Networking - Joseph K Muscat Neurodiversity Consulting

Networking: Are you willing to make the investment?

JosephKMuscat — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 05:14:54 +0000

There is no doubt that business development is an investment; it requires particular skill sets, resources and a support system in order to reach the goals that you are after. Yet, I have to wonder whether businesses know what they are committing to and if they are honest about the commitment that is required.

There are 4 key elements to the entire process and we are going to explore them here.

Sand in the hourglass,

Time. No matter how hard we try, we cannot escape the seconds or the minutes in any particular task; as a result, we either underestimate, overestimate or even worse we become so obsessed with the time that we cut out elements or people from our lives because it is important to be within the time frame which we either set for ourselves or others have set for us.

The result is we don’t fully comprehend how much time we need to dedicate to business development. This is especially true when visiting or taking part in networking events or organisations. Of course, the product or services you are providing also relate to this. For example, the more complicated and costly the product or services are, the more time you will need to invest.

Business development is about being committed to the time that is needed to build relationships, and relationships are all about trust. Building trust needs to be nurtured. This doesn’t happen overnight and if there is no trust, how can people believe in you or your business.

It’s all about people

There is no doubt, business development is about investing in people. When we invest in people, we need to initiate, formalise and foster those relationships. This is a journey. The first is likeability, yes, it’s like being back on the school grounds. Is there something about you they like? Then, as mentioned above, it’s followed by creating trust. Can they rely on you? Will you deliver? Can others endorse you? etc. Next comes respect and, as we all know, this needs to be earned.

Investing in people requires that commitment and, as you potentially score at each goal post, you are not just winning them over; you are winning over each contact that they have and are ready to refer to you when the time comes.

If only I can clone myself

There is no need to clone yourself or cut yourself in half; as long as you build an impressive network of connections that is built on people, then they can scale your business for you. A good business development strategy built on referral marketing will ensure you won’t have to put too much focus on prospecting. As long as you continue to invest the time and you replicate building good strong relationships, the referrals will continue to flow.

Investments are volatile

In investment you will experience some volatility. There will be peaks and lows and you need to understand your relationships and the people you have invested in. As long as you maintain your relationship, look after them and add value by meeting their values, your network will have stability.

Because the core of your strategy is putting people first, they will come to value you because for you it is more than just business and they will see that. As for those who don’t… this exposes two streams, either you didn’t understand the relationship, or they were never a good fit for your values. So this will then give you the opportunity to reinvest and explore in those relationships that do.

The last word,

Business development is about making a genuine commitment to your team and about your willingness to allow them to make the investment in creating and sustaining long-term relationships that will in the long run be more profitable.

What to read more about networking and how to fine-tune your investment? Then I suggest you read What is your agenda? Tips to networking successfully

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Is Business Networking ‘Fun time’ or ‘Work time’?

JosephKMuscat — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 07:28:42 +0000

Have you ever been given ‘the look’ when you show up at work past the start time because you were are a networking event that morning or the night before?

Many business owners and managers struggle to comprehend that while it may appear that you attended a social activity, this is not for pleasure; rather it was time spent to develop relations that can evolve into a business. This is why it’s called a networking event.

What Are Networking Events?

Networking events generally take place outside of working hours because they are meant to be comfortable, a place to let your guard down, an environment where you are more relaxed and more open to meeting people.

This gives everyone the opportunity to connect and this means that it can lead to possibilities that may not be directly service exchanges, rather more of a referral nature. It all depends on how effective that relationship is and the time that went into nurturing this possible partnership or client.

What not to do at a networking event

Too often the expectation is to leave with a handful of business cards, or that by the end of the event you should have handed out a target number of business cards.

This approach fails for a few reasons. People don’t want to be sold to; they run away or try to exit that conversation as fast as possible. The other is they don’t yet know you, so why would they buy from you? How often do you see your business card laying on the floor? How often do you get a very cold, brush off response (if one at all), the next day when you are trying to follow up on the cards you collected?

Business Owners and Managers

Business owners and managers look at the lack of turnover from the ‘business cards’ collected (connections made) and say networking doesn’t work; then they criticize your “underperformance’ because you can’t generate new leads.

Business owners and managers need to realize that business development requires time; time to create a rapport and then to nurture it. This doesn’t happen overnight and yes, there does need to be a level of metrics to gauge the outcome achieved.

Create a strategy

Showing up is not a strategy! You need to apply ample research on the event and who is attending the event. This way you know who you will want to target. Create objectives of how you will develop rapport, what metrics you will apply to determine if you can take that relationship to the next stage or not. What is your plan for a follow-up and when will the right time be to offer services?

When creating your benchmarks, it would be a good exercise to include your manager or business owner in the conversation so together and as a team, you can develop tools, actions and language to use when measuring if that relationship has reached the desired stage.

Business development is not a sales call and time well spent at a networking event is hours spent on the job, so they should be appreciated not punished.

You will find that when you develop a proper networking strategy and cultivate the relationship you build, you will find them to be quite fruitful.

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The post Is Business Networking ‘Fun time’ or ‘Work time’? first appeared on Joseph K Muscat Neurodiversity Consulting.

Networking: Do You Build Relationships Or Do You go Straight for the Sale?

JosephKMuscat — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 07:02:00 +0000

Are you one of those people who can’t go to a social or networking event without talking business, handing out cards, or trying to close deals with unsuspecting attendees?

If you are, then you are most likely putting people off, potentially ruining your reputation and making people want to avoid you like the plague. I hate to say it, but no one really wants to know what you do. It may be a nice way to strike up a conversation with someone, but that’s as far as it should go.

Add Value

Business people are always on the lookout for people who add value. Trust grows when you go deeper by engaging and finding a connection. Once that connection has been established, they will want to be connected with you and in turn, hear what you have to say.

Ask good quality questions

One way of connecting with people is to ask good quality questions. People don’t realize that questioning is a skill set, and the manner in which you ask questions in a conversation can help you build that connection. Get them to talk about themselves. As Dale Carnegie said in his book “How To Win Friends & Influence People” – people like to talk about themselves. Don’t make the conversation all about you, rather, make it about them. You’d be surprised how much people will open up when you make them feel comfortable, ask the right questions, and get them talking.

The next step

The next step is to add value, which is what you can do for them. Once again, this doesn’t mean what you can offer as a service or product, rather what can be given to them in conversation, in the connection you are forming. By adding value, you start to earn trust which then leads to building a foundation for a connection to go beyond a one-off encounter at a business, social, or networking event.

How you add value differs from person to person, so planning ahead before attending an event and knowing who you will be meeting is crucial. How you present yourself and communicate with those connections will determine if there is the opportunity to build relationships that will later turn into business growth.

Final Thoughts

The last thing you want to do is attempt to go for a sale prematurely. Bear in mind how many times you’ve walked out of an event only to find your business card on the floor or in the trash. Avoid going in for the kill as that will most likely kill your business. Build relationships to grow your business.

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