Business building – Finding People – Part 1

Even if you are not looking to hire people, you are always looking to attract customers and build a team of referrers and collaborators around you.  When you are in business, regardless of what you do, you should always be looking out for good business and good people.

Start by building your business into a ‘magnet’ that will attract good people – customers, staff, suppliers, referrers, and collaborators.  People need to know you exist and you need to create some excitement about your business.  This is unlikely to happen all by itself.  You will need to become assertive and develop strategies to make the magnet big enough to create perpetual motion.

Get a good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

Get set up and organised from the start if you intend to attract a lot of people.  There are many CRM programs around.  Read online articles and reviews to find something that suits you.  If you don’t want to spend any money, then keep your contact details on an Excel spreadsheet.

Be available and follow up

If you are going to attract people, then you must make yourself available and follow up and interact with them.  Don’t hide away.  This is the important part of networking and business building.  If you ignore new contacts they will lose interest and go elsewhere.  You need people.  It’s only a matter of who and when!

Use online social networking sites

For example, follow people on Twitter and check to see if they follow you back.  Also start sending out daily messages from your own Twitter site.  People who are interested in what you have to say will follow you. Use a service like MutualTweeps.com to see who you know in common.  I have also found that it is essential to have a Facebook site so people can find you easily.  It is slower than Twitter but it is much more personal.  I find that many people find me by Google-ing my name.  They are presented with a choice of web and blog sites or Facebook.

Until next time!

Gary