The Art Of Connecting Part I

What do you think of when you hear the phrase Business Networking? Unfortunately for most it is an opportunity to sell their product or service to others. For many networkers the focus is on collecting as many business cards as they can, so they can put contacts straight on their database with the intention is to sell their product or service.

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If this has been your belief about networking then ask yourself this question. Why would someone change from their current supplier to you without knowing who you are, what your values are and without having a full understanding of your business?

Networking is first and foremost an opportunity to meet others and build rapport and trust leading to strong business relationships over a period of time, Think about this carefully, would you enlist the services or products of someone you just met without knowing as much about them as you can?

When you network and you look at the people in the room as potential clients you miss the opportunity of a mutually beneficial relationship that can have lasting positive consequences. Most business people have existing clients and a growing database. The real opportunities of networking are on developing relationships with people that share your values, beliefs and visions. In fact sometimes these types of relationships develop even when on the surface the two businesses don’t appear to have any similarities at all.

Unfortunately a lot of people don’t see the value in this type of marketing strategy because most people think this is way too time consuming to get business. Developing relationships does take time to grow and may not help your cashflow while you wait for something to develop. This is the reason that many people figure they need to “sell to” as many people as they can. In the process they can burn many bridges that could have proved very fruitful.

10 Tips for Turning a Contact into a Beneficial Business Relationship

Here are 10 fundamental tips for establishing mutually beneficial business relationships with professionals and business owners you meet at networking events:

1. Research who they are, do your due dilligence and determine if you are compatible. What synergy can you see between you?
2. Find out their needs and wants
3. Work out how you can help them get what they want
4. Regularly contact them and give valuable information that will assist them
   
5. Follow through, always do what you say you will
6. Get to know them, take the time to learn more about them, their business and what or who they are looking for
   
7. Make sure they know what you need or who you need to connect with
8. Seek to create win/win opportunities that achieve both of your goals
   
9. Give like you want to want to recieve in turn
   
10. Realise that a relationship is built over time, people will reveal more of themselves overtime and give more when they know you and like you

How To Get The Most From Your Online Networking

Social Networks are online communities that connect millions of people worldwide. They have taken the world by storm and are powerful promotional tools when used correctly. Below are some tips on how you can promote your business and further your contacts through the world of online networking.

Your profile is the first contact someone will have with you, so it needs to reflect your credibility and expertise. With social networking you will need to establish yourself as an authority first, use notable achievements, testimonials and upload a professional photo of yourself to make it more personable.

Add friends and business associates that you know personally. To expand your network further contact friends of your personal contacts and go searching for people who have similar interests, or who are in the same industry and invite them as well.

Like traditional networking, if you don’t know someone personally, introduce yourself and share why you would like to connect with them. This is not a sales pitch instead your aim is to find common ground. Only after rapport is built should you introduce your products, services and events.

To be a successful social networker you need to be proactive, just signing up and doing a post every now and then will not generate results. Join groups and forum discussions, share your knowledge and draw on your experience. Find opportunities that you can ‘gently’ introduce your business, products or services as a solution to a problem by sharing how you have assisted a client.

If you would like to network with proactive and likeminded professionals join ConnectWorking on Linked In and Facebook