It would appear that many businesspeople are networking averse and look upon this integral business activity with a fair amount of reservation, and in many cases, something bordering upon, perhaps even surpassing, disdain.
Business networking is the most effective, low-cost marketing method you will ever come across – when it’s performed correctly. But how should you go about networking amongst your business peers? Prepare an ‘elevator speech’, come across as different to everyone else, follow up every business call or meeting, or target your peers based on relevance?
Networking effectively in business is all of these things yet it’s also none of them. In fact, the way that some successful people approach business networking it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to say that it’s more akin to an attitude than anything else. However, don’t forget to have a business card handy – you may be an individual that no one could forget, but make sure people spell your name correctly.
Brief meetings
Meetings are a staple of life in business but they have run far too long for far too long and that needs to change. Keep your meetings brief to enable yourself and those you are meeting with to leave the discussion energised rather than bored.
Don’t sell – All the time
A problem that many business professionals have with networking is that they feel compelled to sell something all the time, whether that’s their latest project, their business’s most recent release, or as is perhaps more frequently the case, themselves.
There’s nothing wrong with having a conversation about something else besides yourself and work. In fact, it should come as no surprise that people will try to avoid you should you take this approach to networking.
Cards
At tradeshows and events these days you could be forgiven for thinking that the days of handing out business cards to new contacts were dead and buried since everyone seems set on outdoing everyone else in the swag stakes.
That isn’t the case at all because the premium business cards at brunelone.com are outstanding networking tools and can help you to convey the all-important impression of business professionalism.
Emails
Some businesspeople are also of the mind that the days of emails are dead. If, however, you are of this opinion you really need to assess what exactly it is that you are doing and how you are going about whatever it is that you do in business.
Emails are still one of the best methods of communicating in business circles but you have to write emails that people want to reply to. Like a good business card, keep your emails short and sweet and ensure that there’s a clear next step for them to take after reading it – i.e. how they can contact you.
Finally, be open and honest. If you are to be remembered for the right reasons and have those you meet really want to get in touch with you again, that’s a great way to be remembered – and referred to others.
