Bringing your clients together through networking

Last week, ahead of the CompTIA UK Channel Community meeting at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, a number of my clients – IT Solution Providers and Managed Service Providers from across the UK – plus some other select industry figures, got together in a room for what we amusingly refer to as the “World Domination Summit”.

This is the 2nd year that I’ve brought my clients together in this way, and each year the feedback from attendees has been positive. To me this is really no surprise – if you gather together a bunch of the smartest and most progressive IT business owners in the UK, all they really need is the slightest nudge from me as a facilitator to start talking to each other and the good ideas start flowing. Everyone in the room benefits from the collected experience – it really produce a “Mastermind” like experience for all concerned.

The World Domination Summit

The “World Domination Summit” (WDS) started as an excuse to bring my clients together under one roof and introduce them to one another. At the first WDS I encouraged each participant to share their areas of speciality and expertise – and in the weeks and months that followed that meeting I heard feedback from clients who were now collaborating on projects together and outsourcing specialist work to each other.

At the latest WDS, I encouraged each participant to share their biggest challenges and most inspiring recent successes, and I watched as everyone in the room learned by sharing experiences each other and each person came away with ideas to take back to their own business.

Frankly, I’m the first to admit I wasn’t actually needed in the room – gather any group of like-minded, positive and successful individuals such as my clients and they’ll create valuable conversations with each other.

Which begs the question, if bringing your clients together through networking is valuable – why aren’t more businesses doing it?

Bringing your own clients together

As an IT business, I’m positive that you have more than one client who you’d consider progressive in their ideas, successful in their execution of these ideas, and eager to build relationships with and learn from others.

Why not start introducing your own customers or clients to one another and help nurture those relationships? If those clients help one another, their respective businesses will grow as a result – all of which is good for you as their partner too! What’s more, don’t underestimate the value business owners place on maintaining a relationship with the connectors of this world. If your client sees you as someone who knows and can connect them with other positive, successful business owners – they’ll value their relationship with you all the more.

Conclusion

While putting on your own “World Domination Summit” might be something to plan for – after all, all you need is a room, a few pots of tea or coffee and some eager attendees – you can start connecting your clients tomorrow with a simple email introduction outlining why you’re connecting the two business owners and what benefits you see them getting out of connecting.

In my experience, the results can be powerful and help provide even more value to your clients than you already do.

As an IT business owner, how powerful might it be for you to connect your own clients to one another?

 

photo credit: pasukaru76 via photopin cc

You might like: