Business Networking

Many business owners and entrepreneurs do not understand the term “Business Networking”.  So many people think of network marketing or multi-level marketing and do not understand the words “business networking” and the fact that business networking is for all kinds of companies so when they hear of a business networking event, they disregard it thinking that it would be nothing that they would be interested in.

What is “Business Networking”?

According to Wikipedia:

“Business networking is a socioeconomic activity by which groups of like-minded businesspeople recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities.  A business network is a type of social network whose reason for existing is business activity.”

Sounds pretty good, huh?  Yes!

For anyone in charge of getting new customers or clients, business networking is a must!  How else are you going to meet new people?  Hardly any business can survive long term on business generated from just the people they personally know.  Only a percentage of everyone you know will be interested in your product or service because they don’t have a need for you to fulfill so you must continually meet and develop relationships with new people.

Think about where are the people who are likely to purchase your goods or services and then, think about where they are.  If you are in a business that sells to your local geographical area, then you would look for ways to meet your target market in your city or county.

We will talk more later about how to find where your potential customers might be, but for now if you are selling B2C (business to consumers,) you may want to attend places and events where you would be able to network and meet new consumer prospects.  If you are selling B2B (business to business), you might want to start with the local Chamber of Commerce first and go from there and attend events that they host or promote to meet other business professionals.

Essentially, business networking is to include time in your regular schedule to attend places and events to meet new people and develop relationships with people that you know and develop a follow up plan to turn your prospects into business clients or business colleagues who could potentially refer business to you.

 

For more information on how Dona and adr Business & Marketing Strategies can enhance your business, corporate image or reduce training costs, etc., please contact us at 256.345.3993.