Truthfully, I don’t enjoy typical networking meetings where sales folks gather to exchange business cards.You know the kind I’m talking about; a gigantic business after hours with a hundred small business owners in attendance most of whom are eager to pitch to you. Or maybe a smaller event with a dozen or so hopeful business folks who get together for lunch or breakfast and go around the table with a canned speech about what they do. “Hi, I’m Jerry from Bug Eliminators. We rid your house of bugs.” Or, “Hi, I’m Marvin from All Lines Insurance Agency. We make sure everything that matters to you is protected. A good client for me is anyone who needs insurance.” Good luck with that.
Ask open-ended questions during your networking graphic conversations. This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussion for real communication and it shows that you are interested in what the other party has to say.
When we speak of you, we don’t mean the person making the video. We mean you, the audience. If you want people to stick with your video, you need to make it about the viewer and his/her problems. Otherwise, they couldn’t give a darn. They don’t care about anyone but themselves.
Take stock of your business contacts, who are your confidants, mentors? Who do you know and what do they do? Do you belong to professional networking groups or Chamber of commerce in your areas? LinkedIn is one of such business networking sites that comes to mind.
Build software defined networking the Know Like-Trust Factor Building relationships is more important than collecting massive leads. Think quality versus quantity. Add people to your list who have given you permission. Doing so without permission breaks trust. Connect deeper finding common ground, learning from each other, versus on the surface discussion about the weather.
When you choose the right group, you’ll meet with like-minded people, build effective business and personal relationships, and promote your business too. When you go consistently and regularly, people will get to know you. As well as talking about you, you’ll be referring others to your connections too.
It is down to you, no one else. Accept it, and look at how you can improve and start again. Every time you work at it you will get better and better and so it’s back to the old story – it’s better to be the tortoise and not the hare.