Think that the hardest part of your job is going to networking events or does the thought of approaching someone outside of the comfort of your office make you sweat and/or give you the hives? Stop focusing on selling your company or product and instead on meeting new people and building relationships. In fact, 77% of HR Solutions' National Normative database participants agreed that their job responsibilities contribute to their own professional development.
Relationships are best built by offering information, ideas, resources, advice, support, and connections without any strings attached. By utilizing the following five tips, you will become known as a "go-to" person and your network will grow dramatically. Those you help will spend time saying good things about you; others will seek you out. As your good reputation grows, other people will help you, and sales connections will follow.
1. Believe in what you do. When you truly love what you do, it shows. Share that passion and experience with others.
2. Invest time to develop the relationship. If you are so focused on "the next sale", you will come across as anxious. The best networkers are great listeners. Ask people about their business, hobbies, family, city of origin, etc. Somewhere in the conversation, you are bound to uncover a need or help find an answer or resource.
3. Eliminate Yes/No questions. We all have a desire to help people. By asking, "Whom do you know at ABC Company who could answer my questions about ___________?" you will encourage a problem solving response from your networking contact instead of an instant "no .
4. Stay current. Continually seek out new ideas, events, and trends so that you can share this information with your network. Become active in your social and organizational networks by posting useful information in the bulletin boards, forums, and chat rooms.
5. Be a connector. Introduce your network to people when you think someone could benefit from such an introduction.
Networking is a marathon, not a sprint. It should be about building life-long relationships. People will do business with those they trust. Your networking activities should focus on becoming someone worth knowing.
