Are you making these top 4 mistakes when networking?
There is so much business networking going on in any given city from week to week that to insure you make the best use of your time, it is important to know why you are networking and if you are networking with the right people. I re-evaluate my networking efforts every year to discover if there was a monetary return on my investment in time and money. I drop all activities that have no proven ROI.
I have found there are several mistakes people make and thus do not gain results.
1st mistake is not knowing your intention for attending a networking event
To gain the most from networking it is imperative that you know ahead of time what your intention is for attending. An example would be to make connections with 4 people who might be a good referral partner for your business.
2nd mistake is not knowing who a good referral partner is
Think about the various professions that work with the same client but offer different products or services than you. This keeps you focused on your networking goals and is an opportunity to ask around if anyone you meet can introduce you to one person in the types of professions that would make good referral partners.
3rd mistake is not having a compelling introduction
Unfortunately in many networking situations most people always begin a conversation with “So, what do you do?” There are so many other ways to begin a conversation, but Okay to answer the what do you do question, I encourage you to create a simple sentence that says who you help. The statement should be compelling enough that people will want to know more and thus ask you to learn more.
4th mistake is not following up
How will you follow-up with the people you meet networking? Connect on LinkedIn, send a personal email, make a phone call to schedule another meeting? If you don’t followup with the people you meet, you might as well stay home!
Create a referral network that works for you
Creating a referral network where you gain more exposure, leads and income is why you spend time networking. Networking should be part of your overall marketing plan and should be scheduled along with your other marketing activities. Finding good referral partners takes some time and effort, but if done purposefully will garner the results you want!
– Make a list of professions and current colleagues who service the same target audience as you – Create a system to reach out to at least 5 new referrals partners a week
– Build on-going relationships with those who will be your biggest advocates
– Create a system to stay top of mind with your referrals partners
