The Best Networking Article You’ll Ever Read

by Mark Bloom | Sep 5, 2016 | Small Business Advice

Networking Tips to Get the Most from Meetings

Linda & Mark put networking tips into practice

The principals of Ray Access believe in the power of networking. For local marketing, face-to-face networking has provided us with a local web of clients and partners. These connections serve several business purposes. They’ve:

Created professional relationships that we continually nurture
Effectively spread word-of-mouth brand awareness for us
Delivered projects and referrals that directly add to our bottom line
Provided opportunities for us to give back to the business community

In short, networking is a valuable tool for increasing your local business. At Ray Access, we think so highly of networking that we’ve written about it before:

How to Work a Networking Room, which discusses how to approach a room full of people
10 Tips for More Effective Networking, which provides networking tips to help you make a great first impression

But There’s More to Say

Networking tips don’t end there. While these two articles offer valuable advice for any businessperson, you may want to know more. There’s certainly more questions about networking. For example:

What about when you finally sidle up to a prospect?
How can you give that person (or group of people) your undivided attention while making a positive first impression? Sometimes, it’s difficult enough not to say the wrong thing, let alone trying to say the right thing.
How can you leave a conversation confident that others you’ve met will remember you?

Questions and Answers

It’s a tall order, especially if you’re an introvert given to mumbling in a one-on-one conversation. It’s OK. If you use these networking tips, you can still be yourself and leave a positive first impression. To get to a good place in the conversation, remember three essential networking tips that will serve you well:

Listen attentively to what others say and be able to comment on it.
Don’t force your way into a conversation; wait for the pause.
Focus not on what people can do for you, but how you can help others.

If you can act on these three networking tips, you’ll leave your mark on the person or persons with whom you’ve spoken. Networking at a business event isn’t much different than making the rounds at a party. You want to be entertaining, yet learn a little bit about the people you don’t know. So your approach should be the same: ask interesting questions, let them talk and don’t talk business unless someone else brings it up.

Mark using networking tips to make a connection

Moving the Conversation Forward

You’ll fail at networking if all you can add to the conversation are generic comments on the weather, the economy or local sports. In fact, whenever we hear someone mention the weather, a bomb goes off in our heads warning us that this conversation is turning tragic. So we work hard to turn it around. If successful, we not only rescue a conversation from oblivion, but we end up building rapport. Other people, consciously or not, understand the conversation-about-weather time bomb.

Granted, we’re writers, so we know a little bit about a lot of different topics. We can draw on the research we’ve done in many medical disciplines, hiring practices, real estate, marketing, education, website development, or even disaster recovery and plumbing, just to name several. Our clientele take us all over the map in terms of subject matter, and we’re always eager to learn something new.

But you too can do what we do with a little practice. It’s a matter of listening attentively and thinking of something valuable to add to the conversation. For example — and this is an easy example — if someone comments on the weather (especially after an uncomfortable pause), turn the conversation back on that person. Ask him if the current weather pattern reminds him of his hometown or if it’s any different from where he grew up. That question can spur a whole new conversation.

Asking Good Questions

Staying with the topic of the weather, there are other questions that can reinvigorate a conversation. In the meantime, the answers tell you something new about the person you’re talking to. Everyone has a weather-related story. Ask about it. Ask about the most favorable place, regarding the weather, that the person’s lived. Ask about the favorite season, but probe to get reasons. Never ask a yes-or-no question, or if you do, ask follow-up questions.

Mark makes friends by following networking tips If the subject of work comes up, as it often does in a business networking event, don’t stop at asking what other people do. Ask what brought them to their profession. Ask what they like most (and least) about it. It’s one thing to know what a person does; it’s quite another to know why.

Once you get on the subject of career, it opens a whole window of past experiences that can really shed light on the person’s personality and work history. You’re not being nosy; if someone prefers not to answer, don’t push it. But if they do answer, you’re off and running on a conversation that will help you really connect.

Networking Tips Return to Basics

When you’re out networking for your business, keep in mind your goals:

To make connections with other local businesspeople
To make yourself useful by connecting people as needed
To leave the people you meet with a positive impression

Networking isn’t about handing out business cards to every single person. If you connect with someone regarding your business, then it’s OK to hand over your card, but in general, the best networking tips are about connecting with other people. Hardly anyone gets business directly from a networking event; it comes later, when someone you’ve met needs your product or service — or better, when others refer you to someone who does need what you offer.

So venture forth. These networking tips will guide you as you hop from one conversation to another. Putting these tips into practice will help you reach your networking goals, which will eventually lead to the success of your business.

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.

10 Tips for More Effective Networking

by Mark Bloom | Feb 18, 2015 | Small Business Advice

10 New Ways to Improve Your Networking Skills

If you network in your town, you likely go to Chamber of Commerce events. You attend weekly after-hours, before-hours and during-hours networking meet-ups. You drink cups of coffee. You drink mugs of beer. You smile and nod. All in the hopes of making more sales.

You’ve got it all wrong, baby.

Instead, here’s a networking tip: try a different approach. Attend only those networking events that give you the best opportunities to meet new people. Make small talk with more people and introduce yourself to as many people as possible. In the end, this approach will pay off in more sales.

network like Ray Access does

Leave the Pitch at Home

Networking is not the place to pitch prospects. If that’s what you’re doing, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Eventually, you’ll join the ranks of naysayers who eschew shoulder-rubbing events for a cold beer and a ham sandwich at home — alone — where no one can get under your skin.

Networking is the place to meet interesting business people, learn what they do and who they do it with. It’s the place to see your peers and be seen as a helpful presence. With this approach, eventually you’ll start getting the calls asking for your professional help. People do business with those they like.

10 Tips to Take to the Bank

Get the most out of your networking by following this advice:

Arrive early
Make friends
Keep your cards handy
Leave a positive impression
Learn something new
Remember names
Tell a good joke
Laugh at a bad joke
Make introductions
Leave late

Intrigued? Remember networking tip #5 above and keep reading.

Arrive early
Sponsors, event coordinators and energetic networking nuts get to networking events early. As part of the “inner circle,” they often volunteer to do some task during the event. They know the benefits, and now you can too. Imagine how many more people you’d meet in an evening if you were the one pouring the beer. Think how popular you’d be if you got to hand out the door prizes. Networking is a participatory activity. Get involved. Get there early, and offer your assistance. You’ll come to be known for your generosity and willingness to help.
Make friends
People like to do business with people they trust — like their friends. Once you’ve seen someone around the local business circuit long enough, you realize they aren’t going anywhere. Introduce yourself. When you take time to get to know people — how many kids they have, for example, or what they do in their free time — you naturally feel a little closer to them. You develop a rapport. When they need something you offer, they’ll call a friend quicker than they would call a networking associate.
Keep your cards handy
While all the feel-good schmoozing is great for your reputation and friend status, your ultimate networking goal is to grow your business. We get that. So bring plenty of business cards to pass around. As a matter of fact, don’t leave home without them. Keep cards in easy-to-reach pockets or in the side pocket of your handbag where you can reach for them with ease and grace. Nothing blows an exit like making someone wait while you try to fish out a card from a messy handbag or a pocket stuffed with swag. For the best impression, always present your card so that it’s facing the person you’re handing it to.
Leave a positive impression
One of the best ways to impress people is to listen. When you meet someone new, apply a firm handshake and look the person in the eyes. Make a connection. Pretend the two of you are the only ones in the room. No one feels good talking to someone who constantly looks around the room. That merely says, “I’ll ditch you if someone more important comes along.” Hold eye contact and respond appropriately to the speaker. When in the middle of a group, nod and laugh when everyone else does, they’ll think you’re one of them — and like you for it.
Learn something new
Time is precious for everyone. Salespeople, small business owners and CEOs all have a million things they need to do. You’re not the only one using up your valuable hours in the local beer hall or event facility trying to network. Use your time wisely and make it a priority to learn about a new product, discover a new way to use your smartphone, find out who just moved into town or how many seeds it takes to grow a watermelon. Leaving networking events with newfound knowledge makes you smarter and makes the best use of your time. (Little secret: people like people who ask questions.)
Remember names
Remembering names can be tough, especially when you meet a dozen or more new people at a single event. But don’t give up. Instead, consider it a challenge. A good exercise for your brain health is to try to remember at least 10 names during each networking event. The impression you’ll make the next time you see one of them and remember the name is priceless. You can’t buy that kind of marketing for any amount of money. This is one of the little secrets of networking that can build your business tremendously. And while you’re at it, you’re giving your brain a little workout.
Tell a good joke
Laughter is like glue; it bonds people together. Laughter tells others in the room that you have a sense of humor and don’t take yourself too seriously — major personality pluses. If you feel uncomfortable telling a joke, practice. Keep your joke clean and free of cultural references. And find something relevant like: “Last week at this after-hours, I asked a guy why he left his last job. He told me it was illness-related. His old boss got sick of him.”
Laugh at a bad joke
Almost all people think they’re funny. Some are not. But a networking event is not the time embarrass anyone. Show good manners and laugh if someone tells a joke you’ve heard 17 times that week. Never make people feel uncomfortable. It will reflect poorly on you. If you’re kind and gracious, they’ll remember your kindness. They’ll know they can trust you. And you can be sure that they’ll call you when they need your product or service.
Make introductions
Of all the networking tips, this one is our favorite. It feels powerful when you’re the one in the know. Be the good guy or gal and introduce people you meet to people you know, especially when it may help either or both of them. Give a positive testimonial of their business or talk up their favorite hobbies or the big promotion they recently got. You’ll be remembered as the one who made the connection. You’ll be known as the one who has a finger in all the pies. You’ll gain a reputation as the one to get to know in business networking circles.
Leave late
On days when you don’t have to rush off to another meeting or return to the pile of work waiting for you, stick around to the very end of the networking event. There are always a few stragglers who still want to talk — or boast or rant. You never know whom you’ll run into when the room starts to clear. It’s very often after the last shrimp has been gobbled up and the tables are coming down that the really big, meaningful (and profitable) relationships are forged. Don’t miss it.

How to Work a Networking Room

by Elle Ray | Aug 5, 2014 | Small Business Advice

Networking Advice for Business Owners

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Networking is one of the most powerful means at your disposal to market and grow your small company. Yet so many business people fear the crowded rooms. But be assured that not everyone sipping wine and trading business cards is comfortable. Like you, many had to swallow their fears, take a deep breath and dive forward to press the flesh. The alternative, they know, is sitting in silence in a dark corner as all their hard work slowly comes to naught.

The bottom line is that it’s not about who you know, but who knows you. To earn a reputation in your field and in your market, you have to be visible. People have to know your name and be able to put a face to it. Business people drop names as part of their normal, everyday pitch, and they only drop names of experts they’ve met in person or heard a great deal about. To be that person and get that referral, you’ve got to hit the networking circuit in your area and within your industry.

Succeed at Networking

helping one another: the goal of networking To help you make the most out of those after-hour mixers, breakfast pow-wows and open house handshakes, we’ve put together a list of tips. Try them — and tell others where you heard about them — because the writers and editors at Ray Access know the power of networking:

Compliment people. Remember that business men and women are just people. Who doesn’t appreciate a compliment about a pair of shoes, a jacket, tie or handbag? A compliment is a great way to start a conversation — and perhaps a new relationship.
Approach loners. You can find them standing in the corner or nursing a drink at the bar. Loners sometimes can feel less threatening than approaching a pack of pristine suits who are standing in a circle laughing at an in-joke. Instead, commiserate with the fellow loner about how much you deplore these events to find common ground.
Ask questions. As former journalists, we always resort to the time-honored trick of getting people to talk about themselves as a way to open up a conversation. Even inane questions like: “What do you do?” or “How about them Red Sox?” can serve as an opener leading to and interesting (and profitable) conversation. You never know.
Move around. One mistake networking newbies often make is to stick with one group of people they’ve become comfortable with. Once you make a quick connection, trade cards and leave an impression, move along. The purpose of networking is to talk to as many people as possible in the time allotted. Get busy!
Go alone. Business people who move in packs don’t take the chance to break away and meet someone new. A networking event is not the place to socialize with people you already know, even if it’s nice to acknowledge each other. The primary goal is to see and be seen by all the people you don’t know.
Leave the sale for later. Pushy business people who only talk about themselves often end up alone. Salespeople who try to sell their services to everyone they meet tend to earn negative reputations. In fact, if you rarely talk about yourself, you’ll be remembered because you listened. Wouldn’t you rather be remembered positively and not with a knowing eye roll?

So don’t fear. You too have what it takes to get out there and develop new relationships. All it takes is a deep breath and a stack of business cards.