You always think of ways to increase income. Probably, you're a business person or a freelance professional. Either way, business networking is the right fit for you if only to take your business or profession into the next level.
It is cost-effective and a sustainable way of financial management and managing your exposure for future increased revenues and more clienteles.
Business networking has the long term benefits in the area of promoting your brand, your business, and your name as well.
What is business networking?
Business networking greatly affects your financial management as it can either make your business slump or take to the new heights.
Business Networking is a process of low-cost marketing strategy, both short & long terms, with the main objective of increased sales opportunities and maximizing income potentials through the development of contacts and associates which in turn become prospective clienteles and business referrals.
How does business networking work?
The mechanism of business networking is attained through the infinity of business contacts that is done through the whole spectrum of meeting new people, which will be discussed later on.
As business contacts grow, so do the business network. One cannot have a business network unless they develop first business contacts.
Because not all in the contacts is in one industry or profession as yours, creating new business deals and making new channels of profit become more like swimming downstream through effective business networking and it works in two ways:
1. Referrals from contacts of different industry
You are being referred to a client by your business contacts from an industry different from yours. They do that because first, they can't accommodate the client for obvious reason and second, because they trust you so, the risk of staking their names is out of the question.
2. Referrals from contacts in your industry
A business person has a client base. If a product or service they cater has some delays and their most valued client is in utmost necessity who do you think a business person in your business network would call? Of course, an associate they trust most.
How to build a business network?
Business networking method is simple and easy, and in the process, it is so fulfilling.
Basically, you will just to develop business contacts which is done through both basics and professionally inclined approaches, i.e., making new friends in meetings and social gatherings, introductions by common friends and acquaintances, being visible in both business and social networking websites, as well as utilizing phones and emails for further development of connections.
But to be successful, you must be effective all throughout these approaches. Here are things you must always remember in business networking approaches:
1. Full knowledge of the audience
Whether you are invited to attend a seminar or a social gathering, you must fully aware of the type of the crowd you will be mingling with.
Once in a conversation, you will only get attention by talking in terms of their interest. That's how you endear yourself to various kinds of people.
Even in phone conversations and emails, the right words from you will determine the fate of what you communicate.
2. Clear visualization of target connections
There are events that cover all ages, sexes, sectors, political affiliation, and even geography.
You might like to narrow down your preferences so that you become fully aware of the targeted business contacts that will be more easy to convert to the business network that matches your industry.
This also applies to all of your business and social networking site accounts. You can customize preferences at their respective settings.
3. Only 1 tagline across all networking sites
Create a well-thought-out and striking tagline that will stand for a long time so that you don't need to make changes time and again.
Once satisfied use it in all your profiles and about pages of all your social and business networking websites.
The tagline should be straight forward, clearly state your products and service, must be catchy and, contains a — call to action — phrases.
4. Business cards matters today than yesterday
Since the birth of business-oriented social networking sites such as Linkedin, the value of business cards had dwindled down. Business cards back in the day were only for contact information.
Today business cards have a lot of roles: extension of your brand, form of advertisement, representation of your professional level, etc.
So more than before, have business cards that state them all. And hand them out in meetings, conferences, gatherings, parties, reunions, health sessions, etc. Keep them handy all the time.
5. Cultivate connections in all groups
Group all people that you know and each person in the group should have an awareness of your business or profession.
Your contacts should fan out from your family, relatives, friends, school mates, batch mates, college professors, your gym buddies, manager of your bank, your utility/insurance/real estate agents if applicable, etc., in that order.
Do not underestimate each group's network of friends and their friends own network of acquaintances as they are the ultimate target for your business network before you go to meeting strangers and like-minded people in events, seminars, conferences, etc.
Financial management & business networking at work
Although business networking has an immediate effect on the business right from the get-go, it is the long term benefits in the management of your assets and finances that are rewarding.
Soon businesses will be coming in both from referrals and from presentations you would have conducted on those networks of one of the groups in your entire business network. They could be from your parents' circle of friends or a relative of your school mate in college.
Then you will just realize that you will be making follow-ups in your offers to your group created from conferences and social gatherings. These will result in more upcoming sales.
Before you knew it, your phone will be buzzing and emails coming in for presentations or request for price quotations from your business network group that spawned from seminars you attended in the past.
It will all happen because of excellent management you would have devoted to your virtual department of business networking.
The ultimate results for business are dependent on how an ever-growing business network is cultivated.
In the end, your financial management will be greatly benefitted as money from this avenue starts to roll in. Now, you have a new sub-source of income that you know contributes to your finance. Ultimately, it becomes more exciting to manage your finance.
Business networking tips & techniques
Uniquely stand out
If you make people recall you easily, you are ahead of others. It would be easy for them to refer you as it's you that comes to mind when a particular thing relevant to your industry is being inquired. Dress sharp and have a style when you communicate probably with signature expression uniquely yours.
Be genuinely willing to help
Consider yourself as building a business empire. You have to think big to get big. An empire is being admired and patronized by thousands. If you always extend help whenever a contact in your business network seek it, you will be remembered. But don't count every help you give. It is a matter of being smart than nice as it is a human nature to reciprocate.
Have an impactful elevator pitch
We all know that opportunities come when we less expect it. As a business person, you will bump into an important person in a hurry or a colleague might introduce you to a CEO in an elevator. You have only 15 to 30 seconds to sell yourself. A concise but interesting pitch about your profession will suffice. So have it ready at all times. Remember do not be self-centered by talking too much.
Be faithful to your profession and industry
Remember you're building an empire? You must develop it on strong fortification. With only one motif. Products and services not relevant to your business or profession will only destruct the construction of your empire fortification. People will get confused, and you will lose the credibility. Make sure that you only have one face. If a contact in your business network mention your name, they will only see that face.
Be visible online and offline
You don't need to attend all seminars but make sure that you are updated on all upcoming events relevant to your business. Welcome others and create new connections. Be active in online forums and share thoughts in all your social media pages. All these will add up and will allow you to trend somehow. Wouldn't it be great if while you're away, your name is dropped in any type of conversation, online or anywhere? Soon they will translate into transactions.
Have a business networking planner
Focused and well-managed business networking creates avenues that market for the business networker. Use tools that will propel your networking. A spreadsheet is a good example. You can put individual groups in the column section while stacked in first column row by row are particulars, e.g., 1. your aim, 2. group's sector/profiles, 3. group relevance to you, 4. things you can offer, 5. things they can do to you, 6. target to accomplish and so forth.
Be committed and do follow ups
A thousand connections are useless if they don't get followed-up. It's better to have a hundred where communication is constantly open. Your commitment to the groups in your business network should be graded, and the most relevant to your business should be in number one spot. That's where importance of business networking planner comes in. With the commitment in your mind, make notes in the planner and accomplish them.
Take a break and maintain the balance
The overall good well-being is the ultimate determinant of success. It creates a contagious positive outlook and promotes a relaxed mindset in a stressful environment. The rule of thumb in having good well-being in business networking is - do not bite more that what you can chew. With everything in place, your tasks are done on time — commitments, follow-ups, etc. Let it flow and go take a break paying attention to a healthy lifestyle.
Conclusion
Business networking is a department of either a business or a profession. It is a virtual department that works for the success of the entire business. If no one manages it properly, it will not contribute to economic growth.
Every business person has a business network. They only need to cultivate the small circle of influences that they have — to jump-start.
And the beauty of it is business networking scales-up one's financial management as it adds layers to the way how the management of assets and finances.
Do you have a business network? Can you share to us how do you expand your business network? We can learn from one another in the comments' section below.
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