Social networking has opened up vast marketing opportunities for businesspeople, but sometimes the best networking is the old-fashioned kind. You know: getting together and talking with people.
An organization called Biz to Biz Network Inc. provides a forum for representatives from all sorts of different industries to meet up regularly to exchange business cards, strategies and pleasantries.
The idea is, once businesspeople within a community get to know each other and trust each other, they inevitably help each other, no matter how divergent their backgrounds.
For instance, if a building contractor has a client in need of a good salon, the contractor will provide a strong reference for the salon owner he knows from his Biz to Biz meetings. And it works the other way too, to the benefit of the builder. The members are encouraged to think of each other as a sales team.
“That’s what we’re doing, we’re always selling for each other,” Bob Helder told a crowded room at a recent Biz to Biz Network meeting at the KM Building in Kalispell.
Helder is the owner of Robert W. Ross Building Contractor Inc. and the president of Biz to Biz Network’s chapter three, which is one of Kalispell’s three chapters. There are also three chapters in Bozeman, one in Columbia Falls and another in Livingston.
Altogether Biz to Biz, which was founded in Minnesota by Tracy Branham in 2006, has 35 active and forming chapters in several states, with 500 members. In the past year, according to Helder, the Montana chapters have expanded significantly.
“We are growing very quickly,” Helder said.
Biz to Biz brings together a multitude of industries, though each chapter can only have one representative from each. If a chapter has a banker as a member, then no more bankers can come onboard.
Biz to Biz promotes diversity, which in turn gives its members an opportunity to share in a wide breadth of expertise and connections.
The chapters meet once a week to socialize and talk shop. They conduct “one-minute commercials” in which business owners, or representatives from different businesses, provide a brief – but hopefully persuasive – synopsis of what their company does, as if selling it. Members also discuss what they’re seeing on the streets and what might be on the horizon.
Most importantly, they get to know each other. A word that comes up frequently is “trust.”
“Any negativity is left at the door,” Jill Ripley, owner of Evergreen Clinic, said. “We’re here to support each other and build trust.”
The Oct. 27 gathering at the KM Building was an informational meeting for both prospective and current members, with a varied checklist of industries: banking, auto sales, professional photography, interior design, granite countertops, electrical work, pottery importing, embroidery, audiology, insurance and more.
Kim Romero, who runs her own accounting business, has been a member of Biz to Biz since February of 2009. She said it’s helped her business immensely, a sentiment echoed by others at the meeting.
“It’s been a godsend,” Romero said. “You get your name out there with all these people. It’s a really good marketing tool, especially for startups.”
Members of Biz to Biz are sponsoring the second annual Women’s Expo at the Flathead County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday Nov. 13. The event is a fundraiser for Teens-N-Crisis, Montana Woman Foundation and Violence Free Crisis Line/Abbie Shelter.
At the expo, businesses set up booths for an opportunity to showcase their business and support a cause. Booth entry fees and $5 admission fees go to the three nonprofits. Last year, $5,000 was raised and organizers again expect a large turnout. There will be live music, an auction and a fashion show.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the expo, getting a booth or if you have a general question, call (406) 203-4460 or e-mail [email protected]. To find out more about Biz to Biz Network, log on to www.biztobizinc.com or call 1-877-BIZZ-BIZ.