The process of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with other business people and potential clients or customers is known as business networking. The intangible gains made by communicating with other professionals in or related to your industry are referred to as business networking benefits. Developing relationships as a business owner and offering assistance to others does more than give you potential clients or generate referrals. Networking can help you identify opportunities for partnerships, joint ventures, or new areas of business expansion.
- Inquire about how people prefer to stay connected as you build a relationship- Please don’t assume you can start texting people after your first meeting. I’m old school, and I always ask people which modes of communication they prefer. I don’t ask right away, but if I get the chance, I try to find out what they prefer. Yes, texting is the quickest way to get an answer from many people nowadays, but it is also reserved for the most intimate relationships. Don’t start texting until you’ve established that level of trust.
- Be prepared- It only takes 15 minutes to do a Google search, read The Business Journals, make a phone call or two, and get smart before your meeting. Be sure you’re prepared with background information and at least three to five good questions. Without showing up prepared for a networking or job-search meeting, you come across as unmotivated and as having wasted time making the other person tell you about their firm. It’s difficult to recover from a bad first impression, and you’re unlikely to get another chance.
- Use caution when name dropping- There is a fine line between using a name to elevate your status with a person you are networking with and offending them. While you want to show the person you’re meeting with that you’ve done your homework and know someone at the company, if you use that person’s name too often or share too many “war stories,” you may come across as a lightweight, schmoozer, etc. It’s always a good idea to make a reference or two to someone you know who works at the firm or has a shared connection, but make sure those people know and care about one another.
- Be open to meeting a variety of people with whom you can build your network- Yes, yes, we all want the decision-maker, especially in sales. However, keep in mind that your network can assist you in gaining access to other people. Don’t be a snob and only connect with people at the top of their profession.
- Think about building your network in more ways than 1-on-1- We want people’s time and we want to build a relationship, but often if we go for a one-on-one meeting, we won’t get access to the person. The more successful someone is, the more they guard their time. Rather than hounding them, see if you can attend an event where they might be present, or host a lunch and invite people who they might find useful. Consider how you can expand your network without increasing the number of hours you spend each week on relationship building.
