Best Business Choice

I sometimes meet people who run around frantically to as many events as possible. They meet as many different people as they can and deliver their 'elevator pitch' as often as possible. In my book that is not networking. It is the face to face equivalent of cold calling. It is difficult and time consuming.

The key to successful networking is building strong relationships where you get to know, like, rate and trust each other. As I have written before:

"You don't build profitable business relationships by hardly getting to know lots of different people!"

A small number of people you get to know really really well can give you access to all the new people you want to meet. Effective networking is about support and sharing knowledge and finding advocates who recommend and refer you. Good networking groups provide the environment for you to strengthen existing relationships & build new ones. It is much easier and more enjoyable to develop your business in an environment like that.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

There may be trouble ahead...

Internet Psychologist Graham Jones wrote on his Ecademy Blog yesterday about the tough economic times ahead whoever wins the UK General Election. Everyone knows there will be some serious belt tightening whoever wins, but as he says "It's not all doom and gloom. You have your friends... It will be tough in the coming few years, that's true. But if you have friends; if you have trusted contacts; if you have people who like you, then you will survive thanks to their support."

This is when you find out that networking really isn't selling. It is about developing your route to market through trusted relationships, but it's much more than that. It is also about support and building friendships in business. That happens when you get to know, like, rate and trust others and they do the same for you.

As Graham said the economic situation we now have to face could well prove that it's never what you know that matters - it's who you know!

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke