Business Tip of the Week: 3 Keys to Effective Networking

The three keys to effectively networking: V. C. P.
V: Visibility, C: Credibility and P: Profitibility:

1. Visibility is becoming aware, communicating and establishing links

• At first, you know little about each other
• Being visible, getting yourself, your name, your business out there creates recognition and awareness
• The greater visibility, the more widely you are known, the more you will obtain about others, the more opportunities you will be exposed to, the greater the chances you will be accepted as someone others can refer business to!

2. Credibility is growth; it's being reliable and worthy of confidence

• You have formed expectations of each other
• When expectations are filled, credibility grows
• When appointments are kept, promises are acted upon, facts are verified and services are rendered - credibility continues to grow
• ACTIONS are louder than WORDS
• How to build credibility FAST?
  Do they know someone who has known you longer?
  Will they vouch for you?
  Are you honest?
  Are your products and services effective?
  Can you be counted on in a crunch?

3. Profitability is strengthening

• Do not be shortsighted!
• Profitability is not founded by bargain hunting

How can you determine if you have achieved all three?

• Is it mutually rewarding?
• Do both partners gain satisfaction?
• Does it maintain itself by providing benefits to both?
• If not it probably will not endure.
• It could take a week, a month, a year.
• Depends on frequency and quality of contacts as well as the desire of both parties to move forward

Now, here’s how to get started:

• Introduce yourself to a person you want to meet
• Don't be too aggressive or intimidating
• Ask, "What do you do for a living?"
• Ask for their business card (you can count on yours being discarded!)
• Invest 99% of the conversation asking them questions (they are 2 things they probably aren’t interested in: You and your business!)

Ten Networking Questions that work every time:

1. How did you get your start in the widget business?
2. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
3. What separates you and your company from the competition?
4. What advice would you give to someone just starting the widget business?
5. What one thing would you do with your business if you knew you couldn’t fail?
6. What significant changes have you seen take place in your profession through the years?
7. What do you see as the coming trends in the widget business?
8. What is the strangest or funniest incident you’ve experienced in your business?
9. What ways have you found most effective for promoting your business?
10. What one sentence would you like people to use in describing the way you do business?

It’s HOW you ask:
Don’t interrogate! You shouldn’t have to ask but a few questions. Use extenders, such as: Really? Tell me more, the echo technique, etc. Then ask "How can I know if someone I am talking to is a good prospect for you?" You separate yourself from the pack. You are probably the only one who has asked them that question.

You have put them on notice. You are concerned with THEIR welfare and want to contribute to THEIR success.

Go out and network!

Make it a great day!

Coach Reggie