Networking is a skill anyone can build, including shy people. It is not about selling. In fact, it is not about you at all. When you understand networking as providing value to others you are on your way to being successful. Networking is about connecting, building relationship, understanding the needs of those you are getting to know, providing something of value, and developing trust for long lasting business relationships. Here are 12 networking tips to grow your business to success.
It would be unwise on your part to expect that your business will survive even if you compromise with the quality of your training and marketing. Hence, in order to avoid this situation, make sure to arrange for a monthly estimate or budget. Immediately after you earn a certain sum of money, keep aside a portion as your savings. You can re-invest this money later for taking your business to a further level.
Instead of keeping viewers, this form of advertising only made TV seem less relevant and accentuated the importance of the Internet. Smart TV companies are making TV only part of the story. I’ve done this for years in my radio show. I have a website and during my show I will discuss ten home networking tips with an expert on the subject and cover around 5. Instead of rushing to cover all ten I encourage the audience to visit my website for the rest of the list. While they are there, they are still seeing the advertisers of all my media. Smart TV shows will do more of this and less giving away their audience to their biggest competitor — the Internet.
I once worked with a guy when I was in the banking industry. He belonged to a few networking groups, and when he received a lead at one of his weekly meetings, he would come back to the office, pin the lead onto his calendar and let it sit there for three to five days.
Don’t overlook your “competition,” but don’t expect to build your business there. Many of us join groups with others who do what we do. That’s great for getting information about the industry and making connections within it, but you probably won’t find customers there. Don’t focus all your attention on software defined networking your industry group.
Who can help you achieve your goal? Examples include other professionals in the field you are investigating, employees of other companies that do similar work, teachers, consultants, career counselors and personal coaches.
12. Oh no, the limp lettuce handshake! You will have to learn how to shake hands properly. This is something not many know how to do these days. Hold your hand out in front of you, smile, look the person in the eye and grip the other person’s hand briefly and introduce yourself. Not too strong and not for too long, and customarily right hand to right hand.
Support Others. Supporting others means genuinely caring. My greatest advice and the secret to my networking success has been to support others and in return, they will support you. By reading this article, it’s clear that you care about fostering meaningful relationships. Networking cannot be about your next big deal. Networking has to be about investing your time to meet new people and building long-lasting, caring relationships. You will find you often get back what you give.