Why Business Owners Need to Network?

In the world of the small business owner, networking is recognised as a vital part of marketing.  In fact, as Thomas Power, founder of Ecademy says: "There is no more lower cost way to grow your business."  He goes on to say: "Networking is the 21st Century Marketing".

People who say they are too busy to network are missing out.  It is easy to get trapped behind a desk but that is how you can miss opportunities.

* Networking is an opportunity to increase your contacts. 

If you're trying to build a list of people to market to, the contacts you make are pure gold.  Not everyone is a prospective client but you don't know who they know....

* You can compare notes. 

Running your own business, especially if you work alone, can be a bit isolating.  It's quite comforting to find out you're not the only one facing challenges and people are usually very happy to share their experiences.

* It's a great way to learn things about other groups and events, new skills, knowledge about Legislation, new suppliers, new products and so on.

*Develop relationships for your business. 

Although we all go to networking events hoping to find prospective clients for our products and services, there are other valuable relationships to develop such as ....

*Alliances.

Some people you meet may have complimentary services or products to you.  Not only can you help to promote each other's businesses, you can work on projects together, do joint marketing.

 *Advisers.

Some people you meet may have been in business for a while.  They will certainly have overcome a lot of obstacles successfully - and learned how not to do things. 

*Competitors.

Networking with competitors and getting to know them can be very useful.   The better they know you, the more likely they are to refer business if they get overloaded.  Or there may be opportunities for you to work together.  You won't know unless you talk to them.

* You have to let people know you exist. 

Obviously one of the major reasons for networking!  Unfortunately, going to visit a group once and expecting them to remember you isn't enough.  You need to keep reminding them you're still around by attending regularly.

* You must get good at listening. 

If you want people to be interested in your products or services, you have to be interested in theirs.  Networking is about showing interest not about waiting for your turn to speak. 

* Let people know what you do. 

It always surprises me how ill prepared a lot of people are to explain what they do and they will miss that golden opportunity to make a great first impression.

They will use a label, like "I'm an Accountant", "I'm a Printer", "I'm an IT Consultant".  Now, the problem with using labels like that is that we have our own thoughts on what Accountants, Printers and IT Consultants do, so we tend to tune out and the conversation falters before it has even got going. 

The idea behind what is called the elevator pitch or audio logo is that it gets the response "That sounds interesting, tell me more."

How much more interested would you be in what they do if they said, "I save business owners money", "I help businesses create a stunning impression" or "I keep the gremlins out of your systems."?

*Be prepared to grab opportunities to speak. 

One of our greatest fears is speaking in public.  A lot of breakfast groups do a 1 minute 'pitch', other groups have a business card draw for 1, 3 or even 10 minute presentations.  If the thought of standing up and doing this brings you out in a cold sweat, the best way to overcome this is to be prepared, be very prepared.

There are lots of places you can go to network that run organised events, Chamber of Commerce, Business Link, Lead Groups, and Trade Shows to name but a few.

The most important part of Networking doesn't actually happen at the event.  It's what you do afterwards that really counts.  I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who don't follow up!  And the ones that do usually send me a sales pitch.  It doesn't take long to drop a quick 'nice to meet you' email. 

Finally, you must have a system to follow up the contacts you make.  Who are you going to meet for coffee or lunch and get to know better?  Find reasons to stay in touch.

Enjoy your networking!

Louise Barnes-Johnston is a Business Accelerator and Coach. 

She runs open workshops for small businesses in key areas including Networking, Selling Skills, Time Management and Customer Retention.  Email today for your free copy of "10 Ways to Boost Your Business"

Contact me at Telephone  023 9246 0845.   

Email: louise@frontline-results.com. Web:  www.frontline-results.com

(c) Louise Barnes-Johnston, 2007.