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Business Networking puts More Money in Your Pocket
Business networking
puts more money in your pocket by helping you overcome
the number one biggest problem facing new business owners.
Prospecting for new customers. Business networking events
can go a long way towards making the whole prospecting
problem go away. There are two main kinds of networking
opportunities available to the average entrepreneur.
Passive networking and strong networking. Both have
unique benefits and drawbacks.
The most well known example of passive
networking is your local chamber of commerce. You can
find a chamber of commerce chapter in almost every major
city worldwide. Your local chamber of commerce gives
you the opportunity to meet with many of the movers
and shakers in your local business community. Through
the many events they plan on a monthly and yearly basis,
they offer you a chance to connect with a number of
potential prospects for your products and services.
Weekly networking groups or clubs are
an example of strong networking opportunities. These
kinds of business networking events can be found in
many major cities worldwide. A strong networking group
will meet on a weekly basis for the sole purpose of
exchanging business leads with one another and learning
better ways of networking to grow their business. The
most successful networking groups require your weekly
attendance and insist that their members provide fellow
members with referrals throughout the year. They also
allow only one person from each profession or industry
to belong to the group. This keeps the quality of the
referrals high. One such group is Business Network International
(BNI).
So what are the advantages and disadvantages
of each kind of networking? They both have their place
but strong networking groups represent a bigger commitment
than passive networking groups. By belonging to a strong
networking group, you are committed to be on the lookout
for referrals for group members. Strong networking groups
also usually meet on a weekly basis whereas passive
networking groups usually meet monthly.
Passive networks can have multiple people
from one profession or industry as members. They also
have no requirements for passing on referrals to other
members. Referrals do occur in a passive networking
event but it is not facilitated by the meeting and is
totally up to the business owner to initiate. You can
belong to multiple passive networking groups. Any business
you get from passive networking will most likely be
a result of the amount of effort you put in.
Strong networks on the other hand restrict
membership to only one person per industry or profession.
This greatly increases the likelihood that you will
receive referrals from participating members. Meetings
are structured in a way to encourage referrals and there
is a formal referral exchange that happens every week.
It is strongly recommended that you only belong to one
strong networking group in order to keep the quality
of your referrals high.
In either case, it is important for
members of these groups to see you as professional and
competent. Referrals will go to people the referrer
knows, likes and trusts.
Want more business? Start attending
business networking events in your area.
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