4 Keys to Effective Networking

December 15, 2014 Saul Edmonds

4 Simple Ways to Network More Effectively

Personal relationships are always the key to good business. You can buy networking; you can't buy friendships.
Lindsay Fox

Discover These Simple Networking Fundamentals

When it comes to networking for your business, you have to be willing to get creative in order to get the best results.

It can be more difficult than ever to stand out in a crowd.

The secret to networking effectively for your business comes down to 4 simple fundamentals.

These networking basics will help your company to benefit and grow from personal business referrals.

1. Learn to Be Selective

Rather than simply allowing everyone and anyone into your networking circle, you need to be more selective about your choices.

Those networking relationships should include professionals in the business world who are supportive, positive, and creative at the same time. The key however, is choosing from a group of people who are exceptional at what they do.

The quality of your networking is dependent on the quality of your relationships. Look at it this way, if the network is over a mile long but only a few inches deep, you will never get the types of referrals you are expecting.

It is absolutely critical that you build professional relationships that are meaningful and will last for a significant amount of time.

2. Adding New People Continuously

There is one thing that is constant when it comes to gaining referrals from your networking group: namely, the number of quality referrals is in direct relation to the size of your group.

During a year, professionals in your network may leave for whatever reason. You need to continually add new quality professionals to your group in order to keep those numbers up.

The greater number of those connections that you have, the higher the number of referrals you are eventually going to receive. If you are getting an average number of referrals right now, simply add some more members to the group and those numbers will climb in direct relation to the size of the group.

3. Try to Seek Engagement

In order for any network to be successful, the group has to promise to work with each other on improving relationships for the entire group.

When one person succeeds, the entire group needs to succeed as well.

One of the ways to become engaged with the group is to simply meet with those people in your network more often.

You need to educate those people all about the key features of your particular business so that your services and products will be on the top of their mind if they run into anyone who might be in line for those types of services. You must also learn to educate yourself on the key features of other members needs, so you can quickly refer them if the opportunity ever presents itself.

The more people in your group that are actively engaged in learning more about others, the better your group will generate more quality referrals. This is how you go from just an average networking group to one that consistently is rewarding members with a never ending stream of new business.

4. Learn to Share Stories

Pay close attention to the stories being told by others in your professional referral network.

That information being shared by your partners is great for you to develop into stories for potential business opportunities.

If a network member goes into detail about a story about how they saw a problem with a client and they were able to provide a real unique solution for solving the issue, remember this when you run into a customer who has the same problem. You can relate to them the story you just heard in your own words, and get that referral sent over quickly. Encouraging members to listen to your stories will put them in position to do the same if the situation is reversed.

One of the things about a good story is that is captivates the audience, helping to compel them to take action.

If you are serious about building referrals within the network, story telling needs to be placed at the top of the group to-do list.

The simple truth is that the facts tell, but the stories sell.

IS 'TELLING YOUR STORY' AT THE HEART OF YOUR PERSONAL NETWORKING STRATEGY?

At Roundhouse, we understand that by telling your unique story - you immediately stand out in your industry. We focus on what is it that makes you and your business unique - and we work to find ways to use your story to inform and educate your customers and network about your services and products. If you want to learn more about the value of storytelling to your business, please get in touch today.

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