Decided to skip the big chamber mixer for a local networking event

I had a choice to make for my dental practice's community outreach. I could either sponsor a table at the big annual Edmonton Chamber of Commerce gala, which costs about $800, or put that money towards a series of smaller, more focused networking events. I went with the smaller events. It meant more legwork for me, setting up at three different neighborhood business meetups over the last two months, but the conversations were way better. Instead of a two-minute chat over a rubber chicken dinner, I had real talks with a bookkeeper, a local cafe owner, and a graphic designer, all within a few blocks of my office. We've already started referring clients to each other. It felt less like a transaction and more like building something. For those who've done both, do you find the smaller, repeated connections actually bring in more solid leads than the one big splash?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooke7671d ago

Totally get that. Used to chase the big flashy events thinking they were the only way to get noticed. Turns out showing up to the same small meetups a few times is what actually gets people to remember your face and trust you.

joelt7021h ago

Oh man, this hits home. I was the same way, always running to the huge conferences thinking that was the ticket. Honestly, getting coffee with the same few people every month did more for me than any of those crowded rooms ever did. It feels backwards but you're totally right, that regular face time is what actually builds something real. Took me way too long to figure that out.

sullivan.spencer13h ago

Remember thinking I needed a fancy name tag and a stack of business cards to matter. Tbh I probably spent enough on conference tickets over the years to buy a small truck. The real connections came from just being a regular person who showed up, not some guy trying to talk to everyone in a noisy hall. Felt like an idiot when I finally got it.