Networking, Part 2

One of the best applications of Gratitude Marketing is networking. Networking is the most personal form of marketing, the easiest, and usually the most economical. When we network, we are establishing relationships with others which will benefit both parties. Networking is not an opportunity to attempt to sell others what we have. It is the opportunity to start a relationship for the future.

When we network, we meet people who are business owners, business employees, people who are interested in starting a business, and people who may be looking for a career change. We have a very short time to meet them, get to know them, and start building a relationship. Therefore, we must make the time to meet with them as soon as possible individually, one-on-one, and get to know them better.

We must find out their business story, and let them discover ours. We must establish a start towards deciding if we like them and if we can trust them. We do business with those we know, like, and trust. We also introduce people of this type to each other. That is how relationship marketing works. That is how businesses are successful.

Meeting someone one-on-one allows us to decide how professional the other person is, how passionate they are about their business, and how they treat others. What if we ask someone about their story, listening to all the details of how they are at the current point in their personal and business life, and they don’t want to ask about ours? Should we trust them with our introductions to other people with whom they should build relationships, or are they just going to try to sell others what they have to offer?

Deciding whether we like or trust someone must come before we refer them to our current relationships. Introducing these new people to our current partners implies that we endorse them and that we are asking our partners to trust them also. This may impact our reputation with our partners if the person never tries to establish relationships with these gifts/introductions that we have provided to them. Would we trust someone who stands us up when we should be meeting with them?

When we meet anyone one-on-one, we must ask, and allow, them to tell us their story. We must discover how they reached the current point in their business life. Since business and personal lives are so intertwined, we will probably also discover the details of how their personal life has reached its current point. Both these aspects of their story are what make them who they are today, and that is what we need to hear.

As professional business people we must establish relationships with others. It makes all of us more successful. It is good business, and it is Gratitude Marketing. Make it a habit to meet new people at every opportunity. Then meet with them individually to get to know them, discover what they need, and help them get it, whether we have it or not. If we don’t, introduce them to someone who may help them get what they need, or who may know someone else who knows someone else.

Gratitude Marketing is a great habit for all of us, a very good habit which will result in more customers, clients, and prospects. Listen to their stories because getting to know other people may bring us more prospects, customers, or clients. It also will bring us introductions to people who may lead us to the best client that we ever have. Please leave me your comments here, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call, or text, me at 360-314-8691.