It might seem intuitive, but I’ll reiterate that in networking meeting new people is critical to success. That’s why visitors are so important to the chapter. In fact, about 25% of our total closed business comes from visitors. In 2014, that amount should be at least $1,250,000, if we close $5M or more.
Now that we know why having visitors is important, let’s make it easy for you to invite more visitors.
My visitor count drastically increased when I dispensed with TMI (too much information) and TMQ (too much qualification).
Regarding TMQ, if you forget about whether the person would be a good member, would be interested in being a member, or even that their seat might already be taken, then that means you can invite … everyone.
In fact, I invite other web developers to our meeting because I know how much that introduction would mean to our copywriter Jean, our SEO professional Jimmy, our printer Frank, our social media expert Andrew and our video guru David, because they get a lot of their referrals from those type of people.
Everyone can find value at our meeting. I’ve invited people looking for jobs. I’ve invited executives at Fortune 500 companies. I’ve invited people that are looking to start a business. I’ve invited people that are looking for internships. I invite everyone who tries to Linkin with me and I give them the chance to meet me in person.
In 4 years, I’ve now had 200 visitors, and the one thing they have in common is that not one of them has ever said “Conrad, this meeting was a waste of my time. I’m sorry you invited me.”
So invite anyone and everyone.
Regarding TMI, our meeting has a lot of moving parts. If you hit them with the details up front, more likely than not, they may be overwhelmed with TMI.
So either in person or via email, I always keep it simple. My first email or my first mention goes something like this:
On another note, I don’t know if you like networking, but if you do, there is a great networking breakfast next Wednesday near Union Square.
There should be 80-90 people of various professions attending.
If you’d like to come, let me know and I’ll send the details.
If they respond that they are interested, then I send them the following email:
Here are the details …
Wednesday’s networking breakfast is held at 27 Union Square West at 16th Street at the Union Square Ballroom.
Look for the double silver doors to the left of #27. Enter and proceed down the steps. Sometimes the door sticks, so pull it hard.
Open networking starts at 6:45 AM and the formal meeting starts at 7:10 AM. I know it’s early, but that means that everyone that attends is serious about business, networking and trading referrals.
Make sure you bring 100 business cards, which is a stack about 2 to 3 inches thick.
We also go around the room one time and everybody gets to talk about themselves, so prepare a 25 second introduction about you, your business and the clients you would like to meet.
The meeting ends at 8:45, with more open networking until 9:15.
Take a look at some of the people that will be attending here:
https://www.bnilucky62.com/our-professionalsIf there are people that you would like to meet, let me know and I‘ll make sure to introduce you.
There is a fee of $30 to cover the venue and the breakfast. If you want to save $5, you can pay online in advance here: https://bit.ly/62visitor
If you want to attend, please confirm and I will make sure you are added to the guest list.
I hope to see you there.
That’s it. Keep it simple.
And one last thing that I suggest is to set a goal for yourself. Top inviters get 6 to 10 visitors in a good month, so I think it’s reasonable to set a goal of bringing at least one visitor per month.
Let me know if you have any questions about this or would like further coaching. I’m happy to help.
