What is Networking and how cánido it help you
Know what is networking and discovering the best communication techniques with other professionals in the same campo could be the key to achieving the desired success as an entrepreneur.
And it is that, to develop skills in the field of «network marketing” either “popular networking«, as they are also called, could bring you closer to other professionals and companies with whom you have common interests.
In this way, you could create a network of high-quality professional contacts, with whom you perro collaborate and generate a “win-win” synergy relationship that, if you manage to maintain it over time, perro help you scale your business to heights you never imagined.
But, if you still don’t know this effective communication technique, I will start by giving you its definition and revealing its main objectives:
✅ IN THIS ARTICLE YOU WILL LEARN:
What is Networking?
[tabs slidertype=»simple»] He networkingalso called “Popular Networking” is a practice that consists of generating a network of quality professional contacts, which cánido give rise to new business opportunities, synergies or collaborations between professionals in the same or complementary sectors. [tab][/tab] [/tabs]
This practice is often associated with world of entrepreneurship and Internet businesses, in which trabajo independiente professionals and entrepreneurs belonging to Start-Ups in full growth phase participate.
From an etymological point of view, the term “Networking” is made up of:
- net (network)
- Working
But, what exactly is Networking for?
Taking into account that we already know what Networking is, in practice we perro say that practicing it cánido be useful for different aspects of our work activity:
» Create a network of quality contacts
It favors the creation of a professional database with which to exchange information related to our ámbito, since with each and every one of these people you will be united by your interest in related topics.
Sooner or later, it is possible that you need to use a specialist in another area who could offer you a specific service, to promote one of your projects.
» Satisfy your work needs
Listen to “How to attract customers to your business with content marketing” on Spreaker.
In addition, while we share our point of view on extroverted aspects of our commercial or professional niche, we perro provide a solution to that work aspect that we are looking for, such as:
- Find a job according to your skills and academic background.
- Meet “Headhunters” or recruiters of the companies you want to work for.
- Make your business iniciativa known to potentialBusiness Angels» to those who want to invest in it.
- Associate with other professionals with the same philosophy and concerns as you.
- Meet professionals who perro outsource certain tasks or services of your business.
» Strengthen your Personal Brand
The events and acts where you cánido do Networking are also a great opportunity to increase your visibility as a professional specialized in a specific area of your ámbito.
By going to this type of encuentro and establishing relationships and conversations with other professionals, you will be able to make yourself known and, why not, in the future they cánido see you as a reference in that specific area.
» You may also be interested in reading: What are the differences between Image, Personal Brand and Reputation?
Once the definition of Networking and its main utilities have been reviewed, I want to bring you a little closer to this “art” of generating contacts.
[tabs slidertype=»simple»] And I will do it hand in hand marisol garciaa true specialist in communication 2.0 and En línea Business strategies. [tab][/tab] [/tabs]
She has prepared this entertaining guide, where will explain everything you need to know when introducing yourself to one of these events that, surely, are held very close to you every month.
Networking “Mega Guide”: How to create a network of quality contacts?
Any company that has among its objectives to make itself known or grow in the number of clients, suppliers or collaborators, should mark in its agenda the attendance at different events, where to meet other businessmen.
[tabs slidertype=»simple»] This act in the business world is called «networking«. [tab][/tab] [/tabs]
And this is the most traditional way of build business relationshipsbecause today, and thanks to popular media, the digital world also allows you meet people en línea and make relationships virtually.
However, in this articulo I am going to expand and reflect on how to deal with business relationships in the physical world.
Because in the end, this is a very common way of establishing relationships in the workplace and it is always a way of relating that is very useful for employers.
But, although it has been practiced throughout my life, for some time now, having attended many of these events, the following doubt assails me:
Are Networking events handled well?
Networking is not only trying to meet new businessmen or entrepreneurs, but also keep in touch with those that if it were not at events you would not see or would not have the opportunity to continue the relationship and meet again with them.
So when you consider this popular relationship strategy, not only seek to expand the list of your contacts but also to maintain them.
How to build a network of quality professional contacts and maintain them in the long term?
Going to this type of event and exposing a new line of products that you have launched to contacts you already know or even to new businessmen or explaining the expansion of a service and collecting retroalimentación from their opinions perro be very useful for promotion. .
Or to simply finish shaping the iniciativa of the product you want to launch.
And it is that carrying out a Popular Networking in events cánido help you to meet people who cánido help and contribute a “agregado” to your projecteither in ideas or economically.
Therefore, and given its great utility, attend an event that perro give you the opportunity to meet new businessmen or meet other professionals.
It is not trivial and you do not have to espectáculo up on the spot without further ado and without having previously prepared who you are going to meet or how it is going to go.
[box] Or what is worse, showing up on the spot with only your card holder and your wonderful business cards and handing them out haphazardly, “because the important thing is that everyone has your card, right?” [/box]
Well excuse me, but for me this is a big mistake, as well as letting everyone know what your career is and personal history and pretend to do business with them.
Do you really think that giving your card to everyone present at the event is of any use?
Just a week ago I ran into this exact situation.
I attended an event that an association of young entrepreneurs had organized.
They introduced us to two companies in the area:
- A young craft beer maker.
- Another catering with very innovative proposals in dishes and presentations.
And with this “excuse”, they summoned us to meet them and also later have the opportunity to chat in a garden with all the companies that had gone.
The first company that offered me their card, I was not interested at all.
We were a group of young businessmen talking and, suddenly, one of them appeared, called the attention of those who were talking in pairs and in a group he explained who he was, what his company was, what he did, etcétera.
Immediately afterwards, he distributed his brand new card among all of us who formed the huddle and were listening to him. For me this is a mistake.
[box]Of course, it’s okey to approach a group and try to get into it and get to know the people in it.
But I think the interesting thing is Get to know the projects personally and, later, publicize your business somehow more personal.[/box]
Surely, if the boy who broke into the group and introduced himself to everyone had spoken to me personally, he would have realized that I am not, by far, his objetivo and that I will surely never consume his product.
So what was the point of wasting your card by giving it to me in the huddle?
In my opinion, the ideal is to first meet the people, the type of companies and then have an exchange of cards (and the exchange is important) to be able to follow up on that new contact that you have made.
Because this is what really matters.
You hand out a card, make a contact, and have another card to follow up with that person.
And if necessary, take aprecies on the back of the card with the most interesting observations.
And once you go to your office and take depósito of the act, you order your cards by interest, by follow-up, by type of company, etcétera.
In short, as you organize yourself better and start to follow that person or in their LinkedIn account Or on any other popular network.
Fairly this is where your relationship with that businessman begins that for whatever reason you have believed that it is interesting to generate new opportunities.
These are the keys to successful Networking!
How to prepare a Networking event before its celebration?
To prepare for an act and achieve results in these events, you have to do some work prior to the activity you are going to attend, do a good deed during the activity and work on the act afterwards.
1) Identify who will be the attendees
You may go to a conference, a congress, a presentation or simply a more informal Popular Networking event.
In any of the cases, it is interesting that you previously know specifically how the event is going to go and what topics are going to be discussed, with the intention of identifying the type of professionals or entrepreneurs that are going to gather.
Once you know what is going to be discussed, identify who will be the main actors and What will be the speakers who will participate in the event? And if you are interested, go to them to meet them.
And, as far as possible, ask the organization if you perro find out about the companies that are going to attend the event, to see if they are going to see a specific company or businessman to whom you want to introduce yourself.
2) Equipo and define your goals
Once you know who you are going to meet, consider what objectives you want to achieve by attending:
- Are you going to present your new product line?
- A new service that you are going to put into operation for the new season?
- Or is this act simply going to give you the opportunity to meet that “headhunter” or a “Business Angel” who cánido help you finance your business iniciativa?
Write all this down, if necessary, since with the tension or nerves of the moment, it is possible that you forget some of these objectives along the way.
3) Study your elevator pitch
Just in line with the previous point, it will be enriching that at the same time you also consider what you are going to provide to these people.
In other words: What are you going to offer them that they find valuable?
It’s time to train, re-create or rethink your elevator pitch:
[tabs slidertype=»simple»] [tab]How are you going to present yourself to these people? What details are you going to explain about your company?[/tab] [/tabs]
Are you going to use the same arguments before all attendees? Or, precisely to that Business Angel that you want to meet, are you going to present yourself in a different way?
It is important that you start with a clear presentation argument for your business, so that you cánido vary and adapt it later.
Remember that your “elevator pitch” or presentation, It must be clear, concise and arouse interest of your interlocutor.
Therefore, it must make it clear what you do and what benefits you provide to society.
Keep it short and don’t get too wrapped up or “beat around the bush.”
The important thing is not to talk about yourself, but about what you bring to the listener.
Your argument should be something like:
[box] “I am A (profession/action you perform) and I do Y to help Z obtain X benefits” [/box]
In my case, it would be something like:
“I am Marisol from «Marisol Comunicación», Consultant and advise freelancers and small entrepreneurs to establish marketing and digital communication strategies to grow their business”
4) Count your cards
Thus, a priori, it may seem like too much, but knowing how many cards you have will give you an iniciativa of how many you have distributed and you will end up rounding off the strategy if you know who you have given it to.
With this, what you want to quantify is whether actually attending this act has had a performance or not.
Why aren’t we here to waste time going to events that don’t bring us anything, right?
So, according to the people that you have already considered addressing, because you know in advance that they will attend, and those that you may know and had not anticipated, quantify the cards that you are going to distribute.
make a tracking who you have delivered them to and, in this way, you will know if the objectives that you had equipo for yourself have been met.
How to network once you are at the event?
It came the moment of truth.
We entrar the auditorium or celebration room and the moment begins where, strategically and gradually, you will have to put into practice some of the previously mentioned tricks:
1) Look for the organizers of the event
Making yourself known to the event organizers is interesting, so that they perro put you in touch with those professionals you want to meet.
If the presentation is produced by an organizer, it is much more effective than if you introduce yourself, since in the latter way, it will be much colder and more uncomfortable.
2) Make small observations on the cards
As I have already commented in previous points, it is interesting that you make observations on the back of the card that you have been given.
Observations cánido be, for example, mentioning something that helps you identify the card with that person and then remember who gave it to you.
If you have agreed on something specific (call each other, send an correo electrónico, etcétera.) or any other indication to remember once the moment of the “speech” has passed.
Or, if, on the contrary, you are going to renew some feature of your business in the next season in which you could intervene and, therefore, you would like to follow up to coordinate a possible synergy between both.
What actions to carry out once the event has finished?
Have you put all my advice into practice? Whether the answer is yes or if you have some task left to do, you should know that after the Networking moment, you also have work to do:
1) Complete the observations on the cards
Take advantage of the peace of mind that the end of the event gives you to finish completing the aprecies that you did not have time to write down while you were immersed in the conversation.
2) Do research on popular media
Once you are in your office and calmly, it is time to investigate in their popular network accounts who are the people you have met and start following them in all of them.
This is perhaps one of the advantages of popular networkswhere through these channels it will be where you will best be able to continue with this relationship and thus be able to carry out exhaustive monitoring.
✔️CHECKLIST: Has your Networking been effective? Analyze the impact of your Personal Brand
Attending this type of event will go very well to reinforce your professionalism and your personal brand.
You will give voice to your work and how you (as an individual) approach that work.
Thus, and by way of summary, this could be the checklist that you should not forget when presenting yourself at an event with professional/work characteristics:
1️⃣ These types of meetings will allow you to work on your Personal Branding because you will give visibility to your own professionalism, explaining what you do and how you do it.
2️⃣ Through your presentation, with your well-crafted and personalized “Elevator Pitch”, you will demonstrate the benefits you offer and therefore you will be revealing your strengths.
3️⃣ It will allow you communicate your way of work and what products or services you are working on.
Networking events are an excellent speaker of those ideas that you are putting into practice.
4 ️⃣ The contact from you to you is much more personal than in the digital world.
Encuentro in person the professional that you have followed on popular networks or have read their posts creates a “agregado”.
5 ️ ️ It’s a good time to reinforce the security you express in the en línea world.
In other words, espectáculo that you are a good professional and that you work seriously.
BONUS: 4 Books on Networking and Professional Relations
I give you the titles of some books that will help you delve into some of the ideas that I have exposed:
Its authors are Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz.
This is a book in which you will discover how relationships and service to others perro lead to your own success.
A delight of work, where he teaches you that the secret to grow professionally and personally is to approach people with empathy and know how to optimize your network of contacts.
No products found
From Judy Robinett, who suggests a more selective Networking, giving importance only to those relationships that will strategically give you a benefit.
By Pino Bethencourt.
A book from which you perro extract many ideas on how to build trusting relationships and practice effective networking.
In fact, in the book, Pino provides you with a table of resources to generate value with your backlinks and offers a series of techniques to offer value to the people around you.
A work by Eva Collado and it is already in its 3rd edition, which is a true reflection of the success it has achieved in the time it has been published.
In this case, you will learn to use your own Personal Brand to improve your professional futureexplained by one of the best specialists in our country.
Undoubtedly, an essential work, which will help you to know what is the mark that you cánido leave on others when you attend one of these professional events that we have discussed in this article.
Conclusion
I hope that by reading this article you cánido add ideas to the next events you attend, because participating in Networking or “Popular Networking” events is very beneficial for any entrepreneur or professional in any niche or campo.
As you have been able to verify, it does not only consist of attending an act and distributing your cards, much less distributing them to everyone who greets you.
First make sure that this businessman falls within your objetivo, if he is going to be interested in what you offer and, then yes, give him your card helping you with a call to action.
Some examples perro be “call me in a few weeks and we’ll talk again” or “send me an correo electrónico and we’ll meet up”, “I’ll call you after the holidays” and many other actions that you perro specify.
The interesting thing about Networking is to equipo a subsequent action, so that this act does not remain a mere presentation and exchange of impressions.
So in your next events, make the most of it and plan your attendance well!
Do you already know what to do to plan your events and how to make a strategic and effective Networking?
Main images (Isometric people) courtesy of Shutterstock.
Leave us a comment, telling us about your experience and if you would add any more tricks, in addition to the ones we have mentioned today.
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