Consultant Will Discuss Networking Techniques

Marketing consultant Lee Reinke Bright has been so successful in networking, she says, she hasn’t needed to advertise or even list her telephone number for the last 10 years.

Bright said she drums up new clients largely through the informal, often chance, encounters with people that are the fundamental building blocks of networking, and ultimately business growth.

The Long Beach entrepreneur is scheduled to talk about her techniques for initiating lasting business relationships at the Small Business Strategies Conference sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

“It’s not about going into a room and handing your business card out to 50 people,” said Bright, slated to speak at 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 17, the first day of the conference.

Among the pointers Bright will discuss is the importance of would-be networkers to quickly establish how they can benefit the people on the other side of the conversation.

“[Networking] is about what you can do for them,” she said. Bright’s talk is among about 40 speeches, panel discussions and workshops scheduled during the two-day conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Those sessions will focus on topics of interest to small businesses: technology, financing, growth planning, marketing, management and entrepreneurship.

Registration is $99 for both days and $70 for one day. For more information, call (800) 350-3211 or visit the conference Web site at https://www.latimes.com/sbsc.