SMART MARKETING: Are You A Joiner

Are you a member of your local Chamber of Commerce? If you aren’t, why aren’t you? If you are, are you making the most of your membership?

It’s my experience that few of us have all the customers we’ll ever need. So maybe once a month you can find time to attend a local Chamber of Commerce breakfast, a "business after hours"-type networking event or other function at which you share space with dozens (and maybe hundreds) of prospects.

You might be thinking that the local Chamber of Commerce is a business group. You’re correct. And maybe you don’t, at present, provide service to the business community. You’re a residential pest management professional, not a "commercial" service provider. Fine. Chances are, most of the folks you’ll be encountering at breakfast or after hours, besides being business people, are home-owners who might be in the market for one or more of your services.

The point is about getting out and meeting people face-to-face whom you might be able to persuade to become a customer for your pest, termite or lawn care service.

I know. You’re busy. You’re managing a business. You’re running a route. You’re dealing with all of the administrative duties associated with management. Excuse my lack of sympathy, but so is everyone else. There’s nothing more important when you’re running a business than growing the business and if you don’t have a dedicated sales force out there helping you grow it, it falls on you to be responsible for that aspect of management. If you’re not growing, you’re moving backwards and moving backwards isn’t a good thing in business.

FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON. In every organization there are people who do well around other people. Having been at a number of industry conferences, conventions and seminars, I’ve met folks who are natural networkers. And I’ve met more than a few who are, to be sure, uncomfortable in a social environment. If it’s not you, who in your business is the type of person who likes people, likes to interact with them and possesses the right image and knowledge about what we do? If this person is not already selling for you, maybe he or she is the one you want to send to the Chamber breakfast.

Chambers of Commerce also usually have a unique phenomenon they provide to members called "leads groups." These loosely knit confederations of non-competitive business types typically meet weekly, biweekly or monthly for breakfast or lunch. At these meetings, they share information about possible prospects with one another. No matter what size your company is, having someone participate in groups like these is a good idea. Aside from the cost of breakfast, there’s usually no charge for membership and at worst, the members of the group become prospects for one or more of your services. How many termite treatments would you need to sell to validate a membership? One? Two?

Conventional, traditional advertising is becoming more costly and scientific all the time. I’ll be writing about this situation in coming months. If business can be generated more efficiently than via mass media, especially for the smaller pest management professionals in our industry, why not exploit those opportunities?

Often, depending on the size of your market and the size of your business, you can join a Chamber of Commerce for as little as $150 a year. And in many markets there are several Chambers with different communities of people, all of whom join to build their businesses.

As one who maintains memberships in two dozen plus Chambers throughout our marketing area, I can tell you that they never stop asking you to do things, sponsor events and activities and donate time, services and volunteers to all kinds of things. Say yes to what makes sense for you and say no to the rest of it.

That having been said, let’s go back to the beginning. If you’re not a member of one or more Chambers in your area, think about joining. And if you are a member, are you getting everything possible out of your membership?

The author is senior vice president of Massey-Persons-Brinati Communications, a subsidiary of Massey Services Inc., Maitland, Fla. He can be reached via e-mail at bbrewer@pctonline.com.