The networking event I attended last night had an unusually low turnout. I appreciate that people are on holiday,but even taking this in to account I still expected there to be more people to a very regular event.

This morning I had an email from a business associate who I had expected to see at the networking evening, so I called him and asked why he couldn’t make it. To my dismay, he had chosen not to attend thinking it would
be a waste of time as only a few people would be there! We then had a rather
long discussion as I wanted to demonstrate that he had missed one of the main
points of networking. The epiphany that followed prompted me to write this
blog.

If anyone thinks that they are not going to get much business from having breakfast with only a dozen other business owners, they too have missed to reason to network. It would be impossible to have a
conversation with fifty people in an hour and a half breakfast meeting. The
idea of these brief meetings is to build up a network of local experts /
contacts over a period of time.

You do this by attending regularly (every week is ideal) and having a conversation with two or three different people at each event. People buy from people that they know, like and trust. That takes time. The networker
who rushes round shoving business cards in to everybody’s hand and asks for
business from them is going to be rather disappointed and unwelcome.

Networking groups become each other’s sales advert. When you have taken the time to meet someone, explain what you do and why you are different and you have given the other person the courtesy to do the same, you
are both in a position to help each other. As I said earlier, you may be in
need of a product or service that a fellow networker has to offer (for which
you should get a great price / service!) and a small percentage may want to buy
from you and that is obviously a good thing.

The majority of the business you will get from networking will however come from people in your network putting you in touch with new business opportunities by way of introduction and hopefully recommendation. The
weeks of attending and meeting new people and getting people to know you and
like you and trust you pay off. These introductions have come to you without
you responding to an advert or you making a “cold call”. Referrals and
recommendations by way of your networking will be “warm” or “hot” leads where
the sales process should be easier and quicker as your prospect trusts the
introduction from someone that they know.

Now for the overlap. At the networking events you attend, many people will exchange business cards. The business climate is demanding to say the least at the moment, therefore you cannot just put these business cards
in a draw or business card holder never to be seen again. You need to research
and you need to make online connections with people as often as you can.

When you are online, use a search engine to find out more about that person / company. See if you can connect with them on one of the online networking sites (E.G. Linked in) so that you increase your connections
on line and the posts / blogs / information you send gets repeated / liked /
“retweeted” by an ever growing pool of people.

Your networking is no longer just restricted to the meeting once a month after work in a bar. It should be an (almost) every day activity. At the time of writing this, I am at work fully integrated to my business, yet
I have signed in to my Linked in account and the chat room from one of my
networking meetings. I have also confirmed attendance to a networking event
tonight, and a further breakfast meeting next Tuesday!

Being on line is responsive and making yourself available. It can be a lonely ordeal running a company sometimes, and it is refreshing to get a buzz from a fellow networker who is interested in how your day is going
and may be to offer advice, an article in a trade journal or even those all
important leads. There are days when I just ask people how there day / week is
going. On other occasions, I post requirements to my network and news
information.

You must not forget the “social” in social online networking. It is very important to share ideas and prompt relevant discussions across your group. Mistakes, ideas and news items are great to share to inform,
lighten the day and give an alternative from just another marketing message.

Tell people about your business by all means, but make sure you tell them about the person behind the business.

Try just having a normal conversation. Whether it is face to face or via a website. Just talking to people works. Give it a go and see how many “sales” you make!