Skip to main content

Networking Secrets

Building Your Business Through Networking

The best way to build your business through networking is....network! Half the battle is just showing up at the networking events. Of course showing up and avoiding interaction won't do much for your business either. The second half of winning with networking is making sure that people remember who you are and what you do. Some people think this means pushing into every conversation, and repeating their "elevator speech" a thousand times to a bunch of disinterested people who are desperately doing the same thing. Good networking does not work that way.

Here are three tips for making the most of your networking activities and ensuring that people will remember who you are and what you do.

1. Be consistent
  • show up regularly
  • wear only one "business hat" with the same group of people to avoid confusion
  • share a consistent marketing message
2. Be aware
  • know who your ideal target customers are and how to identify them
  • know what pain your customers experience and how your product or service fixes it
  • be able to quickly share this information with someone who wants to know more
3. Be a receiver
  • Start by listening, because we all remember the people who listen to us. Take your finger off the transmit button and hear what your fellow networkers have to say.
  • Once they notice you are sincerely listening, they'll want to find out more about you. When they ask, be ready to offer your information quickly, then ask to know more about them.
  • Provide some back up information on paper (one page handout) or by follow up email - this lets you stay in "receiver" mode while networking.
When everyone goes home, the people you listened to will remember you as interesting and easy to talk to. They will have your written material and/or your email follow up that reminds them who you are and what you do... and they will keep it because you showed an interest in them.

When they need what you provide, you will be the networker they call.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Website Usability and Web Accessibility

Why are Usability and Accessibility Important? The web design and development industry has undergone a number of radical shifts over the last few years - in fact, many industry experts claim that it is the most rapidly changing industry in the world. What these changes have led to though, is increased potential - "anything is possible". The inevitable side effect of this is that software and web sites have become so feature-rich and complex that they are practically impossible to use.   This matters to individual website owners because, if they are not careful, their website project or website content management solution can easily suffer functional overkill. When launching a web design project, be sure to ask yourself and your web site vendor the following questions: How does your software meet accessibility standards? How do you implement usability best practices? Can users with disabilities use my website? How readable will my website be by visitors...
Post a Comment
Read more

RFP Guidelines

An Introduction to Writing RFPs A Request for Proposal is a crucial stage of the client/supplier relationship. Guidelines for an RFP are only now starting to become standard in the relatively new industry of web-related technologies. However, an RFP can help establish a line of communication and clarify the needs and requirements of your development project. This document can help you create a RFP. The proposal that Lewis Media and other proponents will prepare in response will attempt to cover, in detail, the time line, scope, technical requirements, and budget of the project. Therefore, the initial RFP should be as detailed and clear as possible; any budget limitations and time constraints should be initially established. This will help us all be on the same playing field from Day 1. Often a client can be daunted by a perceived need to approach a RFP from a technical perspective. An RFP should define your needs - Lewis Media will then interpret these needs into te...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who Needs a CMS?

What makes a web design prospect a good candidate for a Content Management System? Imagine that you are in front of your prospect. They love your portfolio and the previous work you've done and they recognize the value that a web site can provide their business. How do you determine whether a CMS is a good option for their organization? Showing a prospect an online demo of how easily they can take control of their web site content can be a powerful "oh, wow" factor. For some prospects, they can connect the dots and immediately see the value that a CMS can bring to their business. For most though, you'll need to build a business case and demonstrate the "What's in it for me?". Here are a few quick questions you can ask your client to see if a CMS is an applicable tool for your prospect: What makes you different from your competition? If the answer to this question is the quality of work they do, then wouldn't their web site visitors w...
Post a Comment
Read more