The right contacts will help you achieve your goals faster. Networking within your own club will be easier if you get job and business information on your registration forms.
As much as is intelligent in a business sense, do business with the people who patronize your business or at least give them the opportunity to bid on your business or match the price.
Keep your eyes open for business resources, referrals, information and opportunities to give to others. One of the best ways to make a new contact is to give someone else some business.
Join at least 4 professional or community organizations and participate visibly and actively in them.
Practice actively remembering people’s names who you meet (repeat their name several times during your conversation).
Find appropriate but memorable ways to thank people who have helped you with business, referrals or information.
What goes around comes around. Always try to give more than you receive in the networking game. You will be pleasantly surprised to find out how difficult that goal will be as your efforts are reciprocated.
Use organizations to demonstrate your expertise. This means you need to carefully pick organizations that match your interests and talents.
On your give list are your resources, enthusiasms, referrals, and solutions.
When you introduce yourself make it interesting – not “I’m a gym owner”, but “I train future Olympic gymnasts/National Champions/State Champions.”
Tap into your 6 million person network. If you know 50 people from business or leisure. And each of them know 50 people, you now know 2500 people who are friends of friends. If each of them knows 50 people, you know 125,000 people who are friends of friends of friends. And if each of them knows 50 people, more than 6 million people can be a part of your network, if you’re willing to ask for help.
Take the initiative and take advantage of chance encounters. Introduce yourself and see if a connection is made. Take delight in the serendipity of chance encounters.
Say goodbye with a next step in mind. Here are three closers:
- “I enjoyed hearing about your …”
- “I’ll call you on Monday to get more information on that … you told me about”
- “Let me introduce you to … “
They’ll be interested.
