As much as you might shudder at the thought, your career success will be directly tied to your willingness and ability to network. I’d go so far as to say that if you don’t learn how, and actively practice and build your networking skills, you won’t reach your goals. Your resume (and your shoes) may be polished to a shine, but if you are ignoring the fact that 2/3 or more of people get their jobs through people they already know, or people they meet in the search, all that shine is for nothing. We get information, ideas, resources, scoop, and new contacts from others in all other areas of our lives, so why should your career be any different?
Selling yourself is not about being quick witted, foot in the door and pressuring to close, it’s about being you and being genuine. Consider the four business networking groups pittsburgh below and you too can stand out from the crowd.
You want to educate potential clients on your business and article postings such as this one are a great way to get your name out there. Once your article is written it usually takes another 30 MINUTES to post it if you’re not already registered. Setting up the account, formatting your article properly based on the site’s specifications, and a few last minute spell checks can be pretty time consuming. From now on, write an article in word and email it to your virtual assistant with a list of placed you’d like to have it submitted. Done! Now your article can be uploaded to NUMEROUS websites and you’ve moved on to software defined networking something else.
By not acting on a lead, you have two things working against you. One, you are allowing for your competition to get the jump on you. And two, you are giving your potential customer an opportunity to seek out somebody else to provide them with the product or service they are looking for.
The chances are that it’s because you started to like and trust the person who was doing the selling. It’s a fact, people buy people and this is why business relationships and referral recommendations are so important for your business.
Bryan Dyson, the former CEO of Coca-Cola explained that he feels we juggle 5 different balls: a health ball, a family ball, a friends ball, a work ball and a spirituality ball. Four of the five are made out of crystal. If we drop them, they are going to shatter. Only one ball is made out of rubber and bounces back: the work ball.
Now there are certain things that you shouldn’t outsource when it comes to social networking sites and we’ll talk more about that in my next article “How To Outsource Your Social Networking…The RIGHT Way” For now, just keep in mind that anything that involves talking to people in your network needs to be done by you and you only. You could be missing a ton of new business opportunities if you’re not connecting with the people in your social networking groups on some level. A virtual assistant is great for setting up your account profile, adding photos, articles, and status updates too. They’ll do an excellent job of keeping your account “active” but it’s still up to you to be sociable.
If you are lucky enough to find a good group, then make a commitment and show up for at least 6 months to realize your investment. Even if you’re with ‘your people’ it takes time to build trust and find worthy referral sources.
Freelance writing, selling on eBay, and blogging are only three of the many ways to make money online. They might require an initial investment of time and effort, but you are likely to see some quick income and even huge profits in the long run if you follow these hints.