What is Missing in Your Networking?
How many times have you attended a business networking event and walked away empty handed? You invest the time and effort to attend the event and you fail to make a connection that could be useful in your marketing efforts. This happens all to often to small business owners because they are not prepared to use networking as a marketing tool.
It all starts with determination. You must have the determination to share your business story. You must believe that you are actually doing the other person a disservice by not telling them what it is that you do that is different and how it could benefit them. Way too many of us hang back and are afraid to talk about our vision and how it will help others. You must be tenacious and upfront in your approach to networking.
Another key factor that many networkers miss is that successful networking requires preparation. First, you need to set some measurable goals that you will push yourself to achieve such as how many good contacts do you want to walk away with. This will provide you with the basis of a roadmap on how to use your time at the event. Secondly, you need to prepare your message in a way that it sets the stage for a two-way connection. It needs to clearly show the other person how a relationship with you will be mutually beneficial. At the end of the day you want to, need to go home with contact information that you can use to build successful business relationships with.
A final issue that networkers fail to address is the timelessness of your follow-up. Often, we go back to our business and get busy and fail to timely follow-up. A rule of thumb is that you must follow-up your initial conversation within 48-hours. If you wait longer then you are saying to the other party that their relationship is really not that important. Also, all of us begin to forget what happened the longer the conversation is not continued. Staying front of mind with a potential business relationship is one of the keys to successful marketing.
your business. Do your homework and show up with a determination to share your business story. An attitude of success coupled with preparation and a commitment to timely follow-up will fill in what is missing in your networking.
Be sure to tune in every Monday to the The Weekly Business Hour from 11:00a – 12:00pm to learn more ways to save money and build a larger, stronger business for you and your family. You can listen live at www.irlonestar.com or on Facebook Live on The Weekly Business Hour page or on City of Conroe FM 104.5 or FM 106.1.
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