A common misconception about networking is the belief that you should get your business and its message out to as many people as possible.
Networking isn’t about quantity, it’s about building real relationships with a mutual understanding for each others work. When done effectively, networking can be a powerful way to catapult your business towards success.
While reading these networking tips, remember to focus on how you can help the other person. People are more likely to help you if you’ve helped them, which in turn opens up the doors to beneficial business relationships.
5 Tips For Effective Networking:
1. Your Story
People love stories. Is there some odd occurrence or interesting event that took place which led you to your business? Did you start your business by accident, by coincidence, or as planned? Introducing yourself and diving in with a memorable story will drastically increase the odds of you leaving an impact on others. With a story, they are more likely to remember you, your business and your story.
2. Make Positive Impressions
People are drawn to positive people. People love working with positive people. Holding your chin up high, having a can-do attitude, making constant eye contact and answering each question with a prompt response will make people want to know more about you. Being positive doesn’t mean you have to take it to the extreme. Just be your down-to-earth self and people will want to connect.
3. Quality Trumps Quantity
The key to effective networking, whether online or offline, is to focus on the relationships you build instead of the amount of people you talk to. During your greetings or conversations with new people, weigh your chances of you forming a business relationship. If the odds are against you, hand them your card and walk away. If your instincts tell you to stay around this person, go for it! Find out what their goals are and offer your help.
4. Be Genuinely Interested
Effective networking essentially means making friends. A good way to make friends is to genuinely become interested in others and listen to what they have to say. People are more trustworthy towards people who listen and know it’s not always about the “me” factor.
5. Find Out Their Needs and Offer Help
During your phone, email or face to face conversations, try to find out how this other person might be able to benefit from you and your service. An excellent way to uncover this is to ask them about their goals, dreams, and lifelong aspirations. If you find a need, offer your help.
Whether you’re networking through LinkedIn or at an international networking event, the key to building networking relationships is to give people what they need.
Effective networking means to focus less on selling your service and more on how you can genuinely help. Follow these handy networking tips and people will more likely want to continue the mutual relationship for years to come.
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