Tweet

Successful ways of Effective Business Networking

Written by: Jackie Handunge

Article Overview: In the business world networking is crucial. It is a means of gaining clients and referrals. Read this article for more information.

Successful ways of Effective Business Networking

Successful ways of Effective Business Networking
By: Bizymoms Management

In today’s business world, networking plays an important role in developing contacts and relationships with fellow businessmen and new clients. Also it is an effective way to obtain references for your business, while being an efficient marketing tool to publicize your business to a wider audience. As a business owner, to expand your business you should be able to successfully build up or set up your own networks.

There are many methods to consider when building up effective business networks. The first step to be taken is to reach out to others. You should grasp every opportunity available to meet and connect with new people. Try to collect as much information about the other person as possible so as to identify his/her problems first in order to understand how your business can benefit them. Staying in touch with your new contacts is as essential as reaching out to them. With today’s advance technology you can now easily stay in touch through phone calls, sms’s, e-mails, faxes and messaging services. You can also opt for traditional methods such as face to face meetings, sending of notes and cards. By joining a few associations or organizations and participating actively, you would be able to meet up with more new people and obtain the opportunity to introduce yourself as well as your business to them. Never be shy to circulate and introduce yourself to others at events and functions as it can open up many new prospects for you and your business.

In order to build up effective networks, good communication skills are necessary. Being polite and respectful as well as knowing when to talk and when to listen is important. Make yourself available through many communication channels such as one-to-one meetings, phone calls, emails, postal mails and faxes. This will ensure that any person would be able to contact you in a communication mode which they feel comfortable in.

Lastly you should utilize effective tools to pass out information regarding yourself and business to others. The best method would be through business cards. It is the easiest form to carry around and pass out your information to others through. Ensure that the business card clearly states your name, business name, address, phone numbers, mobile number, web address and the product or service you offer. Another professional manner in which to pass out information is through email signatures. This is also an inexpensive tool which you can use. Your email signature can carry out the same information as does your business card and in addition you can also include a sentence or two regarding your business.

Effective business networking will always yield valuable opportunities for your business to expand and develop.

Related Articles
  NETWORKING ISNT SELLING OR IS IT
  Something you have, not something you do
  Networking Tips for Introverts or How to Break The Ice Without Fear of Falling Through
  5 Tips To Networking Effectively
  Sales and Marketing: Know and Apply The Separate But Equal Ideology

Article Tags: advance technology, audience, business networking, business networks, business owner, business world, businessmen, cards, communication channels, communication mode, efficient marketing, faxes, good communication skills, marketing tool, messaging services, prospects, relationships, sms, successful ways, world networking



Related Forum Posts
Re: Make Friends...Literally BUILD them! - I agree! Networking is definitely the key word here. What does everyone feel about the different Networking platforms out there? Twitter Facebook LinkedIn what are some others?
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Selling a Service - What sort of service are you trying to sell? I have a good friend who headed up the marketing for a good number of service companies and showing pictures of before and after (if applicable) is good. Putting together a flyer with a bulleted list (quick and easy to read) of the benefits to the customer and testimonials from satisfied customers are all great ways to help sell your service. Cold calls are horrible and I've done them, but never liked it. Besides, your normal return on cold calls is low. I joined a BNI (Business Networking International) networking group to promote my home improvement business and that worked well. I got to know the members and many used my services. At this point they were able to refer qualified leads to me. Let me know what you're selling and I can try to think of some other ideas. Chris
Re: How to Promote Your Business Online - Thanks for the list ZekeLL , I use many of these ways to promote my online business and am looking into using more of them. I also use Article Marketing, Social Networking and Blogging which I find a very good way to get traffic to my site and also gain valuable backlinks. Take care, Carol
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Designing Employee-Enhancing Training Programs

Are You Too Good for Your Job?

Let's Skip the Offshore Horror Stories

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.