HOW TO BUILD GOOD NETWORK FOR BUSINESS- Vidushri Bagri

 

A good network and good connections are a must for expanding your business. It can take your business to newer and greater heights. There must be several questions in your mind like how to build connections, from where to start, whom to contact to and many more. So, budding entrepreneurs, take a deep breath and read the full article to solve all your queries.

For starters, let me tell you what it means to build a professional network. It is not just meeting new people every day and increasing your sales. Networking is a diverse term, and it is not something that happens overnight. It requires patience and productive relationships that are mutually beneficial to everyone involved in the business. You must always be open to interactions with people even if you might think the individual will be of no help to your business. This is because you never know if they will be helpful in the future, or even a source for your future clients.

HOW TO BUILD NETWORK CONNECTIONS

The most basic way is the old school method—to be in constant contact with people via calls. People appreciate it more when they see the other person making a conscious effort to strengthen their business relations.  You need to engage with them multiple times in order to gain their trust and respect.

Another way to build strong connections by attending business events. It has dual advantage, (a) you get to meet new people and, (b) you get to learn a lot from the seminars conducted by various experienced industrialists. So, if you are just starting out then do not miss out on these meetings.

WITH WHOM TO BUILD YOUR CONNECTIONS

This is something you need to very careful about. It is very important to have a good set of trustworthy people. With the support of experienced people your business can grow rapidly.  When I say whom, I am sure the first people to came to your mind would be your close friends and family who have knowledge of business. It is necessary to be in good touch with your previous clients so that they recommend you to your potential clients.

WHERE TO START BUILDING CONNECTIONS

If you are clueless about how to reach out to people, then the following are your steppingstones.

You can start by making a social media account to display your work and business. Make sure to keep the account public for interested people to reach out to you. Also, make sure you follow a lot of business accounts to get more ideas on the different aspects of business. These businesses can be your future clients.The next thing is to make sure that your business website is on Google’s top SEO. One very traditional method is to send mails to different companies and wait for their responses.

Make yourself a LinkedIn in account and connect with as many people as possible.

I hope that you got some basic ideas about how to network with people. Make sure that even in a small 5-minute conversation, you leave such an impression on a person, becoming unforgettable in their mind.

When you are starting out make sure to grab every opportunity to network, making each opportunity count. It is not rocket science, but small efforts can help you build powerful connections and which in turn can take your start-up to the next level. Sallie Crawcheck rightly said, “Networking is the number 1 unwritten rule of success in business”.