Are you jealous of people who work a room with ease? Do you think the secret to successful networking is being born extroverted? Relax. Even the “natural networker” has worked hard to be at ease in a room full of people they haven’t met. Their talent isn’t inborn. You can develop business networking skills with the right preparation.

There are nine quick and easy networking tips to prepare your networking skills. If you are shy, good news, talking to other people is far down the list. Begin with these simple steps to feel more confident when it comes time to meet and greet.

1. Prepare

Know why you are networking. Have a specific purpose. Are you looking for prospects, getting exposure in your market, or positioning for a promotion? Networking isn’t selling and it’s not just for promoting yourself. You can use it to search for resources and build your brand many other things. Keep your purpose clear to overcome obstacles and excuses.

2. Know Yourself

“What do you do?” is the first question you’ll be asked at business events. Yet it’s amazing how many people fumble for an answer. The answer is a subject on which you are the final expert. Write a short self-introduction and practice out loud until it sounds natural. You’ll adjust it as you use it, but the written description is a good place to start.

3. Know Your Market

Believing that “everyone is my target market” will make your networking vague and inefficient. List the characteristics of your ideal client and focus on events that attract these people.

4. Have Materials Ready

It’s embarrassing to come up empty-handed when asked for your card. Have business cards, a small notepad, and a pen with you at all times. Keep emergency stashes of cards at home, in your office, and even in your car.

5. Choose Your Event

The business club president or event host should be able to tell you who is attending, if it’s strictly business or more social, and if it’s informal or has an agenda. You’ll be more confident in knowing the venue is right for you.

Networking is an ongoing cycle of preparing yourself, meeting people, getting to know them, and finding ways to create a deeper bond. Any new task is going to feel awkward at first. Practice and repetition of these nine networking tips will help your skills grow. Someday your “natural” ability will make someone else jealous.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at www.thenetworkingmotivator.com for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

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).

Whether you’ve recently signed up or have been a member for years, membership in a networking organization can be a valuable choice in growing your business. And yet, as members, we don’t always take full advantage of the opportunities our associations, chambers, and clubs offer us. With today’s economy it is even more important to get every bit of benefit possible from the dues we pay.

There is companion to this article, “Joined a Networking Organization? 7 Strategies to Get More Value, Benefits, and Exposure.” Here is a quick review of those seven ideas:

• Know the Benefits
• Develop a Relationship with the Staff
• Be Consistent - Be Persistent
• Be Insistent
• Offer an Exclusive Discount
• Advertise Your Membership

The possibilities of any good-sized organization are nearly limitless, so here are four more strategies to get more worth from your dues.

Strategy #1: Take a Leadership Position

Most organizations have a Board of Directors, committees, or events. They need people to lead these groups and plan the events. In networking, it’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. Being a leader means you’re in front of a larger number of people at once, letting them get to know you better.

Strategy #2: Refer New Members to the Organization

The first rule of receiving is to give first. If you make the effort to refer new members to the organization you are accomplishing two very important things that will benefit you in the long run. First, you are strengthening the organization so that it becomes a bigger pool of resources. Second, you are earning the gratitude and esteem of the organization staff and leadership. They will consider your first for referrals and they may even actively seek referral opportunities to show you their thanks.

Strategy #3: Volunteer in the Office

The more you learn about the inner workings of the organization, the better you are able to understand how to participate. By offering your assistance, you are showing yourself to be a resource to the organization and the staff. You will again earn their gratitude and appreciation. And if their office is anything like the Clovis Chamber office, it will be a hub of activity, presenting you with regular opportunities to meet new business and community leaders.

Strategy #4: Offer to Teach & Mentor Other Members

An advanced networking strategy is to establish yourself as an expert. If your area of expertise is something of interest to other members, offer to provide a free seminar or training once a month. Ask the organization to sponsor and promote the event. They may do this in return for the value of your time and knowledge. If you cannot arrange a seminar though them, simply approach and offer to help other members. You’ll again be perceived as a leader and the best way to get is to give first.

When you combine these four strategies, plus the seven ideas from my previous article, you have a wide range of tools to select from. Decide what works for you based on your interests and time; not all of these will be possible. But even one or two strategies to leverage your membership can pay off in the short-term and will definitely make your membership worth more to you in the long run.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at www.thenetworkingmotivator.com for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

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).

You’re happily networking at your favorite Chamber of Commerce event, meeting like-minded people, sharing information, getting to know each other and building relationships, when you see one coming. The pushy, aggressive, all-sales networker. You’ve never met this person, but the handful of business cards, the room-scanning eyes and the never-still lips are a dead giveaway. You try to duck behind someone else, but it’s too late. They’ve got you in their tractor beam!

What do you do when you’re at an event and you encounter the pushy salesperson? Your dread of – and exasperation with – these people might be one of the reasons you avoid networking. And that’s not good, because you’re missing out on meeting great people who truly want to build relationships.

Here are three plans for dealing with these people and the way they make you feel. Pick and choose from these strategies depending on your personality and what you feel comfortable with. Not everyone will want to use them, but knowing you have options will make your next networking event much more comfortable and productive.

Plan A: Let them do their thing, then walk away

Let them give you their pitch. Just listen, don’t encourage them. You’ll know it’s almost over when they hand you their card. End the conversation with the tone and words that we use in wrapping up a phone conversation. “Okay, great, thank you, I’ll let you know. Nice meeting you. Enjoy your evening.” Shake their hand and walk away.

This might take some nerve because they might not be done with the conversation. But if you’ve decided you just don’t want to invest any more time, end the conversation and move on. They might think you’re rude, or they might not even notice. This move precludes any future relationship.

Plan B: Make them engage you as a person

Don’t act like a prospect by accepting their presentation first; make them consider you as someone with a life and interests that may coincide with theirs. Take over the conversation by asking questions about them personally. Ask if they are from the area, what they did before this job, or how they found out about this event. Do not hesitate to interrupt them! They are being rude by treating you as an “easy mark.” You are allowed the small incivility of breaking into their stream of consciousness.

This is a gentler way to deflect the sales pitch. You are still engaging them, but on a more personal level. You’ve changed the interaction from salesperson/prospect to person/person. There might be an opportunity to develop a relationship based on commonalities you may discover in the regular conversation. Or, they may relentlessly return to their sales pitch. In that case, go back to Plan A.

Plan C: Call them out

If they ask you for the sale right there, the first time you’ve met them, or if they are handing you five business cards “in case you know someone who could use my services,” then you need to call them out. Not by going out back and settling it “High Noon” style, but by telling them that you don’t do business that way. Tell them, “I appreciate your enthusiasm/interest in me, but I prefer to get to know someone a little bit before I do business or refer them to other people. Let’s get together for coffee so we can learn more about each other’s businesses.” You are telling them that they must invest a little bit of time. And that you are looking for a mutually beneficial relationship, as true networkers do.

You will immediately separate out those who are willing to build relationships, but got carried away, from those who don’t care and just want the sale. You may occasionally find those persistent sales people take the coffee meeting as another chance to pitch you. Revert to Plan B or invent an appointment and get out (Plan A)! More often, you will discover that the “pushy salesperson” is actually someone who is under pressure to perform or who just doesn’t grasp the true foundation of networking. Here is your opportunity to gently guide them through example.

You’ll learn that very few people at networking events are actually hard-core, no-frills, all-prospecting sales people. Why? Because they would rather be in the office making cold-calls or setting appointments. Networking is a long-term investment, not a short-term sales plan. They’ve been to a few events, made no sales, and gave up. You’re not likely to encounter these people more than once or twice.

One of the most annoying and uncomfortable aspects of the pushy networker is that they control the interaction. These three plans have the same foundation. They allow us to take charge in a way that is compatible with positive, long-term networking. Once you have these plans in mind, and have given yourself permission to interrupt people, run the conversation and make suggestions, you’ll find that you are much more comfortable with the possibility of seeing these kind of people.

Fortunately, you’ll also learn that people who start with the sales pitch are often just nervous and unsure what to do. Someone told them that networking was selling, so they are selling. Or, they think it’s inappropriate to talk about their lives, so what else to discuss but work? You’ll help them break this pattern, be a more successful networker, and perhaps build a relationship with you. Now there’s a plan that helps everyone.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at www.thenetworkingmotivator.com for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

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).

Every once in a while I run into someone who tells me they don’t need networking. I used to believe that everyone needed networking. But I didn’t want to argue with them, so I would put on my “thoughtful” face and say something very noncommittal. Sometimes they’d give me a reason why they didn’t need it and sometimes they would let the statement just hang our there between us.

I have changed my mind and now believe that there are some people who don’t need networking at all. Are you one of them? If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, then you are a person who does not need networking.

• If you work for someone else, are you guaranteed to never lose your job for any reason?
• If you own your own business, do you have more clients than you know what to do with, who always pay on time, even though you charge far more than the competition?
• Can you walk into any business and meet with the decision maker whenever you want?
• Are you so incredibly famous that you never need to introduce yourself to anyone?
• Are you certain you’ve always picked out the best possible service provider the first time, every time, straight from the phone book?
• Do you know everything there is to know about the right products, services, or opportunities for you and your family?

Of course, no one can answer “yes” to all these questions. The only people who don’t need to network are these who are 100% self-sufficient; who don’t buy, sell, or trade any service or goods made by people; who don’t need any information or resources that they cannot provide for themselves and who have no need to interact with society. In other words, a hermit. Still, some people convince themselves that they are job-loss proof, that their business is the best it could be, and that they alone have all the answers.

Can we try to find someone in today’s world who doesn’t need networking? You could argue that the tribes people of the Kalahari Desert don’t need to network because they are self-sufficient. But look at the word we use to describe them: “Tribes-people.” The very concept of a tribe is a group of people with a common heritage working together for a group purpose. So-called “primitive” people actually have highly developed networking skills because their very lives depend on it. Everyone who lives within a society is dependent on other people to provide some aspect of their survival. We interact on a daily basis with people who provide us with information, knowledge, and the resources we need to live.

Networking is a survival skill in society and in business. In society, we need to interact with other people whether it’s family, co-workers, or clients. In fact, the ability to network is one of the main business skills that will determine whether or not someone grows or shuts down a business, stays in their job in hard economies, and if ultimately any aspect of their business is successful.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at www.thenetworkingmotivator.com for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

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).