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Guest post by: Terri Levine Become an Author

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There are many kinds of formal networking groups. Two of the most popular are Business Network International and LeTip. There are also women entrepreneur groups, small business groups, and many other local networking groups. The purpose of a networking group is to give referrals to one another and to help each other grow your businesses by being a sales force for one another. These groups are often referred to as leads groups.

By determining your target market, this will help you decide what kind of a leads group you may want to join. If you work with entrepreneurs, sales people, or small business owners, a leads group such as my Business Network International chapter would be perfect for you. Most of the people in the group are sales professionals, small business owners or entrepreneurs. Therefore, if you have a service or product that they can use, not only will they be a referral for you, but they will then know other small business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals to refer to you. Your purpose in a leads group is reciprocity. Be prepared to use the services of the people in the group who are going to support your business and to refer to the members of the group.

I believe these networking groups are absolutely worth investigating and am very delighted to be a part of Business Network International. If there's not a chapter near you of one of these groups, think about starting a chapter of one of the formal groups or even starting your own. What about taking the members of your strategic alliance and starting your own networking group? Be creative. The goal here is to form alliances with people who you meet with on a regular basis for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to exchange referrals. These people are your sales force and you will be a member of their sales team as well. The best way to get ahead is by helping those in your strategic alliance or networking group get ahead.

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