Coffee, The Erie Power Networking Way

I've discovered an incredible business building technique...the coffee. This may seem obvious, however the relationship building that can occur over coffee (or tea in my case) has the ability to transform your business.

I was introduced to "the coffee" by Heidi Kerner at Erie Power Networking. She encourages everyone involved in the network to meet each other for coffee in between our EPN meetings. The theory is people do business with the people they know and trust. This is basic common sense.

"The coffee" begins by meeting people at a networking event. A networking event is anything from a Chamber After Hours to a party at a friend's house. During the course of the event, you meet new people. Your job is to collect their business cards or names and phone numbers. The day after the event, you follow-up with those people you met. You invite them to join you for a coffee. You set aside an hour to meet with this person. Your intention at the coffee is simply to get to know them better and get to know what they do. You are not meeting with them to sell what you do. That's it. The more coffees you have, the more people you get to know, the more referrals you can make to those people, and, in turn, the more referrals you'll receive.

The person who makes the invitation is the person who pays for the coffee. Try to pick a location that is center to both participants. Some of my favorite coffee spots are: Aroma's (2174 W. 8th St), Panera and Starbuck's.

So, at K2S we started encouraging "the coffee". At the moment we have two active participants. I am trying to schedule 3 coffees a week. Through the networking, I've been able to bring in three opportunities for new business. I am also expanding the chances we'll receive new business by getting to know my fellow EPN'ers.

Erie Power Networking is one of the best groups I've joined. I've learned better networking techniques, how to build a 30-second commercial about me and our business, and how to be comfortable speaking about business. Heidi and Phil, the founders of EPN, have brought a terrific resource to Erie.