Have you ever attended a networking event and felt the awkwardness overtake the entire room? I know I have. Below is a guide on how to network for business to get actual results.
It was a challenge for me to transition from being the awkward guy in the corner who never understood the value of networking to becoming an active networker. As a result, my life has significantly improved.
Below, we will review the strategies and tips I found to be the most effective during my learning journey. Hopefully, this will help lower your learning curve.
By the end of this blog post, you can go to any networking event with confidence, knowing your exact steps to success, no matter what your networking goals are.
This blog post is about how to network for business, covering the types, benefits, and techniques of networking.
Why Networking is Crucial for Business Success
My biggest struggle when attending networking events was the repeating question, “Is this awkwardness even worth it?”
When writing this blog, I hoped the answer was no. Unfortunately, it turns out that, yes, it matters.
Networking isn’t just about a thousand-minute conversation and exchange of business cards. Who would have known? It is a strategy that directly affects your business success.
How Networking Can Drive Business Opportunities
The numbers are in, and numbers don’t lie. Networking is a proven way to generate revenue through increased business opportunities.
According to Fit Small Business, up to 78% of sales for start-ups and small businesses come directly through networking.
Word of mouth and building solid relationships with partners and clients can be mighty, especially when people or even customers trust you enough on a personal level to recommend your service to others.
This level of credibility can easily take several years to build through good work and traditional marketing. On the other hand, it can happen much faster with genuine and strategic networking.
Networking is Essential for Hiring & Career Growth
So apparently, 85% of jobs get filled through networking…which is a crazy high number that speaks for itself.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that my most critical career pivots were due to networking, but I didn’t know that the number was so high.
Whether you are a business owner looking to hire or a professional looking to further your career, networking should be at the top of your list of tools to advance your career.
All that being said…85% is crazy high.
Quick Overview of The Networking Types:
When I started taking networking seriously, I didn’t even realize there were types of networking. However, knowing them helped me categorize my networking interactions and where to focus my efforts.
Here is a quick recap of the leading networking types. Don’t worry; I won’t bore you. We will focus on the five most important ones.
Operational Networking
This type of networking focuses on networking within your organization or business. It’s about building connections with colleagues from different fields and departments to collaborate on improving general company operations or efficiency.
This excels in helping you stand out from the competition by streamlining and solving internal challenges.
Strategic Networking
Strategic networking focuses on connecting with people who can help you achieve your short-term or long-term business goals. This can be anyone, from advisors to investors.
Strategic networking is best for business owners who are ready to move forward. For instance, a business owner looking to expand might seek an investor to help.
Personal Networking
This is mainly about meeting people and exploring what is out there, and it is mainly about creating a network of like-minded individuals who can help each other develop.
Personal networking is mainly for starting, maintaining, and growing relationships when you aren’t actively seeking help.
Social Media Networking
This is about using social media platforms to connect with people; the platform will highly depend on your industry. For instance, an engineer might find LinkedIn more valuable than a social media manager.
Social media networking is great for building credibility in your community, especially when starting at 0. Consistently sharing high-value content is a great way to grow your online network organically.
Event Networking
The name is in itself; from attending optional events at work to traveling to trade events, this is all about being in an environment of people in the same industry with the same goal of networking.
This is great for all sorts of things, depending on your goal, from recruiting to investors. It’s all about the type of events you attend.
5 Proven Strategies for Networking Effectively in Business
I know it all seems simple, but if you follow the tips below and perfect each one in the order they are written, they will completely transform your outlook on networking.
I went from having a punch of pointless conversations where I was sweating more than talking to executing these tips with the breeze.
Remember, practice makes perfect. Keep at it.
1. Prepare an Elevator Pitch
I can not explain how important this is. You never know when you will run into a networking opportunity, and having an elevator pitch ready to go is essential to taking advantage of any networking events life throws your way.
I found having a different version for different occasions effective. Focus on having three versions: a professional one, a personal one, and a more in-between one.
Here is how you write your elevator pitch;
- Start with your name and title:
In a nervous squirm, I forgot to introduce myself before and just jumped into asking them questions. Make sure to establish yourself as relevant to the event/situation.
For instance, at a company event, I start with, “My name is Omar; I am a project manager focused on warehouse automation.” But if I am at a hiking event, I would start with, “Hi, My name is Omar; I have been hiking for several years now.”
And yes, let’s pretend that I hike for fun…thanks. - Explain what you do
This gives you a chance to elaborate based on your title; try to have some overlap with the person you are talking to. Don’t go off your “script” too much; that way, you won’t find yourself at a dead end.
Something like “I specialize in investing in and acquiring small businesses, which I manage both for myself and a group of investors.” - CTA
This call to action can take many forms. The best way to do this is to focus on your minimum viable next step. Focus on what you hope to get from this interaction, break that down to the bottom, and start there.
For example, if your goal is to sell your product or service, start by saying, “If you or someone you know could use some advice _ insert your niche_, I’d be happy to help!”
I found that starting by offering something always leads to better outcomes; I think it’s because the other person doesn’t feel pressured into an awkward position.
2. Ask Open Ended Questions
The power of asking open-ended questions is overwhelming, mainly if used correctly. Open-ended questions help naturally lead the conversation in an exciting way to the person you are talking to. This will help them open up more about themselves and make the conversations less robotic.
Here are some examples I always use:
- What has been on your mind this week?
- What help do you need to meet your goals?
- What is your favorite part of what you do?
- What made you get into…?
What help do you need to meet your goals? This question helps me the most; it opens up a conversation about how you can help them without feeling too salesy. Depending on the conversation, make the question more direct by asking, “How can I help you meet your goals?”
It also never fails to give me insights into my potential customer’s pain points.
3. Be a Good Listener
My rule is that I always want to listen more than talk. It’s not just about listening; you must be active and good listeners. By doing this, the person feels valued and understood, and trust is created.
On the other hand, we have all been there, getting cut off mid-thought and left feeling that itch in the back of our heads. It’s also important not to make someone feel like that.
Some quick tips:
- Use your body language: Simple gestures to show you are engaged and listening.
- Summarize key points and ask follow-up questions: This shows the person you are following along and are interested.
Actively practicing these tips will initially feel awkward—trust me, I know—but eventually, it will come naturally. Remember, fake it until you make it.
4. Stay Connected and Follow up
The “What help do you need to meet your goals?“ question is fantastic because you discover their goals and how they hope to achieve them. I follow a networking event by connecting on social media and then wait. After several weeks or a couple of months, I follow up by asking about how their goals are going.
This is critical, especially if you offer a service that aligns with the following steps toward their goals. It’s not until this point that I hope to gain something tangible from the networking event.
Following up also helps me not feel too pressured during these networking events; my honest goal is to learn about many people’s goals and how I can help them.
5. The Offer
So, if you follow everything above, you find yourself in a perfect opportunity to give your elevator pitch -> Ask 2-3 open-ended questions, ending with “What help do you need to meet your goals?” -> Actively listen and engage in the conversation -> Follow up several weeks later, asking how their goals are going.
You can almost always boil down someone’s response into two categories. Either nothing significant happened, or they are starting to make some progress but aren’t quite where they want to be.
This is when you offer your help: “Hmm, interesting. Have you ever thought about __(service you provide or can help the person with that is directly associated with their goals)___?”
Whatever they say next, assuming it’s not about their lost pet or their last break up (I have had these happen to me before), offer your service/product/help to them at no cost so they can try it out.
Even if your intention isn’t to sell something, offering your help is always a great way to build relationships.
Tips to Make This Strategy Even Better
If you are practicing the strategy above and are getting results but are a little underwhelmed, here are some quick tips to make it even more effective.
- Skip general networking events; focus more on events in your industry: As I am sure you have noticed, generic networking events tend to be…well, generic. I have found them too inconsistent, especially when trying to learn how to network.
- Shift your intention from getting what you want to give the person in front of you what they want. This helps relieve the pressure when talking to people and makes the conversation feel less transactional. No one likes a conversation that feels too salesy.
- Get out of your head: Let me help you. You will have bad outcomes from networking, almost 100% guaranteed. That is fine; stop trying to avoid them and instead face them head-on and learn from them.
This Blog post was all about tips and steps on how to network for a business like a pro. Try them out and let me know how
No Comment! Be the first one.