Simple Strategies to Networking for Business Growth
How to Turn Your Contacts into Sales: Small Business Growth Networking
Most people, no matter how successful they might be, don’t understand the value of networking so they don’t do it. Too many people lack a real sense of curiosity and a real ability to spot opportunity. Although the phrase, don’t talk to strangers, is one of the most common phrases instilled in us as children, one of the most important networking tips we can give you is to talk to everybody, everywhere, all the time.
TL;DR: 3 Quick Networking Tips for Business Growth
- Have a genuine interest in people and talk to everybody, everywhere.
- Focus on how you can add value to someone else’s life.
- When trying to sell something, it is easier to sell something that involves a win-win, where both parties are getting something out of the transaction.
Want more of these great insights? Subscribe to our community newsletter and get invited to #BizHackLive events. Don’t forget to follow BizHack on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Knowing how to successfully use networking for business growth is crucial for driving sales, boosting an organization’s success, and accelerating your career. As you get better at networking there will be many cases in which you can even use your skills to impact and enrich the lives of those around you you care about most.
What Exactly Is Networking?
Networking is something that everybody does. You learn from day one to adjust to people, like people, have people like you, build relationships, and communicate. When it comes to networking for business growth, one part is meeting people, deciding which ones you want to remain in contact with, and building relationships with, in other words, you “prioritize contacts.” The second part of networking for business growth is beginning to develop ongoing relationships with some of these contacts.
“I visualize networking as opening doors into the lives and careers of people that I meet,” said Jack Killion, serial entrepreneur and author, during a #BizHackLive webinar.
If you approach networking as a way to walk through the lives and careers of the people you meet, you will be able to also learn about the things that they know and learn, you will have access to their contacts, and to their ideas. This is a very cost-effective way to leverage your time, develop your expertise, and gain new relationships.
Networking Tip: Always Add Value
If you really want to improve your networking skills you need to focus on how you can add value to someone else’s life. Everybody has the ability to add value to other people’s lives, even if it’s simply sharing a great book you have read recently or recommending a restaurant you love. Give them selflessly anything you have to offer. Don’t underestimate your ability to have an impact on people.
Networking is not hard, trivial, disruptive, or time-consuming, and it’s not primarily going to events and exchanging business cards hoping something comes out of it. And, if done well, networking might not even produce any instant results.
“I think it generally takes a year for anything significant to develop from the time you start,” Jack said. “You have to be patient with your networking efforts.”
Various Forms of Networking for Business Growth
Networking is something that you get better at with practice. There are two ways to network. You can network randomly by taking advantage and talking with everyone you meet. Take advantage of random encounters and talk to people. One of the advantages of networking randomly is there is no risk, it’s not time-consuming because you are already there. Networking randomly just helps you get better at communicating with people, breaking the ice, asking questions to find opportunities where you can be of help, and focusing on what’s important in a five-minute discussion.
There is also target networking. You target the right people you know you want to have in your network. You can network with the right people at events, in membership groups, and nowadays you can do mass amounts of target networking on social media.
No matter where or how, we recommend making networking part of your daily routine! Build it into the fabric of the way you live your life.
Getting Over the Cultural Challenge
As a really good networker, you have to take the initiative and recognize that cultures or people’s habits prevent them from reaching out and being the initiator of a new relationship.
“I’ve had successful networking experiences with people from all parts of the world where the culture is totally different than it is here in Metro New York,” said Jack.
You need to give yourself more credit and know that being a decent human being and having a genuine interest in people is going to be something that is welcomed anywhere you go.
Keys to Successful Networking
- Genuine interest in people, adding value & learning
- Building relationships vs. doing transaction
- Practice
- Focus 90% on them, ask questions, find places of synergy
- Be a Giver vs. an Asker, Taker or Trader
- Target the right people, have specific goals
- Constantly expand your networking clusters (contacts from your high school, work, community)
- Build your personal brand for “chumming”- have potential customers to you
- Organize and update your database (have a clean CRM)
- Be a patient “giver”
- Do it your way! It must fit your lifestyle and your business
Networking & Sales
When it comes to networking for business growth your ultimate goal as a marketer should be to create lifelong contacts that ultimately result in sales. You want to find ways to attract potential buyers to you, instead of having to chase them because it is easier to sell to someone who searches for you than it is to chase anyone. There are many ways you can make someone want to purchase your product/service. A few examples are giving presentations, writing and publishing material, organizing events, creating groups. Similar to what was mentioned above, give something of value.
It is important to sell something that is important and has a real high-value impact. When you are trying to sell something, it is easier to sell something that involves a win-win, where both parties are getting something out of the transaction. Professional service providers should have more of a focus on helping their clients thrive and less of a focus on completing a transaction. That is the real business you are in. If you approach your sales with that mentality, there is a real chance of seeing your business grow significantly.
Cold Calling
When networking you need to find the best way to connect with potential customers. Cold calling is not always easy and, let’s be honest, most marketers hate it, but sometimes you will find it is the only way. A few reasons why cold calling will sometimes be the only way to connect with potential customers are:
- An urgent need, where there is a time pressure on getting something done
- If the need for your product/service is really important to your audience
- If there is no other obvious way to connect
90-Day Strategy to Begin Networking
- Ramp up random networking
- Improve your LinkedIn profile
- Post monthly on LinkedIn
- Add 5-10 new contacts to your database each week
- Boost your brand
- Pick out groups/events to either join or create- creating can be beneficial in your efforts to “chum”
- Set sales goals & link to target contacts
- Make contact, build relationships
- Close more sales!
It is easy to say you have no time to network as a small business owner. There are not many people who will tell you otherwise, but the truth is, networking is one of the most time-effective ways to grow as a business and as a professional.
