Tampa Community Marketing Part 2: Getting Involved

The importance of building trust and confidence with prospects and clients was referred to in a most recently posted blog entry. The importance of this concept cannot be stressed enough.

The competition for someone’s business is fierce and only those who make a prospect feel completely comfortable in using his or her service will get the business.

It can take several meetings before a prospect even considers doing any business with you. Because of this, it is important to consistently meet or exceed their expectations. If you say you’re bringing sandwiches to a function, bring them. If you say you’re going to call at 9 p.m., call at 9 p.m.

Don’t call late and don’t forget.

Business is often initially conducted on just a handshake and your word so make your word golden.

Join, Join, Join, Then Get Business

Listings of meetups, LinkedIn business meetings, clubs, organizations, religious groups and other community involvement opportunities can be easily found online, in local newspapers, or at the area Chamber of Commerce’s website.

A simple search or phone call can provide the background information on the group for you to vet to determine its advantages to your business along with membership requirements and a schedule of meeting times and upcoming events.

Find out as much as possible about an organization before joining. Attend introductory meetings and realistically consider the time and money demands of membership before joining.

The Benefits of Membership

By getting involved in your community you are actively working to establish yourself and your reputation with a growing network of prospective clients/prospects. Earning someone’s trust as an honest, community-minded individual often requires you to prove it by giving your altruistic time and effort, but the end result can be tremendous. Community involvement should be treated as an integral part of your overall marketing plan.

Sales Hint

When you have joined a group or offered your volunteer efforts, encourage group members to contact you at your office. This serves to reinforce you and what you do each time they contact you. In addition, volunteer to have group meetings at your office. This is a great way to get people familiar with and feel more comfortable with you and your work environment.