“Good fortune involves the new people you meet. Networking can look like people having fun talking to each other, but it’s actually a lot more work than it appears. That’s why the word “work” is in the word.”
Building Strong Relationships
People do business with those that they know, like and trust. Once you’ve built a relationship where there’s mutual respect and trust you are more likely to refer others. The important part of a one on one meeting is to get to know the person and for them to get to know you. That is why one-on-one meetings are such an integral part of the networking experience and should be included into your fortnightly process.
The key is to allow time to truly connect during a one on one, consider turning off your phone to avoid distraction.
To make the most of the meeting you both need time to speak about yourself. Set a time frame and stick to it. Be respectful when it’s the other persons time to speak, listen and ask questions when appropriate but be careful not to butt in or talk over them.
Referrals are a large part of the TNG network, but they are not the main focus. They are a great byproduct of the relationships you build. Referrals come once you’ve built the relationship where people trust you to look after their connections.
You get out of networking what you put in. You will not build the kind of solid relationships you need for your business to succeed if you don’t put in the effort to connect with each of your group members individually.
Questions to build great business relationships
1. What’s your why, what motivates you?
2. Where do you get your inspiration from?
3. What are you best achievements?
4. What experience have you learnt the most from?
5. What do you like to do outside of work?
6. What are your goals, remember these may be large or small.
7. What’s your company’s IDEAL client and why?
8. How can I help you?
“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar
Want to connect & network with like-minded business owners?
Visit The Networking Group website & register : www.tng.org.nz/groups or contact Melanie at [email protected] or 0212093210.