I had been attending chamber events for about two years by then but the results weren’t very promising. Most of the people I met at those events didn’t have a marketing budget, business plan or ever knew how many clients they had or needed to be profitable.
I was invited to attend a management consultants group in Oakland one day and was taken aback when more than half of the attendees asked if they could attend one of my groups. Four of the six attended joined on the spot. The numbers were amazing.
I began looking for other organizations where potential members might hang out and was amazed at the results. It was consistent. Unlike the chamber meetings, the members of each organization were dedicated to the same industry and were consistently more engaged in a business plan, they also had a marketing budget.
What a marvelous difference in the type of people I began to work with. They were enthusiastic, kept their appointments and returned phone calls.
We have a terrible reputation in California for a lack of follow up and showing up for appointments.
But with this new method of meeting professionals, I stumbled onto an entirely more professional attitude.
Now it was getting fun!