I have found various forms of networking to be highly successful strategies to help grow a business [i.e. enroll new clients]. If you want to see the best results with your service business, leverage the following opportunities:    

Why am I telling you this?  Because attending has been a MAJOR contributing factor in growing my business to its current level.  Did it cost me money to attend this?  YES!  (The registration fees have ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars!)  Plus, I paid my own travel expenses AND took off time from my business.  But was it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!  I’ve gotten at least one new client from every live event I’ve ever attended. Every single one.     

But if you aren’t clear on that step or don’t outline exactly what they should do to get that help, then you’re leaving your prospects hanging and leaving money on the table. If you want your marketing messages to have an impact, you need to carefully consider what you’d like them to do next, spell it out for them exactly and make it easy for them to do so.

However it's important to think about setting realistic expectation for your readers, as well as protecting your business interests while you are freely expressing your thoughts.

This quick article by Mashable highlights a few critical points all of us bloggers should take note of as we strive to add value to the marketplace and grow our businesses.

http://mashable.com/2011/06/16/blog-legal-tips/

Service professionals who do not LOVE networking often feel that way because they have convinced themselves that they aren't good at it.  Another common reason for resisting in-person networking is that some haven't enjoyed the results they expected.

Being effective at networking is certainly an acquirable skill.  If it's not one you currently possess, rest assured you can learn it with ease.  If you happen to be great at networking, you'll be happy to know that with a bit of ongoing effort you'll continue to connect with ideal prospects and close more business.

So how does one go about using networking opportunities to create more visibility and attract ideal clients?  Following are seven simple tips that will put you on the fast track to success:

Let's be real about this, to have a successful business, you need to have clients -- so why not make it your goal to attract the ideal client? Clients, like everyone else in your life, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are great to work with, others, well, not so much. Those "less than ideal" clients can cost you time and money, not to mention a healthy chunk of your sanity. So rather than struggling to 'fit a square peg in a round hole', it makes much more sense to focus your marketing efforts on attracting clients who will allow you to do your best work and for whom you can create the best results.

Here are four easy steps to attract your ideal client:  

While having a referral based business is the most preferred method of marketing and advertising, it requires more than just “hanging out a shingle” and being good at what you do.   Receiving referrals is most often the result of having a strong relationship with your clients and referral partners.  These relationships must be developed, nurtured, and respected.  The following are my three favorite strategies for developing strong business relationships and encouraging those in your network to refer you to others:

Attracting ideal clients and keeping a full pipeline is often the number one challenge solo service professionals face. Fortunately, it is also one of the easiest challenges to overcome. By consistently implementing a few simple steps, you will be well on your way to achieving your business goals.

The struggle to attract ideal clients is often rooted in a lack of clarity, focus and planning.  Remember, when you have clarity of vision for your business, it is easier for your ideal clients to see it as well. So you first need to know WHO exactly is your ideal client, what makes them ideal and what solutions they are looking for.   Also, it's important to narrow and focus your attention on one particular demographic.  This will allow you to be more strategic with your efforts and spend your marketing time wisely.  The planning is important too, because allows you to outline exactly what you are going to do on a  daily, weekly and monthly basis to connect with ideal prospects, instead of leaving it to chance.

Once you've gotten clear on your target market, ideal client and what they need, it's time to start taking action.  Here are three simple strategies for attracting ideal clients to your business NOW:  

Everybody who's anybody has a profile in each.  And it seems everybody is preaching the same thing:

• You HAVE  to have a Facebook Fan Page
• You HAVE  to be on Twitter
• You HAVE  to join LinkedIn and participate in groups

But, do you really HAVE to do any of this?  Will your business fall in the water if you don't?

The answer depends on your target audience.

Remember, your target audience determines where you should be and how you spend your time.  If your target audience spends their day on Twitter, then that's where you should be engaging with them.  While it may be a little challenging to have a full-fledged conversation, you can still interact and find out what their challenges are, participate in the conversation when they are looking for solutions and become a trusted adviser.

The same could be true if your target audience hangs out on Facebook.  Maybe they prefer to interact there because there's no character limit (like the 140 characters on Twitter.)  They may like the back and forth conversation of posting comments on each others wall and seeing their updates throughout the day.

Then there's the fact that, as entrepreneurs, we often find it difficult to get through everything we'd like to accomplish in one day.  You may be so busy serving clients and doing your work, that your well-intentioned marketing plans fall by the way side.  If you don't have a head for marketing or aren't tech savvy, it can seem downright impossible to make any headway in growing your business.  And what happens then?  Because you can't decipher what to do next, are pressed for time and have limited marketing knowledge you become overwhelmed and wind up doing nothing.

Doing nothing to market your business is not an option.  If you don’t consistently market your services, you won't continue to attract new prospects and eventually your client base will dry up, leaving you with no revenue and no business.

So what's the solution?