Tips for Networking Success

You’ve heard the old business saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Wouldn’t you agree that in this fast paced and often impersonal business world, solid relationships are still one of the best career-building tools? Great professional connections can often mean the difference between growing your business and struggling to succeed.

Great business contacts begin with building a solid and dependable network of business associates. Here is a "real-world" success tip: Networking that will pay off in contacts and future business is not just about collecting business cards, it involves building long lasting and dependable win-win relationships.

Here are five networking tips to help maximize your professional networking time and effort and, potentially bring you loyal contacts and customers:

1. Choose your networking events with care. Use your time wisely. It’s not about how many people you can meet – it’s about meeting the “right” people. I define the right people as those people with whom you’d like to build a solid business relationship. These are the people you’d like to support with leads and referrals and who in return are willing to support you and your business.

2. Set clear goals when choosing your networking events. Be clear about why you’re networking and the end results you’re looking to achieve. Example: Is it strictly for leads and referrals or do you hope to make a friend or two along the way? When you have a clear picture of your priorities, it is easier to pick and choose your networking events.

3. Be prepared to meet new people. Have a good supply of business cards. If you know who will be attending ahead of time, make a list of the top one or two people you’d like to meet. Make it a goal to be the most interesting person in the room by asking, “How may I help you succeed?”

4. Have a fine-tuned “infomercial.” You only get one chance at a powerful first impression. A thirty-second infomercial should pinpoint exactly what you do and the benefits you provide to your customers/clients.

5. The “gold” is in the follow up. Have a workable plan for following up with the contacts you’ve met. Remember, you are following up to form a relationship not just “sell” your business.

Developing a solid professional network of like-minded women in business is about building long lasting and dependable relationships – relationships that are a win-win for everyone. Here's to your networking success!