Networking is one of the most powerful free marketing and publicity tools available to business owners. It is a great opportunity to position yourself as an expert and start creating a buzz for your business. But effective networking requires some key habits you need to start putting into place if you want it to bring you results. Otherwise, you will be spending lots of time and energy.
It's easy to confuse networking with socializing. The difference is networking is done for a business purpose. Socializing is done for fun. And while, I believe networking can be fun it should not be taken as an opportunity to trash yourself and become a party animal. It should also not be the place to hide behind tables and in corners.
Here are 9 tips to help you achieve successful business networking:
1. Go to events and groups where your target market is present.
There is no sense in going to events full of people not interested in your help. Ask yourself before attending any networking event or group "does my target market hang out here?" If the answer is no, skip it. If it's yes, be there consistently. This should be considered before joining any paid organizations and chambers as well. For example, I recently joined my local chamber of commerce. Before I signed up I did my homework and found out that out of 600 members one third of them are in my target market. That's 200 people I have access to and if we just consider 1% of them being my clients that's 20 potential clients. So was it worth joining my chamber? Yes!
2. Set an intention. Decide what you want to achieve at each event.
Before entering any event set an intention for what you want to achieve and who you would like to meet. Being clear on this makes it a lot easier to attract the circumstances you want and have people at the event help you as well. Don't be afraid to know what you want and ask for it. You'd be amazed at what will come to you when you put this into practice.
3. Be authentic.
There's nothing more repelling than an inauthentic person. Hype and arrogance can be detected a mile away. And part of networking is creating relationships and alliances. When you are not being authentic people catch the vibe and will not be interested in knowing more about you or helping you meet other people. Be yourself. This has a lot to do with believing in what you do and loving it. If you don't, chances are you will be perceived as trying to beat people over the head with a sell. That's not working so much these days. So definitely be yourself; be real.
4. Offer Value.
When you are networking it's easy to get really into "your story". But the truth is people really want to know what it is you offer that will help them solve their problems. So identify 3 really valuable things you can offer people that are free and offer it to them. Offer so much value that you think you may be offering too much. People appreciate this and this establishes relationships. This is part of creating ongoing relationships and not just one time sells. You want your clients to be with you forever and it starts with offering value to them before they become your clients.
5. Don't hard sell.
The days of the hard sell are over. People are tired of being sold to in a hyped-up, rushed manner. So avoid this at all costs when you are attending networking events. If you are at an event where you are given the opportunity to promote something, go back to offering value and offer something for free. I recently attended a networking event where I was asked by the organizers to promote my workshop to it's guests. Well, of course I jumped at it but I offered anyone who signed up for my workshop a free 1 hour coaching session with me. Do you think people were interested? Absolutely!
6. Listen.
Again, networking is about making connections with people. And you won't make valuable connections if you're yapping away the whole time about you, you, you. Listening is a very important part of communicating. And just like value, people appreciate being listened to. So make a habit of this and while in conversation with people always ask open ended questions where people are telling you more about them, making them feel your interest. There's an anonymous quote that says: "Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand." Powerful truth!
7. Position yourself as the "Go To" person.
Take advantage of networking events to position yourself as a "go to" person in your field. You can do this by offering testimony of your results and offering people client referrals. The key is to be a valuable source for people. Make them feel like they need to have you as a contact. Be it for your services or anything else. They say every person you meet knows an average of 250 people. So you want to keep people coming to you because each person you have as a connection, represents another 250 people you can connect to.
8. Be very clear about your services and what you do.
Your elevator pitch is extremely important. It should be about 11 seconds long, catchy and memorable and tell people how you can help them. If it doesn't fit into that formula, you lose people.
9. Follow thru quickly.
Do you find yourself collecting business cards and throwing them in a drawer or on top of your desk? Then you are throwing business in a drawer. Make a habit of following through within 24 hours of meeting someone. And when you connect acknowledge something personal about them or something about the conversation you had with them the day before. This will make people feel special and more likely to keep connecting with you.
Making a habit out of all of these tips will surely make networking more effective even if you hate networking.
