Thursday, September 19, 2013

Successful Business Networking - It Is Not All about You

By Chelsea Grace


Business networking events are a terrific way to build your contacts and boost your business. However , you need to be very sure to do a lot more than just show up if you would like to get the most out of them. Here are 1 or 2 simple concepts to help you get more from the business networking events you go to.

First off, you ought to be genuine and truthful about your business. Folk respect honesty and genuineness, and you'll gain their trust if you have these qualities. If you don't, others will pick up on it and be less prepared to conduct business with you. A few people appear to have the mentality that honesty and sales aren't entirely compatible. This is a short sighted mind-set. Business is all about building trust and relationships. You can't do that successfully in the long run without truth.

When you're meeting others at networking events, you should first focus upon how you can provide help to them. Take the time to hear them and understand their business. Think of ways you can give them referrals, instead of thinking of how they can bring you new business. If you help them build their business, you may earn their trust and they'll feel forced to return the favor. If you first focus on what they can do for you, they may sense that and be less ready to do business with you or refer you to others. There's a very simple principle that whatever goes around comes round. If you do nice things for others, good things will come to you.

When you meet contacts at a networking event, be totally sure to write down things about them and their business.They will see that you're making the effort to realise them, and this information will be really helpful to you later on. Remember, you want to focus on the way to refer them business, so you must be able to remember details about them after the networking event is over. A simple tip is to scribble on the back of their business card. That way you do not lose the information.

After the networking event is over, be sure to follow up quickly with your new contacts. Sometimes a fast email will do the job, and the person you are contacting will feel thankful you took the time to follow up. Be certain to add some detail about them when you write the email. If you found out something engaging about them or their business in your conversation, make a brief mention of it. At the same time, you need to keep the email short and straight to the point, in order that it's not a burden to read. Their schedule is probably real busy like yours, and you would like to respect their time.

I n short, to become known as a top networker, it's very important to be courteous and think of how to assist others. If you live by this principle, you will develop solid relations and others will naturally want to refer business to you.




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