It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I’ve been really active on the meeting front recently, and it got me thinking how much my business is dependent on meeting new and varied people.

I was talking to a friend the other day who was bemoaning a lack of new business coming in. One simple question diagnosed the problem (and pointed to the solution):

How many meetings have you had?

The answer, of course, was none.

Now I should qualify this. I’m not talking about spending all of your time out and about having coffee and attending networking events. I think we’ve all seen people who spend all of there time doing that. Just because you’re out there doesn’t mean it’s time well spent – and yet you see a lot of people trying to convince themselves the opposite is true.

But most businesses (especially in the smaller category) are dependent on meeting new people. We form alliances, get to know one another, see mutual opportunities….it’s how we get new business in.

I’ve been spending a lot of time recently out and about forming relationships. It feels good to do it again, and it’s crucial to getting new business.

How are you doing?

- j