Hunting Versus Farming – The Key to Effective Networking

There are two types of networking that can lead to major gains for your business. Knowing how and when to implement these two forms of business building can make the difference between success and failure or a good year and a great one. Networking can be a highly effective way to generate a large number of beneficial relationships quickly, but there is also another type of networking that takes a little longer but can be just as effective – if not more – in the long term.

If you network quickly, this is called hunting. Hunting involves making contact with lots and lots of people. You might “hunt” at a large seminar or other educational event where there are a lot of potential clients congregated in one place. Types of hunting include passing out magnets at festivals, leaving your card on every chair in the room or trying to introduce yourself and shake as many hands as possible at a business meeting. This results in a blanket of information about you, but will usually only yield a few leads since most people either lose the business card or do not realize why they need you when they have your contact information in their hands. However, hunting is fast and generally relatively inexpensive.

On the other hand, farming takes more work. When you farm, you research, target and cultivate potential clients. You might make business overtures like the occasional lunch meeting, giving prospects promotional merchandise to use at their leisure, or even meet with potential clients to play golf. You may have a system in which you expose a potential client to the value of your services either by providing some of them on a trial basis or by periodically offering them special deals. Over time, your client or potential client learns about you through the farming process. They will learn how you deliver – or over-deliver – on products and services. They may also grow to respect you on a personal level. These things can all help sway their decision to become your clients or to advise other contacts to become your clients. Farming is more time consuming, but it has higher yields and generally results in customer loyalty as long as you deliver on your promises.

As you can see, both types of networking have a time and a place. If you are neglecting either type of marketing in your overall advertising and promotional campaigns, then evaluate your situation immediately to see where both of these networking options will fit into your specific business scenario.

And remember, market creatively, carefully and often!

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