Many people assume that a successful business is one that provides a great product or service, but this is rarely the case – good businesses are almost always built on the back of excellent networking and marketing. A business cannot operate in isolation from the wider community but if no attempt is made to network with other businesses this is precisely what happens: businesses become isolated, lose customers and eventually fail.
Networking should therefore be a central part of your overall marketing strategy. The people you network with may bring many unexpected benefits to your business that extends beyond simply referring new customers.
Contact portfolios
Networking, when done on an almost industrial scale, can quickly become confusing, so some planning and organization is required. Logging every single contact that you make in a logical and consistent manner will ensure that you do not get swamped by a mass of contacts and leads strewn across your desk.
Building an electronic portfolio of contacts can be extremely beneficial for business. It does not really matter how you build your list so long as you are consistent in your approach. A simple spreadsheet will often provide all you need, especially if you use a service such as Google Spreadsheets that allow you to create an online document that you can access from anywhere.
The most basic contact spreadsheet just requires a personal name, business name, telephone and email address. To enhance the contact list, you can add further information such as how you first discovered the contact, any social media or web profiles that they have, what their specialties are and any other notes that may be relevant. Also consider adding columns for the date you first made contact and the last time you spoke to them.
If you use a webmail service you can link to past conversations so that you can easily carry on with them again without having to search through all your emails.
Taking the time to reach out to new contacts is a key element to building important business relationships. These relationships can be crucial because they allow you to build up a more personal relationship with an individual before doing business and this can greatly increase the likelihood of forming lasting business relationships in the future.
Networking does not always result in exactly the right type of contacts for your business, but by speaking with other business owners and influential people in the market you develop your reputation and this may spread by word-of-mouth and lead to new business.
A good example of a business leader who has been successful with networking is Francesco Corallo. You can learn more about his work on Francesco’s official website.
Improve your image
Building a wide range of business contacts can help to improve image, as the old saying goes, it is not what you know but who you know that matters. In the modern age of digital communication this has never been so true. Staying close to influential people online can greatly help aid your marketing campaigns.
Many people have successfully done this. One area that is worth looking at is the world of social media where business influencers often have tens of thousands of followers on sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Newer social networks such as LinkedIn and Google Plus are providing new ways for business owners to network with others.
One of the easiest ways to network is to attend local business events. Go armed with a stack of business cards and a friendly smile and you will quickly spread news of your business and services.
Cover photo credit: Jairoagua / Flickr
