It’s all about the networking

12th January 2010 Business, Freelancing, Networking

I’m getting a lot of emails at the moment from people thinking about going into freelancing asking what the best move is to get those first load of clients. My answer is always the same, get out and network.

Sitting behind a desk promoting yourself on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Flickr is all good and well, but nothing hits the spot like getting out, shaking some hands and swapping some business cards. A lot of freelance resources place emphases on developing your ’social network’ profile and using the social network tools to market what you do, but getting out into the real world and meeting potential clients is just as if not more important, especially if you want to grab those businesses who aren’t on the social media radar.

Getting Started

• Speak to your local Business Link or business support agency and find out what’s happening in your local area. If you can find networking groups that apply to your area then hit them first, then move on to the more traditional business clubs and morning groups.
• Don’t pay to network! As a general rule paying to network is a bad idea unless you know you can get the return on your investment. I joined Codeworks Connect about 7 months ago at £70 for the year and managed to return a fair amount of work and meet plenty of contacts in a short amount of time however I already knew a large chunk of the people who attended and had plenty of introductions. Without those things I doubt I would have done as well
  If there is a networking event you really think will help you out and it costs, squeeze the organisers for a couple of free passes so you can get a feel for the place before signing on the dotted line. Then if you feel like its going to be worth it, dip your hand in your pocket for the cash.
• You need business cards. If you rock up to a meeting without them, you might as well have not gone at all. Despite what you read they don’t need to be anything fancy, cards from moo.com will do the trick. Name, email address, phone number and website and you’re done.
• And last but not least. Don’t try to pitch everyone you meet. Networking is just as much about building contacts as it is about creating business. If you run up to everyone and start pitching them your service before they’ve had a chance to say hello then people are going to get board quickly and avoid you. Take it easy, at the end of the day everyone is there for the same purpose and if people are really looking for what you have to offer they’ll hunt you out. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 meetings and sometimes you might not even convert these to business until weeks (even months) later, its all about building up long term relationships, it’ll all pay off in the end.

Hope this helps. Anyone who wants to know any more about this get in touch or reach me on twitter. Holla!