The Power of Networking

You may have heard that networking is not the same as selling, but what is the difference? Aren't you always in the market for prospects for your product?

However, if you try to sell people at networking events, you will never learn how to network or the true power of networking which is the value of the multilayers of relationships you gain through the people you meet.

Here is what I mean--I have a hairdresser. She is a hairdresser, that is what she does and she will never sell jewelry in her salon. I am looking for locations to wholesale my jewelry. My hairdresser is not someone for me to sell to, but she is a great person to network with. In her profession, and personal life, she meets people by the droves in many professions. She may be able to recommend a contact to me who owns a store that sells jewelry.

That is networking. I create a network of valuable contacts that lead me to people who I can sell to. The idea is to meet people and get to know them and what they do in the hopes that you can help them and they can help you further business interests.

Meeting new people in person is still one of the best ways to market your services. If you do a good job at this, you will quickly end up with a desk drawer filled with business cards. But then what do you do with them?

Timely and consistent follow-up is the key to successful marketing. Meeting someone once is rarely enough to bring you business -- repeated contacts are what do the trick. You always want to follow up with prospective customers, of course, but you should also follow up with potential referral sources.

A good referral source is someone who interacts with your desired customers on a regular basis.



If someone is a potential referral source rather than a prospect, your best approach is to establish a reciprocal relationship. You might call to begin getting acquainted, or arrange to meet in person to find out more about each other's work.

Sales are frequently developed through the relationships we have created with other people. Networking functions provide the opportunity to expand our contact list, particularly when we create and nurture quality relationships.

Here are some strategies to make networking profitable:

Choose the right networking group or event. The best results come from attending the appropriate networking events for your particular industry.

Focus on quality contacts versus quantity.

Be able to clearly state what you do.

Follow up after the event.

Do not expect your networking to give you new contacts overnight. Typically, it takes 6 to 12 months or more for contacts to pay off. However, if you continually network you will see results.

It is also important to be genuine when you network. Think about what you can do for them as well as what they can do for you.

Don't pick and choose who to network with. You never know which contact will end up being the most valuable. Sometimes it is surprising who knows whom.

With all the demands on our time made by our business, professional and personal lives, it is tempting to assign a lower priority to networking as an activity designed to meet new people.

This thinking would be wrong, because by not consistently widening our circles of acquaintances and contacts, we may be severely curtailing our chances for success.

It is estimated that the average person knows about 250 people. And each of those people knows, in turn, another 250 or so people. This means that for each new person you meet, you gain access to a potential pool of 62,500 people separated from you by just two degrees.

Business networking serves many purposes: sales, general marketing, recruiting, job-hunting, knowledge exchange, and business development (in the sense of strategic alliances, joint ventures and channel sales). Of all these, business development is the one that it supports best. In fact, business development and business networking are closely related. Online networking sites offer unprecedented ways for entrepreneurs to identify and connect with potential partners.

The success of customer communities has shown that business relationships can be created and developed on the Web, and online dating has shown that deep personal relationships can be, as well. Online business networking, connecting and creating opportunities on the Web, is the next logical step. Here you'll find various online networking sites, as well as tips on how to make the most of them.

While virtual networks may not reach the massive numbers that advertising or national publicity does, it's very effective in reaching highly qualified prospective customers.

Most people who are on the computer regularly are part of one or more social networking communities. Social networking is fast becoming one of the ways that people keep in touch with each other all over the world.

There are benefits to social networking because you can meet people without actually meeting them in person, but if you are looking for business contacts, in most cases, it is really better to meet them in person at least one time. There is really nothing better than old fashioned face to face talking.

Still there is a place in business for social networking. It is a great way to get the word out, to generate business to your website, and to get out of your local area without traveling anywhere.

The purpose of networking is to connect with people. One of the key differences between traditional networking and online networking is the ability to have a robust personal profile that is publicly accessible. That profile is a 24/7/365 invitation for other people to connect to you, and you want to do everything you can to make yourself "attractive" online. So before you sign up for any online networking site that has user profiles, be prepared with your profile and photo.

Many sites heavily favor those with photos, and all heavily favor those with well-built profiles. Your profile doesn't have to be long or complex, but it should include your basic information - current and recent employers, industry, interests/hobbies, a brief bio, and links to your websites or anything else you've published online - blogs, articles, etc. Also, be sure to have your photo handy, both online somewhere and on your hard drive, and in a variety of sizes, so you can make it appropriate to the site's profile layout.

LinkedIn has topped 1 million users. Many more socially oriented sites crossed the million-member point a while ago, including Meetup, Friendster, and Tickle. Tens of thousands of people are developing business relationships in ways they never did before.

And yet most Internet users still haven't even heard of them.

To put this in perspective, Classmates boasts over 38 million members; Reunion.com, 22 million; and Craig's List gets 6 million unique visitors a month. Clearly, there's a lot of room for the new crop of social networking sites to grow, as well as a demonstrated precedent that people are willing to pay to connect with each other for a variety of purposes.

The ultimate question that's going to determine mainstream adoption is simply, "Do they work?" At the moment, the answer is twofold. Yes and no.

Business networking sites are not living up to the expectations of many people. They don't effectively represent electronically the complexities of interpersonal relationships. They create awkward social situations that don't exist face to face -- such as how to deal with an explicit request to be someone's friend, something most of us haven't had to deal with since third grade. And they don't prevent spam.

But the fact that they're not yet living up to their potential shouldn't blind us from the real immediate benefits to be gained.