Tips for Effective Business Networking

Networking is a key skill that entrepreneurs need to develop, nurture and implement in day-to-day life.

Often, entrepreneurs feel that socializing/ networking is a waste of time. Think again. Most often, you’ll notice that those around you who are successful at work/business have one trait in common – that they are great at networking!

So instead of considering it as a waste of time, it’s high time you find ways and means to dedicatedly work at building a strong network that works to your advantage and helps you in growing your business. 

Professional or business networking is nothing but connecting with those who may be able to help you in your venture. It is about finding within your network relevant individuals, and reaching them through the connections or making new connections in conferences and seminars, etc. with the intention of finding synergies and mutually beneficial aspects.  

Entrepreneurs can especially benefit from effective business networking. Networking can help you find clients/customers, vendors/suppliers, business associates, advisors, potential employees and sometimes even potential partners.

Networking certainly helps spread the word around and helps generate business for your product or service.

Just knowing someone at the right place at the right time can go a long way in opening up a plethora of unexpected opportunities. Business networking can be a complete game changer for start-ups and can fast track your way to success. It just makes it easier for you to accomplish what you set out to do in the first place.

However, you need to keep certain things in mind when networking for business purposes, because it entails much more than merely hanging around with friends or random people.

There ought to be a sense of purpose.

Business networking involves consciously identifying the right people/ forums for networking. Networking with just about anyone will not really serve any purpose if you are particularly doing it from the business perspective. First, you need to be clear about what exactly you are looking for. Only then can you move to the next step, which is to decide where you can start building a network.

There are several industry forums that one can join, but my suggestion is that pick the one that is most relevant to your industry and can help you get connected to the right people to grow your business.

Online forums like LinkedIn are also a great way to build a business network, not just locally but from across the globe. Eg. – If you want to get into the business of trading machines from China, you could connect with people from the prospective companies that you would like to buy the machines from directly over LinkedIn and then get the contact details of the right people in the company who you can speak to. Saves a lot of time and effort!

Work on building a rapport

If you just pick up the phone and call someone out of the blue asking for a favour, do you think they would be willing to help? Mostly…NO. You will need to have built a great rapport with them.

When networking for business, follow the principle of ‘Quality over Quantity.’ It really doesn’t matter how large your network is. What is important is to focus on building a strong rapport with the right people, even if it means focusing on just 5-10 people. Once there is a feeling of mutual trust and understanding, you can work out the ways and means to help each other in growing your respective businesses.

Don’t just expect the other to person to help…you need to do your bit too

Like every relationship, business networks work best when there is a mutual benefit. You can’t just expect the other person to give you ideas or referrals or more business. You need to find ways to become a meaningful resource yourself, so that people come to your for suggestions, ideas etc. It also gives you more visibility and people will tend to remember you at the right time, when they have something for you.

Be consistent in your efforts to remain connected

You need to regularly engage with your network to get the desired results. Doing it in spurts only when you need some help, will not get you anywhere. Find ways to mingle with your network even when you don’t have work in mind. Stay connected over the phone, send emails or you could even catch up at the club over a game of tennis or even a coffee/beer.

Send a connecting mail to those who you meet at conferences

When I am at a business conference, I meet a lot of people. Of course you cannot connect with all of them, but when you find someone that you think you want to engage with, I find it particularly useful to make a note at the back of the person’s card about the context and the same day or next day send a note connecting with the individual.

Clarify money matters beforehand

Remember that when it comes to business networking, you have to be very clear about money matters, lest it strains your relations later.

Clarify if there are any commercial interests or if the person is helping you out of good will. Either case is fine, but helps to clarify earlier.

It could be a commission or similar help from you, when you are in a position to do something for them. In fact, it makes sense to have a written contract, especially if money is involved, so there are no differences or misunderstandings later.

So, go out there and make an effort to build your own network if you want to do your business some good. There’s much more than hard work that goes into making a successful business and smart networking happens to be one of the keys.