Look Beyond Return on Investment

• Organization memberships: One of the first things to get the ax on a budget is organizational memberships. I started and ran a large trade association, and I have been involved in many organizations. The reason you join an organization is to meet people who can help drive new business.
  There are no guarantees. If you want to measure the effectiveness of joining an organization, put together a spreadsheet and list the people you meet at each meeting. Include a column for each time you followed up with the various people and the results of the meetings, such as "requested a second meeting," "requested a draft proposal" or "made a referral to another prospect." I can assure you that if you don't join organizations and attend meetings, your chances to obtain new clients will be greatly reduced.
• Writing a column: I have been writing columns for print and online publications for 20 years. In all of those years, I have only had a handful of prospect leads, and none converted to sales. Have I wasted my time writing columns?

  Definitely not! My columns allow me to meet people I normally wouldn't meet through interviews and interaction at conferences. Writing a column enhances my chances of being requested to speak at business functions, which increases my chances of meeting a client or a referral source.

• Speaking: I speak 12 to 20 times per year at functions for trade associations, chambers of commerce, Rotary Clubs and business networking groups. I speak and teach at universities. Some years, I have gotten a few new clients, and other years, I have gotten none. Should I have stopped speaking after a year in which I got no new clients?

  My philosophy is that you never know whom you are going to meet when you speak. I once had a man come up to me after speaking to his Rotary Club. He said he thought I would be interested in meeting his son. My initial thought was that he wanted me to help his son find a job, but I was wrong. His son was head of the energy practice for an international consulting firm, and the father thought he would be a good contact for one of my energy clients.