10 December 2017
Everybody knows that having a strong professional network around you can increase your chances of getting new clients. Working with a group of like minded professionals can give you more exposure and boost your referrals, while also ensuring your clients get the best service.
I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is, building your professional network can be time consuming and confusing. The good news is, with these simple tips you’ll be able to find the right people to connect with quickly, and get on with the task of growing your business.
Here are 4 expert tips to building a network of professionals who are most likely to help you grow your business:
1. Be Honest
Many professionals believe that the more people you put into your network the better, but some understand that the quality of your connections is more important. You should seek to make professional connections with people you truly have an interest in, and also who have an interest in working with you. Not everybody will fit this criteria,and that is ok. You’re seeking to build long-term relationships with successful people, so you want to ensure that they are people who share the same professional goals and interests as you do.
2. Focus On How You Can Help
When you’ve found someone to start a professional relationship with, you need to work at building the trust and rapport within that relationship so they like and trust you. Exploretheir needs and wants to see what you can offer that might help them achieve their goals.. It might be as simple as introducing them to another professional you have connected with, or it may be to directly help them in their business endeavour. The key is to actively listen to them to find out what they need and then do your best to fulfil that need, instead of focusing solely on what YOU want.
3. Share Connections
Once you’ve found someone who you share a genuine interest in moving forward with, you should seek out each other’s connections to see if they would also be good matches for your network. This will further strengthen your individual connection with this new person, as well as your network as a whole. By sharing connections, you’ve mutually benefited by connecting a large group of professionals moving in the same direction with similar goals.
4. Maintain Your Connections Over Time
A good professional connection should be valued like a good friendship. You wouldn’t go months at a time without speaking to a good friend, and you should treat your professional contacts the same way. Ensure that you stay in each others lives and find more ways to make yourself of value to each and every person in your network. The more value you can provide them, the more they’ll be willing to provide you.
Learn more about how to build your professional connections on my website, here.
Learn more about building rapport and connecting with people by watching this video here: https://youtu.be/_JVDHH7Tj6Q
A Bit Of Humour For You
We asked prospective job applicants at our business to fill out a questionnaire. For the line “Choose one word to summarize your strongest professional attribute,” one woman wrote, “I’m very good at following instructions.”
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