When in doubt, go out!

Years ago, when I began working with local business owners to focus on strategic growth, I noticed that they often missed opportunities to attend networking events where they could expand their professional connections.  Why were they missing an opportunity to grow their business?

Many times, these business leaders would report that they had “forgotten” there would be a Chamber of Commerce event or an event sponsored by their trade association. This was odd since most of the business organizations I know will send out multiple reminders about their events via email and social media prior to their events. I found that business owners would see these reminders but one critical step was missing.

These business leaders did not put the event in their calendar.

It turns out that many of these folks didn’t add the event to their calendar because they weren’t sure they would be able to attend; they were keeping their options open in case something else – in their minds, perhaps something “better” – came along.

Some wanted to keep the time free in case they needed to meet with a prospect or client. Some didn’t want to over commit because they might have a family obligation during that time. Others simply didn’t see the potential value in attending these events.

I believe these business leaders were putting undue pressure to make a definitive decision about these networking events. I suggested a new mindset and a small behavior change: View these invitations as “maybes.”  When an event invitation appeared, they should immediately place the event in their calendar followed by some questions marks (“Chamber Breakfast Networking – ???”) and delay in making a final decision about attending.

The key was getting something on the calendar as a placeholder but not a big, scary commitment. The question marks seemed to soften the level of commitment which is okay as you’re trying to change your attitude and your behavior about the networking event.

As the date of the event approached, they could decide if there was something more important they should be doing. In those instances where there was no client meeting, no sales call and no family obligation, they would be reminded that there was something productive and strategic they could be doing: building their professional network.

If the networking event was not on their calendar, these folks could easily forget there was an opportunity to go out and meet more improvement oriented professionals and business leaders. I’ve often told my clients, “When in doubt, go out.” Get out of your office meet some new people. Business growth comes from people you have not met yet and networking events are critical to long term growth of your business and of yourself as a professional.