Step 4 · Drive more business your way
Turn networking into new business.
Most people go to networking, eat the breakfast and come home with a pile of business cards. This course shows you which rooms are worth your time, what to say when someone asks what you do, and how to turn the people you meet into people who send you work.
Live now. Included in Academy membership.
What you’ll learn
Fewer events. More work from them.
Six short parts that take you from picking the right room to knowing exactly what each one brings you. Every part ends with something you can use at your very next event.
Choose the rooms worth your time
Breakfast groups, Chambers of Commerce, Growth Hub events, industry evenings, local business clubs and online groups all work differently. You’ll learn which suit your kind of business, whether a paid group is worth the fee, and how to check who’s going before you book.
Tools: Eventbrite and Meetup to find events, LinkedIn to look people up, and a simple scorecard to decide which groups to keep.
You’ll leave with: a short list of the rooms worth your time.
Know what to say when someone asks what you do
Nobody remembers a job title. They remember who you help, the problem you fix and a quick story about a customer. You’ll build a 20 second introduction that sounds like you, and that other people can repeat when they recommend you.
Tools: your phone’s voice recorder, to practise until it sounds natural.
You’ll leave with: an introduction people remember and pass on.
Work the room without selling
How to start a conversation, ask questions that get people talking, listen for problems you can help with, and leave a chat politely. The person in front of you is rarely your customer, but they often know ten people who are.
Tools: a notes app, to jot down who you met and what they need before you leave the car park.
You’ll leave with: conversation starters that don’t feel like selling.
Turn contacts into people who send you work
The heart of the course. You’ll learn how to spot the people most likely to recommend you, how to ask for a referral so clearly that someone springs to mind, why giving referrals first gets you more back, and how to make recommending you really easy.
Tools: a short paragraph about what you do that people can forward, and your list of top referrers.
You’ll leave with: the exact words to ask for referrals, and who to ask.
Follow up so a chat becomes work
Most of the value of networking is lost in the week after. You’ll follow up within 48 hours, turn the best chats into a one to one coffee, add everyone to your CRM with where you met them, and keep in touch without being pushy.
Tools: Pipedrive or any CRM (a spreadsheet works too), a calendar booking link and ready to use follow up messages.
You’ll leave with: a follow up routine you’ll actually stick to.
See what’s paying off
Networking takes hours every month, so it needs to earn its place. You’ll track which groups and which people bring you work, put a pound figure on each one, and drop the ones that don’t.
Tools: the lead source field in your CRM, or a simple spreadsheet.
You’ll leave with: a quick monthly check on what networking brings you.
Why most networking doesn’t pay
A pile of business cards isn’t new business.
Most people don’t give up on networking because it doesn’t work. They give up because they go to the wrong rooms, say the wrong thing and never follow up. This course fixes the bits in between.
- Going to every event and hoping
- Freezing when someone asks what you do
- Business cards ending up in a drawer
- No idea if it’s worth the time
- Going to the rooms where your customers and referrers are
- An introduction people remember and repeat
- A follow up within 48 hours, every time
- Knowing what each group brings you in pounds
Live now
Included in your membership
Join the Academy and you can start this course today. Every other course is included too, as each one opens.
- This course, and every course as each opens
- Regular AI updates throughout the year
- Live group sessions
- Save £360 a year
- Every course, as each opens
- No commitment, cancel any time
- Included with your website
- Plus our client only courses
All prices include VAT.
Before you sign up
Your questions, answered
Is it ready now?
Yes. It’s live now. Join the Academy and you can start today.
Is there any AI in it?
No. This is a simple, practical course. All you need is your phone, and a CRM or a spreadsheet.
Do I need to do anything first?
It helps to know who your best customers are and what you’re offering, because that’s what you’ll be talking about in the room. If you haven’t yet, do Find the Customers You Actually Want and Create an Offer Your Clients Can’t Say No To first.
I hate networking. Is this for me?
Yes. Most people feel awkward walking into a room full of strangers. The course gives you what to say, how to start and end a conversation, and how to pick smaller rooms where it’s easier to talk.
Does it cover online networking?
Yes. Online groups and Zoom networking are covered alongside face to face events, and the same steps work for both.
How is this different from Get Other Businesses to Send You Customers?
This course is about the people you meet when you network, and getting them to recommend you. Get Other Businesses to Send You Customers is about setting up proper partnerships with other businesses, with offers, agreements and joint campaigns. They work well together.
What’s the example business?
The examples follow a local bookkeeper who goes to a monthly breakfast group, so you can see every step in action. There are tips for product businesses and shops too.
Do members pay extra?
No. It’s included in your membership, like every other course.
Turn networking into new business.
The right rooms, the right words, and people who send you work.
Join the Academy to get it
Henny MaltbyPink Elephant AI Marketing Academy
Examples on this page are illustrative. Results vary and aren’t guaranteed. Photos from Unsplash.