Drinks after work... as advertising?

bsmith

I see business owners meeting at restaurants and pubs after normal office hours... Do you think building these "friendships" and networking like this really results in new business leads coming in?

I mean, should business owners really spend their evenings rubbing elbows in hopes that it will generate more business? At pubs, sport events, local gatherings, etc.

I'm interested in what you guys might think.
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TigerBot · Tiger Member Joined: 19 Jun 2007

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twin_rotor · Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:48 am Post subject:

My own personal exsperience, yes.. You do find buisness leads in social enviroments. But a buisness like mine relies soley on word of mouth. I do no advertisment what so ever. There have been many occasions where we're sitting at the Super Club and one of my friends will be across the room and bring someone I don't know over to me and say "Talk to that guy.. He'll fix you up"..

On the other hand, I can see where false presumptions can be made. Alcohol is the biggest player in this game.. I've had people call me up after an instance like I described above and try and tell me I promised them a computer made of gold for two nickels... That puts me in a bad posistion because I know I didn't make the promise, but when I tell them they were mistaken, I'm automatically labled a liar.

So really, it can go both ways.. I really just use my judgment for each situation.. If the person seems intellegent and coherent.. Then hell yeah I'll chat em up.. But if they're sloppy drunk or just plain idiots, I usally just play them off.. But thats the buauty of what I do.. Thats why I don't advertise.. It lets me have complete controll in all aspects of what I can do. The last thing I want to do is aquire a bad reputation becuase I over stretch myself or due to misunderstandings..
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bsmith · Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:39 pm Post subject:

I see where you are coming from.

I remember James and I were at a wedding recently and someone asked James for a business card he said "I don't have one on me"... the lady wigged out telling him how he needed to run his business and that she is never without a business card. But the truth is, James said he didn't carry it because he came to see a wedding, not drum up business.

So I think it really says something when you are "above advertising your business" in a social gathering... and at that point people do business with you because they like you for you and you just happen to provide a service they need. Not the other way around, as if the person only likes you because they need to do business with you.

I get SYNC weekly free paper and I see a lot of people rubbing elbows in LR. I just wondered if not going to things like that (& spending the money for parking, money for drinks, getting dressed up for an evening out, putting your best foot forward, etc) could cause you to miss out on some golden deals.
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dogznbonz · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:50 am Post subject:

As long as you don't get to carried away, I don't think a drink with some potential clients hurts at all. There is something about sitting and just talking about normal stuff that builds long term trust.

You can learn a lot about an individual when the walls are let down and the focus is just on fellowship and learning about the other person. People appreciate it.

I read a book recently that had a story about a woman who interviewed two young men running for senator. When asked what she thought about the first young man she said that he made her feel like he was one of the most brilliant men around. When asked about how she felt about the second young man she said that he made her feel like she was the most brilliant women around.

Everyone has value and social events are the perfect place to learn about an individuals value.
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bsmith · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject:

Good insight!
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