NETWORKING IS LIKE

Networking and nutrition are similar. We all know what we should eat well and exercise to maintain a good weight but we don't. Same thing with networking. We know that to build a sound business you need to meet the people who will buy our products or at least who will introduce us to our customers. But we don't do it.

Networking is an essential skill for any entrepreneur or professional who needs to grow. Your business thrives on ideas, concepts from others. Those people are beyond your office doors. When you go out of your comfort zones you are likely you will meet that exceptional employer or that long established customer.

But why do entrepreneurs not invest in such a powerful skill? The aim of networking is to build relationships that are profitable. I go to networking events to be a solution to someone. Not only to be a recipient. As a result I enter into discussions to hear what people are saying and to try and be a solution. Sometimes it is taking that business card and asking yourself how you could be a solution. That may mean asking questions about their business. What they do. The challenges they face. It becomes natural to talk about your business and the challenges you need. That's the nature of networking.

People complain of being shy. They are scared of meeting new people. And their fear is rejection. But the nature of life is that you will be rejected by some and accepted by others. It's having those quality relationships that matters. In real life one wife is sufficient.

To bulldoze your organisation into success, create new ties. Develop the existing ones.

Review and prune the existing ones.