8 TIPS ON NETWORKING EFFECTIVELY

As a recovering shy person, networking is something I used to shy away from. Whenever I heard ‘networking’, I used to have mixed feelings. First; I usually feel it’s a good thing, secondly; I usually feel like I’m going to be talking about myself and listening to someone and as well talk about himself/herself. (It didn’t sound inviting to me.

However, I now know better that I need to understand networking, and that it is something I shouldn’t shy away from. I need to network; network with different people at different times and moment.

I can still remember an event I attended, and I needed to network with people at the event, it was so difficult for me because I was feeling like I wasn’t going to say the right things, or I might sound boring, or people might not be interested in what I had to say.

You know, I didn’t network well, and later on, I felt some pangs of regret. I later played flashbacks in my head and I thought about how I should have talked; how I should have said something interesting and engaging, and so on.

I may not be the only one who might have gone through one or two situations like that. In this period, networking is another way you can market yourself to your relevant audience.

If you don’t know how to network well, you might want to learn how to network, perhaps read up on it, ask people who know about it to tell you about it, and so on.

And so, here are some useful tips on how to network effectively:

1. Prepare: before going for the event, prepare some things you want to say or have the things you want to discuss already in mind. If you know what the event is about, then you might have an idea of the kind of people that will be at the event. And so, you will be able to know if you can network with those people and also things you can say that will be of interest to them or make them listen to you.
2. Get your elevator pitch ready: sometimes you might just have a few minute or seconds to talk about what you do or your business, and so, can you say in few minutes what you do? Or what your business is all about, that the other person will understand clearly within a very little time?
3. Don’t spend unnecessary time: you don’t have to spend more than necessary time talking about what you want to talk about. Say the things you want to say but don’t spend unnecessary time saying them.
4. Be friendly: don’t just talk about yourself, ask relevant questions about the other person too. Be nice to them; genuinely be interested in what they are saying too.
5. Don’t be shy: put away shyness.
6. Don’t forget to talk about the value you want to give: don’t just talk and forget to communicate the value you can offer the person or the value your business has to offer.
7. Have your contact ready: for professionals, you might want to have a card or a form of contact ready, so you can exchange it with the other person. This is so that the person will be able to contact you about the business or your company you just spoke to him/her about.
8. Don’t forget to follow-up: make the call, send the mail reminding the person about what you want to remind him/her about.

Do you have tips you use in networking? Please share with us in the comment box below. Thank you.