So, after you've gotten your feet wet with a few of your own projects, it's time to start looking out in the community for other service projects you can get your dojo to support.
Chances are that people aren't just going to pop out of the woodwork and ask you to volunteer. Instead, you're going to need to get plugged into the local news around town to know what's going on.
- You can join your local chamber of commerce and start attending their mixers. Yes, those events are where insurance salesmen and real estate agents go to die... but they are also one of the best places to network with other business owners in your area.
- You can also join local neighborhood and community Facebook groups. Try to avoid only posting in these groups when you are advertising your school. This is a big no-no and makes you look like a mooch. Instead, engage in conversations (respectfully) and occasionally post links to informative articles. Basically, position yourself as someone who is interested and involved in your local community.
- Or, you can figure out who the key influencers are in your local area, and take them out to lunch. Typically there are two or three key influencers in any given community. These are the people who are organizing events and fundraisers, who believe in a cause, and who have their finger on the pulse of the local community. Networking with them is likely the best way to get involved in local charity events.
Be A Giver
I am going to make this point again, because people tend to miss it when I coach them on how to network locally. And that point is, you must be focused on serving and giving if you want to make inroads with these methods.
That old saying about how "people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care" is absolutely true. So when you start getting out to network, stop focusing on yourself and what you need and instead show people you care.
Let's go back to those chamber mixers as an example of how not to network. When you go to those events, you're likely to get hammered by salespeople of all kinds shoving their card in your face and pitching you on their deal.
This is not the way to make sales. Well, it can work - but you have to be a major pest to make it work. And besides that, you look like a mooch when you take this approach to selling.
The better approach is to ask questions, such as...
- "What do you do?"
- "How long have you been involved with _______?"
- "What got you interested in ________?"
And finally, the most effective networking question you can ask anyone:
- "What can I do to help you with ________?"
The Next Step
Next week I'm going to talk about the next step after you start making contacts and offering your involvement in local charity events and drives.
It is absolutely the most important step, and if you mess it up, you're toast. So, stay tuned for that email.
