Business Networking – What to know before you get started
Business Networking is a great way to build meaning business connections to assist in building your professional profile, company profile, build referral partners, collaborate with like minded business professionals and also grow your pipeline.
When you first start out looking to expand your networks and contacts it can be hard to know where to start. The insights I will share in this blog series will hopefully assist you in understanding how to navigate the networking landscape and in this the first blog I will provide you with some key aspects you should consider and review so that you can attend your first functions equipped with the right tools and mindset.
Understanding your Unique Proposition
Understanding your product or service offering and your unique proposition is critical in deciding on which networking group is going to be best for your business. Why do your clients choose to partner with your business and what are your clients saying about you.
Who are your potential clients and referral partners
Understanding which verticals and industries your product or service offering are best suited to will help you understand how to target your efforts and which business networking group(s) or industry associations will be best to target.
Are your clients located in one particular area or location type such as the CBD/ West Perth or Osborne Park/Malaga or Corporate Office/Industrial. All of this information will be obtainable from your CRM or accounting software and will be
Where do your clients and referral partners network
When you are speaking with your current clients and or referral partners ask them if they attend business networking events and if so which ones have they found to be the best fit for them.
Contact key industry bodies and associations that your clients will fall under and see what networking events they run and what other networking groups hold events specifically for that industry. Most industries will have specific software and vendors reaching out to them and asking them questions about where they network or what has been successful for them will ensure you have all the research and data you need to then start selecting the right networking groups to join.
In the next blog we will review how to select the best networking groups and what is the best strategy to ensure sustained success when aligning yourself with these organisations.