by askjim.biz
Question:
What are the keys to building your business through networking?
Answer (from Andrea Nierenberg, Author of Nonstop Networking)
Here are five to consider:
- Meet people and nurture your current network.
- Listen and learn from everyone you meet. We learn more by listening then talking, which is why we have two ears and one mouth. Also, we can learn from those we do not like; we learn how not to be. When you listen, you also learn what people need and how to be a resource and give to them.
- Make connections for others. Find ways to connect other people together. I say 1+1=3. People will remember who made the original connection.
- Follow up. This is critical and the one thing most people forget to do. Under-promise and over-deliver. Do what you say and do it in a timely fashion. A wonderful quote I live by: “Give without remembering, and receive without forgetting.”
- Find creative ways to follow up. There is always an opportunity to stay on people’s radar screen with a note about something of interest to them. Remembering their birthday. Send a card. Drop an email just to say hello or let them know about something you saw or heard that could be meaningful to them. They’ll appreciate the effort, and remember you for it.