The Behaviour Effect

Expanding your network of contacts is generally agreed to be the best way of increasing visibility, meeting business people in increasing trust and confidence in your capabilities.  But for some, being thrown into a roomful of strangers is a scary proposition.

There are a variety of different networking groups, those who base their strategy on referrals, those which are more social,  those that enable one-to-one appointments and the social media sites.  It’s necessary to assess what your needs are and decide what format best suits you.  But how do you get past the initial fear of introducing yourself to new people and describing your business?

In basic terms, “networking” is merely talking to other people. While that might seem simple, the importance of making the right connections and putting across the right impression can make the process very daunting.

Some pointers

Be polite to everyone

This seems to be ‘taken for red’ but it would be very easy to spend your time seeking out those who have an obvious direct link to your business but it’s also important to get talking to and be polite to everyone else.  You never know who that person may be talking to afterwards or what connections they may have.

Help others before yourself

Networking is not about sales pitches, its about contacts and getting your business concept and serivces known.  So don’t be afraid to concentrate on the other person.  You will need to know as much about their business as possible in order to respond to their needs and letting the other person talk demonstrates that you are interested in what they have to say.  Reciprocation is where the real business deals are done.  Providing help and assistance to someone now may well have them ringing you later on downthe line with a nice piece of business work.

Be Patient

Networking does not bring immediate business to your door.  Be patient, build your network and the business will follow.  If things aren’t moving after a couple of weeks, don’t panic and think its lost effort.  Keep it up and in time people will get to know you, your work and the value you can add.

Any other hints and tips for folk wanting to network?  Please add your comments and lets see if we can get people putting themselves about!!