What Networking Can Do For You
You’ve heard time and again that networking is about relationships and not sales, but perhaps you are wondering: “what will networking really do for me?”
Gain experience
When it IS time to sell, whether at a client meeting, trade show, or wherever else, you’ll want to be ready to interact with people and feed off of them to tailor your pitch to meet their needs. Networking gives you a chance to gain experience in talking about your product and gauging people’s reactions. Do their eyes glaze over when you talk about the technical aspects, but they seem really interested in hearing about success stories? Networking helps you become an experienced sales person, without the pressure of sales!
Gain confidence
In addition to wanting to know how to talk to people and expect what they will want to hear from you, you’ll also want to make sure you have the confidence to sell your product. It’s more than memorizing your elevator pitch and reciting it in front of a mirror. To really sell your products and services, you have to have the confidence to discuss them backwards and forwards. Networking gives you the chance to do this, and the more you network the easier it will be to talk about your business.
Gain referrals & opportunities
Yes, referrals really happen. They might not flood in the day after an event, but over time you may find lucrative deals roll in from people you have gotten to know. In addition, perhaps you will find the chance for joint ventures, partnerships, or new business ideas that you may have never considered had you not gotten out and networked.
Market research
Developing a business on your own, with no outside input, is a terrible idea. We are incapable of being impartial or objective. That’s why networking is a great opportunity to find out what others think. Networking events, such as eSAX, provide you with the chance to talk to HUNDREDS of people and find out what their reaction to your business idea is. Ask them about their pain points, and see if your product or service can solve for it.
Get expert advice
Networking events have a mix of entrepreneurs with varying degrees of experience over many different fields. While you may find a lot of people who are new to business and networking, you’ll want to seek out those who are there to give advice. At eSAX, attendees include professional business coaches, or staff from the Ottawa Public Library and Invest Ottawa, who help businesses start and grow. Through networking you are able to meet with influencers who would otherwise be very difficult to meet. While the Mayor won’t have time to mix and mingle with everyone, you will find that company CEOs and sucessful startup founders will spend more time with you. It is the gift of networking that once you start doing it you get to learn a lot of things that would not had been possible otherwise.
Networking does a lot for you and your business if you do it passionately and honestly. Check out more great knowledge on how to get better at networking by subscribing to the eSAX YouTube channel!
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