4 Basic Steps of Networking: Life’s Blood of Small Business

There are so many great books to help you with business networking. Read as many books as possible so you can develop your own unique networking technique. Many people shy away from networking because they don’t know what to do. There are four simple steps that must be followed for effective business networking:

1. Choose Events Wisely: Attend events where there will be business owners or decision-makers to buy your product or service. Don’t waste time attending all events as there will be a lot of events where people are just not suitable to purchase from you.

2. Talk to Strangers: Walk up to people that you do not know and introduce yourself. Introduce yourself with a firm handshake, look them in the eyes and say your name and company name. After they introduce themselves, ask them questions about their business.

Some questions are:

1. How did you get started in that business?

2. How long have you been doing that?

3. What do you like best about your business?

Make the conversation all about them and not you. People love to talk about themselves. If you allow them to talk about themselves, you will be remembered as someone who took the time to get to know them. Networking is not about the quantity of business cards with which you come home. It’s about relationships. Bob Burg said in his book, entitled, Endless Referrals, “people do business with people they know, like and trust.” Be sure you get their business card and you can talk about your business and give them your business card.

Be sure you have your “elevator speech” or your 30 second speech perfected. You should have a short introduction of yourself that you can say in your sleep. Your speech should go something like: “I’m Cindy Freland and I own Maryland Secretarial Services. I do your administrative tasks so you can concentrate on what you do best.” Then you can go into more detail about your business.

3. Follow-up: When you get back to your office, send a follow-up email, “snail” mail a handwritten note, or call to make an appointment. The follow-ups should be short notes to remind them of where you met, wish them success in their business, and remind them of what you do. I like to also invite them to other networking events so you are offering them value and not just trying to get them to buy from you.

4. Face-to-Face Again: If you have made an appointment, congratulate yourself. You did a great job in convincing them that you offer value. At the meeting, remember to talk about them and ask more in-depth questions about their business. Find out how you can help them by listening to their concerns. After you have listened and you think you know how to help them, then you can talk about the solutions that you offer.

Remember, business networking is an inexpensive, effective way to advertise your services and products. If done correctly, you will have a steady stream of business throughout the life of your company.