As a business professional, you bring different talents and personalities to the table when you meet people. However, not everyone has an outgoing personality and sometimes feel lost when faced with networking (especially amongst large groups of people). However, these easy steps will help you successfully network at social functions and business events.

•    Keep it real – The main ingredient to successful networking is to be genuine and authentic. People can spot a fake immediately. The only way to build trust and rapport is to keep it real and be honest.

•    Prioritize your networking goals – Ask yourself what you want to accomplish when you network in particular groups. Some networking groups lean towards education/learning purposes. Define what meetings/groups will help you achieve your particular business and/or networking goals.

•    Know your business inside and out – Have a clear understanding of your business and how your services and products help others. You need to articulate clearly what sets your business/company apart from your competitors. This is very important in referral-based businesses such as real estate. This is essential when you belong to a new group and have to give your “30 second” introduction about your business.

•    Volunteer for organizations – Volunteering for a position in a networking group is a great way to become involved.  It’s also a great way to give back to a group/organization that has helped you, or has helped the community.

•    Visit networking groups that catch your interest – You don’t have to join every group, but it helps to visit groups to see if they are a good match. If you have friends or colleagues who belong to certain groups you like, ask them if you can be their guest at the next meeting. When you visit groups, ask yourself the following questions: Is the group supportive? Does it fit your industry/business scope?

•    Ask open-ended questions during meetings – A key trick during group meetings is to ask open-ended questions.  Open-ended questions address the following: “who, what, when, why and how.” These questions also engage other group members in a lively discussion (as opposed to just asking yes or no questions). It also makes group members feel important, and shows you are really interested in their opinions and feedback.

•    Become a viable resource for others in your group – Offer suggestions, advice and be looked upon as a viable, informative resource in your networking group. When people look to you as an expert in your field, you become more visible and they will turn to you for help (which equates to more referrals and business in the future).

•    Always follow through on referrals – No matter how busy you are, it’s important to follow through quickly and efficiently when you receive referrals from other group members. Remember that your actions are a direct reflection of the person who gave you the referral – don’t let that person down. It’s also seen as professional courtesy and respect, and further builds your credibility as a member of your business networking group.

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With the recent and unprecedented growth of such popular social media sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, professional image is as important now as it’s ever been, even on the computer.  While many people may be using social media sites to interact with friends, as well as meet new people, many business professionals today are using social media sites as the latest and greatest way to network with possibly thousands of new customers and clients.  But as social media sites have become the latest trend for business networkers everywhere, maintaining a professional image online has never been so important.

With the recent onset of popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, online self expression has become the latest trend.  While social networking sites are excellent ways to create online avenues for people and give outsiders a personal perspective into their creative values and personal beliefs, they are also being used by thousands of business professionals to properly network with clients, and bring in more business.  But as social networking becomes more and more prevalent in the business culture of the 21st century, so does the multitude of setbacks that can come from using social media.

While social media sites can offer many advantages to companies and organizations, by using social media to network and solicit business, they may also suffer negative effects to the company’s image.  It is important to remember when using social media, that whatever kind of information you post on your site, it is available for the entire world to see and to interpret.  If you have inappropriate material on your social media site, either intentionally, or unintentionally, this could bring very negative consequences to your business.  Prospective clients, as well as the media, can take something you have on your page out of context, and refuse to do business with you, or possibly tell other prospective clients that you have a bad reputation and direct possible clients away from you.

It is also important to note, that while your company may have a suitable public profile and image, many or your employees on the same site may not be holding up to those same requirements.  It is not uncommon for many employees of companies with excellent reputations to have graphic or offensive material on their social media sites, and this could potentially put a black eye on many of your social media efforts.  It is often said, that employees represent the organizations they work for, and whether you like it or not, they represent the image of the company as well.

This is why it is so important to always be aware of the public image of not only your own company’s social media site, but your employees’ as well.  While social media sites can be excellent places for building contacts, as well as great avenues for business networking, they also could be used detrimentally to ruin your company’s image and reputation.  This is why it is more important than ever to maintain a watchful eye over your company’s social media presence and your employees’ social media presence as well.  It is said in the business world, that it can take years and extremely hard work to build a strong and positive business reputation, while it can take only a matter of moments to destroy it.

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Effectively marketing your business by using social networking sites has become as important today, as having business cards was 20 years ago.  But as social media sites continue to evolve, and bring in more and more people every year, the inability of using these sites effectively can be extremely detrimental to your business.  As these sites continue to grow, many companies are using these opportunities to cut costs, and bring in new clientele.  So how can your company begin to learn how to use social networking effectively and how exactly can it be used to grow your business?

The effective use of social networking sites can significantly help your company to improve its public image and make it more accessible to your clients.  Having public profiles accessible to your clients and potential customers, gives your business a chance to interact with its customers like never before.  The use of social networking sites will significantly improve the reach and visibility of your business and services, at little or no cost to your business.  You will have more chances to introduce new products and services, while simultaneously being able to receive feedback on whether the ideas are working or not.

The use of social networking sites can provide your business with an alternative to the big budget marketing of the past.  You will no longer need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars every year marketing your product to the masses.  Social networking sites now offer your company a free alternative, by being able to market your products and services to as many people as you want, absolutely free.  All you need to do is to register with the site, create a public profile, and start adding contacts.  Getting in touch with potential clients through the use of social networking sites can help save your business money, as well as establish a new level of trust between you and your clients.

Social networking sites provide you with access to forums and discussion boards, from where you can talk about your services and products, as well as interact with potential clients about these products and services.  It allows them a chance to get to know your company better, and provides a much better way to properly understand their needs as customers.  It gives them opportunities to send you questions as well as feedback about new or existing services, and gives them an opportunity to know your business on a more personal level.  This can be a great advantage to your business, as well as cut a huge amount of cost.

By maintaining constant communication with your clients and customers you are helping your business to grow in ways you never thought possible.  Not only are you saving money on free advertising and marketing, but you are meeting people as well, people who can help your business grow, as well as building possible, invaluable business contacts down the line.  But most importantly you are making yourself accessible to clients and getting to know them better and understanding their needs as customers.  Properly understanding your customers’ needs is the key to understanding exactly what to do to properly satisfy them.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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We have mentioned before the importance word-of-mouth has for your business growth.  Referrals are critical to achieve success in business, and your goal must be to get them without having to ask for them.

How exactly do you do that?  How do you inspire people so much so as to make them speak well about you to others?  It’s very easy and very hard at the same time, but you must give worthwhile incentives to the people who refer you.

Finding the best incentive for everyone is not easy, as all of us are moved by different things and have very varied interests.  In the past, the most widely-used incentive was fees, and although it is OK to give them in some situations, fees may not hit the mark in regards to what people really care about.

Sometimes all it takes is the person’s name on a list.  Consider this example of a very valuable and not monetary incentive:

A while ago, Mark referred his best friend, Gerard, to his dentist.  About a month later, it was Mark’s time for an appointment, and as soon as he got to the dentist’s office, he noticed the bulletin board that was notably displayed at the entrance.  The bulletin stated something like this: ‘We wish to thank these patients for referring someone to us last month’.

The sign, Mark recalled, had been there always, but this time it had his name on it.  He was very pleased, even smiled, but that was it… until a month later, when Mark had to return to continue his treatment and his name was gone from the list.  Immediately he started thinking about another person to refer, just to see his name in there again.

This may not matter to everyone, but it does matter to many people.  The key is to find as many worthwhile incentives as possible to reach as many people as possible.

The bulletin board has two strengths: it permanently reminds patients that the office wants referrals, and it recognizes people for their efforts.  Other valuable incentives may be:

-    Free consultations

-    Gift baskets

-    Wine bottles

-    Flowers

-    Certificates for your services or other important complementary benefits

-    Free estimates, samples, or tests

-    Free additional products or services

-    Discounts

-    Time extensions

-    Phone consultation privileges

-    Extended life memberships

-    Extended warranties

Incentives help you sell more products or services to your actual customers in a shorter period of time.  No matter the type of incentive you select, just by offering it you are highly increasing your potential for generating word-of-mouth business.

But, you shouldn’t offer just any incentive.  You must be certain that you are selecting one that works for you.  In order to do this, ask others.  You can invite some acquaintances to dinner.  Make sure they meet your customers, partners, and friends’ profiles, because the purpose of the gathering is for them to suggest incentives you could offer to encourage word-of-mouth without asking for it directly.

The key here is creativity.  Most people are natural helpers; however, they will be more willing to act if they are recognized for their efforts.  They feel really great when a referral works; thus, take the time to let them know it was a success.

Every time you meet people that have been referred to you, take the time to get to know them and say something nice about the person who referred you, because it is all about karma!

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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This economic crisis has been giving professionals a hard time for a while now; it is about time you stop feeling miserable and start improving your networking skills.

True, new business is hard to find during a crisis; however, business networking is a great tool to build your business when recession hits.

Successful business people learn from past experiences.  For many people this is not the first time they experience a recession, so, what are the lessons learned previously?

When hard times hit, the single most important thing in everyone’s mind is: ‘these are hard times’.  You actually get tired of hearing and reading about how bad everything is, how discouraged people are, and how life, basically, sucks.

Believe it or not, even a recession is a thing of the mind.  Yes, you read right; you can consciously decide whether to be a victim of the crisis or to create your own luck.  The best professionals view the recession as an opportunity. While everyone else is whining and complaining, a few business people get wise and start finding opportunities through business networking.

Consider this: the time you spend complaining is time you are wasting, time you could be investing in adding to your referrals and generating business ideas to get you ahead.  During a crisis, very few people concentrate in accomplishing their goals.

Remember that what you concentrate on, you attract.  If you spend your time thinking and talking about how hard the times are, you will only notice the difficult side, while others either don’t care or rejoice in the fact that you are in worse shape than they are.

Of course you cannot control the economy or the competition, but you can certainly control how you react to them.  Referrals will keep your business growing, even during a crisis.  In fact, the biggest empires have been created during recession periods.  How did they do it?  Simply, they refused to participate in the recession; they chose to act.

Here we show you some tips to help you enhance your networking skills and to help you build your business through effective word-of-mouth:

1.    Diversify networks
Take part in different kinds of groups in order to find new opportunities and markets.

2.    Get out there
Make yourself visible.  Get out there, meet people, talk to everyone, and enjoy yourself.

3.    Learn how to act in meetings
Prepare for each event you attend, aim to provide added value with your presence, and learn the networking systems and techniques to help you get the best out of every meeting.

4.    Be prepared
Prepare effective introductions and think about interesting topics to share with other business people at events.

5.    Make your contact spheres grow
Try to find more contacts with businesses that are compatible and complement yours, where no competition exists.

6.    Know your goal
Have clarity about what business networking is.  Understand that it is about building relationships, not selling your products or services.

A crisis is only another excuse to fail in business.  There is always a way out; it is all in knowing the right people.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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