing avenues.
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