20 reasons to attend networking events
De BISAWiki
For most people involved in business networking they believe it only serves ONE purpose. They believe they only have one responsibility, or only one activity to focus upon during networking events or when networking at business gatherings. Simply...
‘Finding New Business’
If all you’re looking for is one outcome then that’s like putting only one line in the water when going fishing. Or it’s like making only one sales call. You either achieve what you set out to achieve or you don’t. Win or Lose! Success or Failure! You either caught the fish, or you went home empty handed! Got the business or were refused the opportunity.
Consider, however, how different the outcome could be if you were to throw a large net into the water. How much more success you would have if you have if you made many more sales calls. The opportunity for success would be significantly improved. Well, I don’t know about your firm, but in mine, no one paid me when I went networking! Most of it was in my own time; time when I could have been doing other things; personal things, like spending time with my family, going to the gym, walking the dog, meeting my friends, catching up with a good read or simply relaxing with a good movie.
I’m sure, like many people, when walking back to your car at the end of an event, you’ve sometimes felt “that seemed like a bit of a waste of my time!” or “I don’t know why I go to these things; there’s just no worthwhile business there” Hmmm! Well...what if you were throwing that net instead of that single line and that single hook? Would it surprise you to know that here, to help motivate you to be more proactive in your networking activities, I have listed 87 Good Reasons to go Networking, that come to my mind straight away!
Let me share the first 30 insights with you that might help you to yield a more abundant harvest, the next time you’re out networking. Insights that will enable you to derive a raft of benefits EVERY TIME you go networking, without fail. Gaining and Swopping Knowledge
1. Source of new employees: Would it surprise you to know that here, to help motivate you to be more proactive in your networking activities, I have listed 87 Good Reasons to go Networking, that come to my mind straight away ?
2. Hear New Ideas: People are often very free with their comments when in social environments. New and innovative ideas are often bandied around in general conversation. Ideas that you could take advantage of in your firm... but only if you’re listening for them!
3. Sharing Problems: “A problem shared is a problem halved” they say. Firstly, when you share your problems, you find out that many people are in the same boat as you, shouldering their own challenges, which somehow serves to make your burden seem lighter; but problems are often common problems and solutions are out there. My experience is that most people are keen to help, guide and advise. All you have to do is ask! Help is at hand...
4. Developing Ideas: By chatting with your peers, whose breadth of exposure stretches beyond the boundaries of your own experience, conversations can only add value to you. Fresh eyes and past insights focussed on your ideas can help you develop and flesh-out beneficial new ideas or enhance, refresh and refurbish stale ones. Bouncing ideas with business associates can help you in leaps and bounds; But you can’t achieve this simply sitting in your office, or on your own...
5. Source New or Better Suppliers: Google, You Tube and even the reliable old Yellow Pages can help you find suppliers. But we all recognise that it’s not what the suppliers say about themselves in their brochures that counts... it’s what people say about them. I’d be more inclined to move to a preferred supplier, recommended by someone whose opinion I respected and whose testimonial I trusted. A positive referral. Wouldn’t you?
6. Generating Ideas: Commonly it’s when bouncing ideas about in conversations that new ideas are born. But again, talking to yourself won’t yield the insights and views that will benefit you. When networking you are no longer an island
7. Access to More Expertise: Like yourself, with all your own specialised knowledge, networking environments are full of additional, and dare I say it, almost unlimited expertise. A ready pool of information. A resource to which you can have access... but only if you are there. What is it that you need? Whom, there, may be able to help you?
8. Develop a Resource Bank for Yourself: If you don’t need expertise or assistance today, what contingency do you have in place for the future? We never know when we may need some external resources to assist us. By networking and by developing your network, you’ll always have trusted resources at your disposal whenever you may need them. People like you. People who like you. People you trust.
Market Intelligence
9. Get Feedback on Your Services and Reputation. What are people saying about you and/or your firm? Listen to what’s being said. Which clients that you already do business with might be there? Ask them for honest and constructive feedback. It’s what others say about us that counts! Networking is a great forum to gain this valuable information and feedback?
10. Increase Internal Skills Base. In many instances we know what additional skills we may need within our organisation, but it’s only by listening to others that we may find what we want from providers who come recommended.
11. Insight into Other Environments. We spend most of our time focussed inwardly on our worlds, our own needs, and our own opportunities... you get the message. But by being ‘interested’ when we go networking, and listening to others, you are able to hear about the raft of challenges facing other people in other industries. In many cases, if you’re actively listening, the new insights will offer opportunities for you through your company to ‘help’. Opportunities that you would never normally hear about if all you do is stay in your own, normal orbit
12. Learning About the Competition. It’s always good to know what they’re doing, what they’re doing well, what they’re doing that’s new, where their customers feel they could be doing better, where there are gaps in their offerings, what direction they are moving in and what their clients, or their staff, are saying about them. You also stay abreast of ‘who is who’ in your area of business and potentially who the new players moving into your field are. You can’t glean any of this information if you’re not there?
13. Keep Up to Date With All Sorts of Information. The world is on information overload. For many of us, it’s challenging enough to keep up with what’s going on in our own field of expertise, let alone to be able keep an eye on trends in other sectors. By asking the right questions of our prospects, or simply by joining in with, and listening to, existing conversations going on all around us at business events, there is much to be learned. There are also many new opportunities hidden within the insights of others. Are you listening? Or are you simply waiting for your turn to speak?
14. Helps to Understand the Market Place. Commonly people have a very one sided view of their marketplace. It’s often linked to what they provide and commonly reflects how they like to provide it. This isn’t necessarily wholly congruent with either the needs of the clients or the current state of the market. The best way to stay abreast of the current state of play and to understand your market is to be out there circulating amongst other business people. To be hearing what they are saying and being aware of their current views.
15. Finding Ways to New Markets. Often by making small changes to our existing offerings, it becomes newly relevant to additional sectors. With slight changes we can extend the scope of our reach and new markets open up for us. You never know who might say what, at an event. But one thing’s for sure, if you’re not there, you’ll never know.
16. So You Understand What Your Marketplace Wants. Sometimes the clients tell you they want one thing, but in reality they want something different. It’s in more relaxed forums that we can offer gain true insights in to what our market really wants, but often fails to articulate.
17. Place to Test New Ideas. Your networks are like an extended board of advisors. Where better to bounce new ideas around, than amongst those whose opinions you trust and respect.
18. Gives Feedback From Others. Networking allows you to hear what others are saying about you, or your company, or its services or its products or its people. This is more valuable than believing in our own marketing and believing what we say about ourselves. We can get caught in the trap of believing our own spin, if we fail to get out there.
19. Corrects People’s Wrong Perceptions. Sometimes the message we want the market to hear is misinterpreted. Other people’s beliefs, views or interpretations can negatively affect our business growth. If you fail to engage with the business community, you’ll be unaware of the discussions which might be going on, about you or your business. By keeping your ear to the ground you stand a much better chance of catching any negative notions early-on, and to correct them quickly.
20. Keeping Abreast of Trends. Keeping up with things in our sector as they stand at the moment is often challenging enough, let alone keeping abreast of the new trends which often challenge existing thinking. The social media explosion is a good, current example. Engaging in conversations at business networking events, in fact almost every type of event, can alert us early to the things we need to know, but may not find out about, on our own.
We will cover another 20 reaaons in my next article
Mark Perl – Author, speaker, trainer, Event MC and expert in the skills of Planning and Hosting events professionally
www.impeccablehost.co.uk @markperl
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