Networking is not an optional before or after business hours activity. Networking is a vital and integral part of your success.
You do business between 9 and 5. You build business before and after “regular” business hours. The most powerful part of your business is not conducted during business hours.
How do you integrate networking into your business schedule? Ten hours a month of intelligent, selective networking can have a doubling effect on your business growth in just a few months.
Here is a list of 6 fundamental elements that will guide your netorking to the moon:
1. Network smart or you won’t get the right results
“I wish I could get more leads when I network.” Or if you say, “I go to networking events, but I don’t get many prospects,” it means you’re not following the fundamental rules, or you’re not networking where your prime prospects might be. Or both.
2. Commit by marking your calendar
Our office has a yearly wall calendar with all networking events posted and a small bulletin board next to it to post the event promotional pieces or invitations. Personally, I try to follow the “50-butt rule.” If there are more than 50 butts in one room, my butt is there too.
3. Event selection is as important as networking itself
Each week the Business Journal publishes a list of business events, and the chamber of commerce publishes a monthly calendar. Don’t overlook social and cultural events as networking possibilities. Select those events that may attract your customer or people who you want to get to know.
4. Know how you can help
People don’t care what you do, unless what you do helps them. Know what problems you can solve, not a bunch of boring stuff about what you can do. Asking powerful questions and showing how you can help will gain the prospect’s interest. Gaining interest leads to an appointment. The purpose of networking is to achieve engagement that leads to an appointment.
5. Practice by doing
Many people go to networking events; very few actually know how to network effectively. Practice the fundamentals and subtle secrets of networking by working a room. If you practice the rules youwill have a better chance to succeed at it. All you have to do is prepare, show up, and interact.
6. Be aware of time
Don’t spend too much of it with one person, or you defeat the purpose of networking. Your objective is to take advantage of the entire room. If you spend three minutes with a prospect, that gives you a possibility of twenty contacts per hour. Five minutes each = twelve contacts. Ten minutes each = six contacts. When you’re in a room full of prospects, every minute counts.
The size of the event dictates the amount of time you should spend with each person. The larger the event, the shorter time per contact, and the less time you should spend with each person – especially the people you know. To make the most of a networking event, spend 75 percent of your time with people you don’t know.
Excert From: Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Black Book of Connections
