Mirjana Perkovic

How To Grow Your Business With Great Networking Skills

Every successful entrepreneur is surrounded by support circles that include business mentors, other entrepreneurs, investors and business partners. Knowing how to hone your networking skills can significantly contribute to your business success.

Curate Your Own Network

When it comes to entrepreneurship, you might get discouraged by thinking you are not surrounded by the right people who could help you with your business venture. But it is important to know that it is always possible to build your professional network from scratch.

Start by identifying your ideal geographical region and business sector before you engage in targeted networking. From there, work on improving your people skills. The more you are connected with other people, the more you will be able to craft long-term partnerships. Always be prepared to help others and give more than you take. Business partnerships are often based on friendship and kindness first. The nicer you are to people, the more likely people will be willing to help you and open business doors for you when needed.

Many of the world’s most famous self-made entrepreneurs are known for their empathy. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, once said, “I may not know anything about marketing or technology, but I know people.” This is surely what helped him build such a successful business.

Influence Your Own Success

There are several techniques you can use to expand your network. One is attending virtual or in-person conferences and events where you get to interact with people who have similar interests. If you are meeting new people in person, approach them with a smile and an interesting story. If you are attending a virtual conference, switch your camera on and offer advice. Be sure to articulate clearly and explain in simple terms what your business is all about. Be honest and brief so people understand quickly what your needs are. Most importantly, make sure to always follow up with contacts you meet at these events.

 

Another way to expand your business network is by reaching out to people of interest through LinkedIn or other social media channels. Be ready to offer help to anyone who reaches out to you as well. Having an open mind and a friendly personality can vastly increase your chances of business success. If you are more introverted, try attending a communication course. Lastly, consider joining a local business club or other professional associations that could be linked with your business.

Nurture Your Skills

Your personality can have a direct spillover effect on your business. The more you work on bringing value to people, the more of a positive impact it will have on your business.

Work on building your online and offline reputation so people will notice you and will follow your achievements. The more you expand your circle of influence, the more people will be drawn to you. A huge recognition of success is when people recommend you even when you are not around to hear it. Great people skills will always get you the referrals that you need.

The Power Of Knowing The Right People

Most business deals happen through invitations and recommendations. The recent success of Clubhouse, an invite-only audio app, is a clear testimony to this. Launched last year, it is already valued at $1 billion. Clubhouse works like most successful business circles do: through referrals.

Get those referrals you need for your business by learning how to make yourself and your enterprise stand out from the crowd. The more you express your uniqueness, combined with a great degree of empathy and outstanding people skills, the more people will approach you with new business opportunities. Work on taking your networking skills to another level and business success will follow.

 

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