Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a rising star, networking helps you stay on top of your game. It helps you build a professional network, which requires a detailed plan.
Keeping in touch with a group of professionals in your field keeps you from becoming passive and detached from your niche. It keeps you relevant and allows you to share knowledge, which further expands your outreach and builds a reputation.
Here’s what you need to do for successful networking:
● Grow existing connections. Networking requires paying attention to both quality and quantity. Before making new connections, make sure to nurture the existing ones.
One of the best ways to do this is to reach out to your most meaningful business connections when you don’t need help.
Instead of asking for help, keep tabs on their projects, and reach out to offer assistance. This way, you’ll become increasingly relevant to your connections, which will open opportunities for further collaboration.
● Set time aside for networking. In the era of social media, it’s easy to keep up and network online. You can show support by sharing people’s posts, projects, and fundraisers, and you can also participate in their activities. But your top connection will require extra attention.
Write down your top six connections, and set time aside for one-on-one meetings at least once a month. Expand this list by at least two to six people each month, and devote as much time to networking lunches and meetings as possible.
● Look beyond your industry. Follow up on future trends in your niche, and expand your network to those experts who could bridge the expertise gap that keeps you from growing. Look into your skills, and think about how you can team up with an expert from another industry to gain a market advantage.
These are only a couple of crucial networking tips. While you may find dozens and even hundreds of networking tips and strategies, their point remains the same. The goal of networking is to determine your goals and reach out to people who can help you reach them.
Who can you reach out to soon? Let me know in the comments!
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