9 Tips For Successful Business Networking

9 Tips For Successful Business Networking

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5. Don't hard sell.

The days of the hard sell are over. People are tired of being sold to in a hyped-up, rushed manner. So avoid this at all costs when you are attending networking events. If you are at an event where you are given the opportunity to promote something, go back to offering value and offer something for free. I recently attended a networking event where I was asked by the organizers to promote my workshop to it's guests. Well, of course I jumped at it but I offered anyone who signed up for my workshop a free 1 hour coaching session with me. Do you think people were interested? Absolutely!

6. Listen.

Again, networking is about making connections with people. And you won't make valuable connections if you're yapping away the whole time about you, you, you. Listening is a very important part of communicating. And just like value, people appreciate being listened to. So make a habit of this and while in conversation with people always ask open ended questions where people are telling you more about them, making them feel your interest. There's an anonymous quote that says: "Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand." Powerful truth!

7. Position yourself as the "Go To" person.

Take advantage of networking events to position yourself as a "go to" person in your field. You can do this by offering testimony of your results and offering people client referrals. The key is to be a valuable source for people. Make them feel like they need to have you as a contact. Be it for your services or anything else. They say every person you meet knows an average of 250 people. So you want to keep people coming to you because each person you have as a connection, represents another 250 people you can connect to.

8. Be very clear about your services and what you do.

Your elevator pitch is extremely important. It should be about 11 seconds long, catchy and memorable and tell people how you can help them. If it doesn't fit into that formula, you lose people.

9. Follow thru quickly.

Do you find yourself collecting business cards and throwing them in a drawer or on top of your desk? Then you are throwing business in a drawer. Make a habit of following through within 24 hours of meeting someone. And when you connect acknowledge something personal about them or something about the conversation you had with them the day before. This will make people feel special and more likely to keep connecting with you.
Making a habit out of all of these tips will surely make networking more effective even if you hate networking.

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Entrepreneur Julissa Fernandez a.k.a "The Sassy Media Guru" is a Media Coach and Media Consultant helping other women entrepreneurs become Media Darlings. To learn more visit: www.synergycommunication.net.