Business networking is like-minded people connecting for the common good. To benefit from this type of business association, you need to know what you want to get out of the relationship.
The two primary goals of networking are:
- Improving the standing of your business or professional practice by associating with successful business owners.
- Finding help with a specific problem or issue.
Your standing is often evaluated by the quality of the company that you keep. By associating with successful people, you too will be seen as more of a successful person as well.
Networking is an excellent source of new ideas and innovations. Input from your peers can provide you with an honest assessment to help you overcome obstacles that prevent your business from growing.
Finding people to network with simply requires a willingness to look around you. The Small Business Administration and SCORE are resources you can utilize for networking opportunities. You can also look to your mentors and advisors, vendors and clients. These existing relationships can be a valuable resource in your networking endeavors.
Here are 4 Tips for successful business networking:
1. Be genuine. Networking is first and foremost about relationship building.
2. Give back. Be willing to be a resource for others, a relationship is a subtle give and take.
3. Ask questions that show you are interested in the other person. Open-ended questions are ones that ask who, what, where, why and how. Questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no do not open a discussion for the free flow of ideas.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for the help you are looking for. Being able to state concisely what you need, allows others to help. When someone asks: “How can I help you?” You wan to be able to make a clear request.
Business networking can put you in touch with people of different skill-groups and levels of experience. By pooling these resources, everyone comes out a winner.
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Dr. DeJesus,
Great post. You mentioned a couple great places to network, both of which I’ve used in the past. I’d like to add that over the past few years, business networking has become popular online. Building a network online is an efficient way of connecting to additional resources. I believe offline and online networking are essential to career/business growth.
2. Give back.
So many people want to skip this step.
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