How do I better my business networking skills?
Ready to improve your business networking skills?
Networking is the lifeblood of any online business. It doesn’t matter what you’re business is about, if you’re not networking then you’re loosing out on valuable relationships and income.
People tend to forget that the internet is made up of other people.
It’s so easy to not relate to everyone out there in cyberspace as real and feel like they are just a means to build our business. You’ll get much further by viewing every person as a real live person who you need to build a relationship with before they will trust you enough to buy from you.
In my service-based virtual assistant business I found networking to be absolutely essential to my success. Very few people will randomly go to a website, find a VA and hire them. They want a referral.
I am constantly getting people asking me if I know any virtual assistants or affiliate managers or wordpress experts to refer them to. So if you’re in a service business and you’re not networking with both your potential clients AND your peers start now.
Just remember that networking is NOT about pushing your business on other people. You need to give and add value wherever you go. Think of it like this – give until it hurts, be different when possible, be interesting whenever you can and be find-able when people DO want to hire you. Don’t shove your business in their face but don’t make it hard to find you when they’re ready ei
Here are some ways to network that I’ve personally found very effective:
Membership Site Forums – When someone is willing to pay to be part of a membership site then it really shows they are serious about their business. I’ve found it to be very effective to network on the forums that these membership sites offer. Remember, though, that networking is about giving just as much (or more) then you get so don’t expect to go in and get tons of business straight away.
Blogs – We already know that people who post comments on our blogs are already interested in what we have to say. Why not send them a personalized reply saying thank you for the comment? This may open up a conversation with them or it might just lay the foundation for later.
Online Networking - There are many sites out there that host webinars specifically for networking. These are great places to go to get to know other business owners. One I know of and attend fairly regularly is the Business and Learning Tuesday night networking. When you visit these type of rooms put your first and last name so that you will be recognized.
Of course there are other ways to network online as well, you just need to be creative and always make sure you are bringing value to the table. The important thing is that you’re getting yourself and your business recognized and building a solid reputation.
Want to network? Meet me over at Twitter or Mom Masterminds – two places I spent a lot of time networking.
