How to network
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Doing effective networking actually is pretty easy, and most of us do it all the time. But there are a few rules, which are more like concepts to approach networking from a more effective perspective.
Networking in a business concept
So what is networking? Networking actually means that you connect to a person, and by doing this, you get access to the people that they know; either because they introduce you to them, or because they tell them about you, or a service that you give, or a product that you sell. It’s actually really normal for you to network.
In a business concept, however, this is may be a little bit different. You might be used to being focused on making a sale, getting that contract, and getting a big bag of money. That’s not going to work with networking if you approach it from that perspective. It’s because networking is basically a relationship that’s developing between two people. That relationship holds potential value, but if you cash in on it right away, it might be gone. Therefore, I think its better to have a look at fewer developments and invest in it, and the relationship will pay off by itself just by having you and for having a bigger connection.
Make friends
It’s important that you look beyond the first tier in networking. The people that you meet and talk to are not necessarily the ones that will be your customers. Usually, it’s the people they know and the people that those people know. If you keep that in mind, you’ll know that the most important thing to do is to make friends. It’s that simple.
What’s the best way to make friends? Well, you have to be genuinely interested in someone else. You can do that the best by listening to what the other people have to say. It might sound really easy, but it is not. When you’re networking, you have your elevated pitch ready. You are ready to go and wanna tell things about yourself. Well, just take a step back. It’s better to give indirect information in a first networking situation. This means that you’re better off commenting on stuff and showing your expertise indirectly through your comments and your ideas, than to say, “I’m an expert in IT, engineering, and search engine optimization.” I think it’s much better if you show that you are an expert.
Give gifts
Another way you can make friends is to give away gifts. The gift doesn’t need to mean that you need to give your product or service away for free. It can also be a gift on a personal layer. Such a gift might mean that you write an email to a person that you talked to before at the networking event, telling them it was really great talking to them, it was inspiring, you were thinking about their ideas, you were happy that you talked with them, and that you would like to continue with this inspiring relationship. People will be very happy to hear that. That is a personal gift; the gift of appreciation. That might bring you much further than just talking about, “I’ll give you 30% discount if you buy now.” It’s kind of boring and impersonal.
If you have given a gift and you have made someone happy, they are probably going to be pretty happy about what you did and they might just repay you by telling their friends about you.They will tell their friends that it was really great and that they liked your service, and they would like to continue having you serve them, and they would like their friends to become your customers too. That’s pretty awesome.
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