Identify where you can meet your referral sources

This article is part of the series 28 Business Networking Strategies.

Now that you know who you need to meet (i.e. your best referral sources), it's time to find out how to meet more of these people.

Here in the UK there's an excellent resource called Find Networking Events. This site lists almost every networking event by region, and gives you an easy way to find out what's happening in your area.

Simply select your region from the pull-down list, specify a 'from' date, and click the 'Search' button. The site returns an extensive list of business networking events, seminars and conferences.

You can then scan down the list looking for those most likely to attract the people you get the most referrals from (e.g. if you're looking to meet accountants, look for networking events aimed at accountants).

It's also worth entering Networking Events London (replace London with your geographic area) into Google, Bing or Yahoo Search. All 3 search engines will return a long list of networking events in your area.

Another useful search term is Business Networking London (replace London with your geographic area).

You might also try adding the specific occupation you're targeting to your search. For example, Business Networking Accountant London.

Generic networking organisations such as BNI, BRX and 4n tend to attract a wide variety of occupations. If you're looking to meet people in common occupations such as accountants or printers, you'll almost certainly find them at these organisations.

Another way to find people in specific occupations is through an online business networking site such as LinkedIn or Ecademy. These sites provide search tools that make it easy to find people in your area quickly.

I suggest you create a list of people you'd like to meet, and then develop a strategy to approach them. That's what the next article in this series is about.

Compiled by Wayne Davies – creator of the DIY SEO Seminar.