This week I attended an amazing conference for entrepreneurial women in Pasadena. I learned a lot and met some really great people! It’s always nice to be surrounded by women who are doing similar things.
Attending live events is a great way to increase your visibility. Read on to learn six strategies that will increase your visibility.
Last week at the retreat I attended we talked about where business owners should be spending their time in relation to the amount of years they’ve been in business. New business owners, in their first 3 years of business, should be spending their time becoming visible and increasing their network. By focusing on this area you will get your name out there. The more people you interact with the better your chances are at acquiring new clients.
Here are six strategies that will help you increase your visibility.
Strategy #1: Just get out there. Don’t worry about making your website perfect. It’s easy to hide behind the computer and get trapped in “perfection paralysis”. What networking groups can you join? These groups should be filled with your ideal client or people that can lead to them. Groups I’ve had success with are; the local Chamber, BNI (Business Networking International), Toastmasters and SMARTY (a community for entrepreneurs in California).
Strategy #2: Tell 3 people a day what you do. It doesn’t matter if these people are your ideal clients or not. You never know whom someone knows AND it will also help you practice telling people what you do.
Strategy #3: Go to things you are interested in. When you’re in an environment that you want to be in that gives you energy, people naturally want to get to know you. For example, I used to go to a Reiki Share night in Canada. I ended up meeting and working with some great people as a result.
Strategy #4: Attend events where your ideal client will be. Think about events that may be of interest to them or even organizations they belong too and think about how you can attend too.
Strategy #5: Contact service based businesses in your community and offer to do a talk. The attendees don’t have to be filled with your ideal client because it gives you a chance to practice and again get the word out. You should make sure that some attendees are your ideal client or can at least lead to them though.
Strategy (tip) #6: Don’t worry if you’re not sure who your ideal client is. Just get out there anyway and go in the direction you’re passionate about for now. Some clues on how to figure this out is to think of your own story about how you got to where you are and also what your strengths are. From there it will unfold as you go. The worst thing you can do is sit behind your desk and try to figure it out. Get out there and pay attention to the types of people who are naturally attracted to you. I always thought I would help people make a career change and for whatever reason I started attracting entrepreneurs that are just a few steps behind me. I stayed flexible and went with it and I’m happy I did 🙂