Article written by: Succeed Group
“Networking is the single most powerful marketing tactic to accelerate and sustain success for any individual or organisation!” – Adam Small
Networking is one of the most significant skills that you could learn in order to make your business a success story. The majority of business owners believe that they can just start a business, and the clients will come. Any successful business owner will immediately tell you this is not the case.
Building a successful business takes a lot of time and dedication, so it is sensible to have a network of business partners and associates to draw energy from and keep you motivated. By surrounding yourself with people who share a similar passion and determination, you are more likely to move forward and achieve results. Business networking is a really valuable way to expand your knowledge, learn from the success of others, get new clients and tell others about your business.
A strong and active business network has advantages that can make your business grow and flourish.
Below follows a brief discussion of the 5 biggest benefits of business networking:
1. Opportunities
It is expected that networking will result in opportunities. You will however not know when or how they will happen. There are always plenty of opportunities that come from networking and in fact this is where the advantages of business networking are huge. The opportunities that you get involved in should align with the vision you have for your business. If this is not the case, you might find that you are chasing opportunity after opportunity and getting nowhere.
2. Advice
Networking is a wonderful way to tap into advice and knowledge that you would not otherwise be able to get hold of. Having like-minded business owners to talk to also gives you the opportunity to get advice from them on all sorts of things related to your business or even your personal life and obtaining that important work-life balance. Just make sure you are getting advice from the right person – someone that actually knows about what you need to know and is not just giving you their opinion on something that they have no or very little experience in.
3. New business
This is without a doubt the most obvious benefit and the reason most business owners decide to participate in networking activities and join networking groups. Through networking you will build up a professional relationship with other business owners. Since they will be networking with others as well, you will in time be connected to hundreds and sometimes even thousands of individuals. Through recommendations and word of mouth, many of these people have the potential to become future customers. The great news is that the referrals that you get through networking are normally high quality and most of the time are even pre-qualified for you.
4. Growing your personal profile
Being visible and getting noticed is a massive advantage of networking. By regularly attending business and social events, society will begin to recognise you. This will assist you to build your reputation as a knowledgeable, reliable and supportive person by offering useful information or tips to people who need it. You are also more likely to get more leads and referrals as you will be the one that pops into their head when they need what you offer.
5. Friendship
Many friendships form as a result of networking because you are all like-minded business owners that want to grow your businesses. You meet and help each other regularly, so naturally strong friendships tend to form. Although this advantage is not directly applicable to your business, do not overlook the simple benefit of having friends in the business world with no strings attached. You need to know someone has your back, that you have people who are there for you.
These are just a few of the reasons why business networking is so important to your business. Linking with people who have business experience and building up your network with these people will certainly help your business grow and become more successful.
For more information contact Francois Pretorius at francois@www.succeedgroup.co.za
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein.
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