One afternoon last week, my schedule was full of back-to-back meetings and events and I had a decision to make about squeezing in a networking event. I knew I would only be able to drop in for half an hour, and with only half the events of the day under my belt, I was toying with the idea of skipping it. However, it was my friend, Theresa Sanford, hosting the event and she had personally invited me. Based on the personal invitation, I decided to go. I was in and out in thirty minutes, but made a valuable connection before I left, which turned out to be very worth my time. The 303Network holds monthly networking events that benefit local non-profit organizations and they draw in crowds of 300 + people. The secret? You might think that it’s the fact that she posts the event on Meetup.com and Facebook and and use social media sites to promote. You might think that it’s because she sends out an email to her vast and growing database every couple of weeks. You might think that people just stumble across it by accident when they see the crowd growing and come in out of curiosity. The secret lies in the personal invitation that you get. Theresa has made it a point to connect and create a relationship with most of the people in the Denver Metro area. If you know Theresa, you are her friend. Theresa is constantly connecting with people and inviting them to her events. And it works.

Hosting a successful event is dependent on people showing up. While Experience Pros teaches you how to use invitations to grow your business, we tend to put more emphasis on the invitation rather than the event itself. We often tell people that it’s okay if your guests say no, and encourage the fact that you invited them puts your brand back in their mind. However, if you are the host of an event, the value of attendance is great.

A personal invitation yields the greatest success in getting people to actually attend your party. It’s important to post the details on a website or through Facebook and Meetup.com, but I suggest you use this as more of a reference, as opposed to getting people to actually commit to coming. You don’t have to call everyone you know, but definitely call the people you really want to be there. When you are out and about, invite the people you see, right there. Don’t wait until you get back to your computer to send the notice, personally ask them to come along. If you have several events, a personal invitation to each and every one may not be necessary, but if you really want to have butts in the seats or people paying at the door, your emphasis needs to be on personally inviting your guests.

If you don’t have a strong enough relationship with someone to invite them to your event, you are at risk to losing them to your competition. Pick up the phone and call them. Engage them in a conversation and make them feel as if you really want them there - because you do. Without guests at an event, you’ve just thrown a lot of time and money out the window. Your personal invitation may just be the thing that sways them into showing up.