Get Involved and Get Known!

A deep thinker once said, “People buy from people they know and trust,” which has been the basis of all relationship buying decisions. The most important point though is that you must be known in order to be effective in any business relationship. People need to understand who you are and how important you are to their success.

Where our chapter of Meeting Professionals International has stood out is as the premier organization to build and create business relationships with people who are actively seeking new business partnerships. But to be effective, you must be known to your potential audience by being very visible and approachable. This leads to the column's title of “Get Involved and Get Known,” which should be your primary focus within our chapter.

Get Involved

There are two levels of involvement you should carefully consider: being personal and business enhancement. First, being personal is to get involved in a particular aspect of the organization, which generally involves becoming part of a committee that offers an area of personal interest to you. This allows you to identify people you want to know and gives you the opportunity to make a personal connection. Second, you can expand your involvement and further penetrate the organization by adding your business enhancement. This can be done through either a direct-cash sponsorship, so you further focus your efforts, or through in-kind sponsorship, which is also a very valuable tool for business development. The more you can keep your organization in front of the membership, the more business opportunities will become available to you.

Get Known

"Get known" is about being consistently active within the organization. This is where you can use your personal and business commitments to grow your personal brand within the organization to generate a return on your time and sponsorship. For people who have been a consistent sponsor, they get the opportunity to speak directly to the membership on a regular basis, which gives them a distinct advantage when it comes to growing their business opportunities. Remember, people buy from people they know and trust.  

Where you can further leverage your involvement and sponsorship is by using membership endorsements of your business from members who have become your business partners. This probably is the best way of growing your business within the chapter. It also allows you to be known in other organizations where an existing member also has relationships.

Here is one final point you may not immediately recognize, but it will become evident to you later. Based on your level of consistent involvement, you may find people who know who you are but you may not have personally met yet. This is all part of building your personal and business brands within the organization. This also is how future business relationships can develop from people who are familiar with you from your involvement; they can actively seek you out, or be very willing to talk to you about creating a new business partnership. Get Involved, Get Known, and Grow Your Business!

Ted Miller, CHME CHSP, CGTP, CGMP, HMCC