If you are prepared, you can get so much from networking
When most people decide to attend a business networking event , it is often with mixed thoughts . Yes, they want to network and catch more sales . But 99 percent of them are worried they’re going to have to start being , well, pushy.
I’ve got good news. If you’re a decent person who doesn’t want to be pushy then that’s the best start to your career as a networker. That’s because networking isn’t about probing for sales from the start . It’s about getting people to know you, like you and trust you.
Remember that people like to do business with people they like . The rest can come later…once that relationship has been built . If you think about the people you do business with, or whom you recommend to others, it’s plausible they are not the people who foist themselves on you. It’ll be people you like, people you’ve been aware of for a while. People who, when the need arises, you’re pleased to recommend because you like and trust them.
Newsflash: this is how the world works. It’s all networking is.
People love to be in the know and get a huge buzz from recommending “their” people to others. How many times have you heard somebody say “I’ve got a fabulous mechanic”? Or, “you’re disappointed with you accountant? I know someone who’s just gone out on his own and he’s a top bloke”.
Those kinds of recommendations are brilliant, but they don’t come as a result of selling yourself hard to strangers. Building up that kind of trust takes time and multiple encounters.
So next time you’re about to go to a networking event, or you’re logging onto LinkedIn, or someone asks you what you do at a party , there’s no need to worry and back away into your shell. Get your brave up and concentrate on being yourself and learning more about the people you’re mixing with. That’s what good networking is all about.
How would you feel if you turned up to make the first presentation for a new key-account client without having done any preparation? Anxious, nervous, self-conscious, exposed? How would you react to one of your team members if you found out that’s how they’d turned up to their first meeting? So I’m sure you’ll agree when suggested that to get the best out of any situation you need to do some preparation and planning.
Dont make the mistake as well of signing up to online business networking sites and not preparing yourself. Sites such as Linkedin require suitable planning as you are exposing yourself to millions of potential clients. Get the best linkedin training you can as well as business networking training to ensure you maximise your business potential.
Click here for more on performance management.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
