In the A – Z of Marketing, Z is for … Zest, Zing and Zebedee! I used to love going to networking events. I would bounce in like Zebedee and find people to speak to. If I was giving a talk, it would be full of zing and energy, which I use to inspire my audience to do more marketing. But earlier this summer, I realised that I had lost interest in networking and promoting my business. Things were ticking along nicely with our existing clients; new clients were knocking at the door, so I didn’t feel I needed to put much energy or zest into marketing. I decided to take a break from networking. If you’ve been reading this blog and my email newsletter, Scribbles, for a while, you’ll know that I would never allow any of my clients to stop marketing, just because they had enough work to do. It’s dangerous and leads to ‘feast and famine’ in your business. But when you’re turning up at networking meetings and you can’t really be bothered to speak to people, it really is time to stop for a while! So how do you put some zing and zest back into your networking? How do you find your Zebedee again? Here are three ways I’ve been doing it, which you can try.

• Take a break. There really is no point in doing the same old thing if your heart isn’t in it. Doing ‘negative’ marketing (the sort that involves being bored at a networking meeting and not wanting to talk to anyone!) can actually do more harm to your business and your reputation than not doing any marketing at all. Taking a break will give you time out to step back and think about where your business is going and the sort of marketing you want to do. This blog was written at a tea shop overlooking the River Derwent in Derbyshire, while I was on holiday. Watch this space for more blogs inspired by holiday antics!

• 1-2-1 networking. If networking in a room full of people doesn’t excite you, do some selective networking. Over the summer I had lunch with two former clients/business contacts/friends, Susie and Kate, who both run their own businesses. Aside from having lovely lunches in wonderful pubs, it was good to spend time with each of them on a 1-2-1 basis. That’s something you can’t do at a regular networking meeting. It’s a great way to catch up with business contacts – you never know what might come of it.

• Do something different. Now that September has arrived, I’m going ‘back to school’ with my marketing. I’m looking for some different networking meetings to attend, to see if they can help me meet the sort of people I want to meet. I’m looking for events where I can give a fun new talk I’ve created about the “10 marketing tactics you can use to turn your business around”, all suggestions for such groups to attend gratefully received! In October I’m launching a ‘virtual book tour’ for my second book, One in Ten which will give my Social Media marketing a fresh focus. I’m also putting together a free series of videos – the 3 Ms of building a business, which will get you through the first 10 years and beyond.

While I might not have been actively networking for a while, I’ve not stopped thinking about marketing. Now that I’ve had a break from it, I’m really looking forward to doing more over the next few months. So watch out – Zebedee is back and he’s full of zing and zest! Image from connect.everythingzoomer.com