|
Home::Networking
Networking Is More Than Just Handing Out Business Cards
Author : Jim Donovan
At a Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchange several years ago a well-dress woman walked up to me, business card in hand and, in perfect form held it in both hands in front of me, gesturing for me to take it. I took the card from her and smiled. She looked up and in a polite voice, said "Thank you," and walked away. How sad. Here was this obviously well-intentioned woman, who most likely owned an interesting business but never learned what to do at a card exchange. Somewhere she bought into the idea that you were suppose to hand out as many business cards in as little time as possible. Clearly, this does nothing but waste business cards. Great for card businesses, not so great for yours.
The other extreme is the person who spends the entire time at a card exchange talking to the same individual, sometimes even people from their own company. Again, this is quite unproductive. The purpose of a business card exchange is to get to meet new people in a pleasant atmosphere.
While there are many good books to help you hone your networking skills including, Sue Roanes How to Work a Room, the essence of networking is quite simple.
Businesses run on relationships. Ive always felt that everything that we do is about personal relationships and a business just gives us a playing field on which to do it.
Following that theme, growing your business is about developing and nurturing relationships and card exchanges and similar networking events are really the starting point to begin what will hopefully become a mutually rewarding relationship.
Since your time is limited, it is a good idea to spend only a short time speaking with people, especially those you already know. If you feel a resonance with someone youre talking with, make arrangements to follow-up your connection at a later date and move on to meet someone else. Im sure the shy looking person in the corner, who is probably there for the very first time, has something interesting to say. Why not go over and extend your hand.
The other big faux paus I see over and over again, are the people who approach the networking meeting with a "me, me, me" attitude. A better approach is to learn about the other person first. You then have the option of explaining how what you do might be of interest to them. This establishes a stronger platform for communications, for as speaking legend Zig Zigler says, "You get what you want by helping other people get what they want."
Care about the other person
There are better ways to network and meet prospective business contacts. For openers, (no pun intended) people are more responsive if you first show some interest in them and what they do. There is an old cliché that says we have one mouth and two ears for a reason. If you listen more than you talk, you will automatically find people more interested in talking with you and being around you.
Marketing guru, Jay Abraham, once said that "Discovery is the fuel of competitive advantage." Get curious. Become interested in other people and what makes them tick. Really care about the other person. If you take the time to investigate, you will find that even those people who appear quite ordinary have a story to tell. If you show an interest in them and their lives, you will not only increase your chances of doing business with them but you may gain a friend as well.
How do you do that?
When you do introduce yourself, do so in a way that states the benefit of doing business with you. Saying "Hi, my name is Mary and I sell insurance" is not very exciting. However, if you were to say, "My name is Mary and I help people prepare for the uncertainty that may be in their future." This causes the other person, if they are at all curious, to ask, "How do you do that?" At this point, you have opened the door for a further explanation or "commercial" for your business. You can go on to explain the benefits of your products and services.
As an exercise, devise three or four ways to introduce your business. Let each one focus on a different benefit of your product or service. Test each of them at your next networking event.
Remember: people do not buy products or services, they buy benefits and solutions.
The more you focus on communicating the benefits gained from using your products or services, the more you will benefit from the increase in business.
With prospecting new business becoming more and more difficult, a personal relationship is even more important and the Chamber of Commerce Card Exchange offers the perfect playground for you do it, besides the food is usually pretty good too.
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
Jim Donovan is a motivational speaker, business coach, and the author of several books, including Handbook to a Happier Life (New World Library). For a free ebook or audio and a subscription to his newsletter visit www.jimdonovan.com
Spam emails More free articles Related articles
|
More related feeds |
The Gentleman’s Guide to the Calling Card
Instead of constantly busting out the pen and paper, just hand them your card. Networking between jobs. You’re not currently employed, so you don’t have a business card. Or if you do, it has your old employer’s info on it. ...Anecdotes and Stories from the RNC
I was shocked to find out he’d been doing online content for more than a decade. He became a “blogger” a long time ago but he was essentially doing a blog before the term for it appeared in the vernacular. ... Sunday - Networking Tips
It required something a little extra if I expected to get something out of it. You can’t throw a seed on the ground and expect it to grow (unless it’sa weed which is what those people that hand you their card and walk away are called). ... How Second Life Cured One Writer’s Allergy to Networking
Suddenly, every business and professional group in the world was sponsoring “networking” sessions, which mostly involved walking around a big room full of people, handing out your business card to every warm body that passed by, ... Networking is More than 9 to 5
However, Personal Networking Cards are not just for students. If you are looking for a new job and you meet a valuable contact while waiting to check out at the grocery store, handing them your business card might not send the greatest ... Persistence Pays
The single biggest expectation is that the result will be immediate and when it isn’t the person just stops the activity. “Oh networking doesn’t work for me. I go to a meeting, hand out lots of business cards, and no one ever calls.” ... Networking Is More Than Just Handing Out Business Cards
Here was this obviously well-intentioned woman, who most likely owned an interesting business but never learned what to do at a card exchange. Somewhere she bought into the idea that you were suppose to hand out as many business cards ... STC-SWO Meeting Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Networking always involved a lot more than handing out business cards, and today your digital card may get more play than any paper version you passed out just a few years ago. What is called “social networking” on the Web is actually ... Sony VAIO VGN-AR890U 17-inch Laptop (2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ...
Aside from the mouse buttons, most other keys and buttons are pretty well laid-out. There is no separate number pad even though there appears to be more than enough room in which Sony could have placed one, but that's not something Sony ... A Rant
Though the servile network commentators said she hit it out of the park on Wednesday night, Palin gave what one could politely call a passable speech. It’sa measure of how desperate both the delegates and the press were for excitement ...
|
|
|
