Last week we welcomed Moxie Mingle networking group to Ourworx. For our customers, networking is a vital part of their day. At Ourworx there is always the opportunity to mix and talk to the other businesses and our superb facilities lend themselves to informal networking and mutual support. But we also like to offer the opportunity to network more formally, and to bring in businesses from the surrounding area.
Here’s a few reasons why we think any form of networking is great for businesses.
Find New Business Opportunities
Networking brings new opportunities – simply by meeting other people connections are formed and business opportunities appear. But the one thing to remember is that you never know when or how an opportunity will appear. It could be a referral into a new lead, or a direct request for your service or product, or even the offer of partnership. Whatever it is, you’ll only get the opportunity if you’re out there and mixing with other businesses, so why not seize the opportunities when they come along?
Make New Connections
Networking is a great way to build up good connections with other businesses. But you aren’t just gaining exposure to the people who are in the room with you, you’re building connections with their extended network too. If someone in the group has a connection who they know needs your business proposition, and if you’ve made the right impression, they will likely refer you on to them. It looks good for them, to be able to help their client, and you’ll almost certainly return the favour if the opportunity arises. If someone in your network matches a business you encounter at an event, don’t hesitate to share their details. It all helps to strengthen your relationships and makes your more valuable to your clients.
Share your knowledge and expertise
With so many experienced entrepreneurs in one room, a networking meeting is a great place for sharing ideas and knowledge. You can ask for feedback on ideas, gain answers to thorny issues or just discuss how best to get things done. Sharing with a group helps you to expand your knowledge and also allows you to see things from another perspective. The experience that exists within a good networking group usually means that someone else will have dealt with the issues you have before, so you can to learn and avoid some of the common pitfalls they have experienced along the way.
Build up your confidence
Plenty of people find standing up and talking about their business a pretty daunting task. Not least, making it interesting so a new person understands what you do and offer in the short time you have to keep their attention. But regular networking can really help. By pushing yourself to talk to people you don’t know, it will help not only to increase your confidence, but also to help hone your sixty second pitch, so that you can quickly tell someone new you meet, how you help your clients and what you can do for them. This is an important attribute as a business owner, because much of business growth dependents on talking to people and making good connections.
Raise your profile and get known, liked and trusted
Being visible and getting noticed is very important for small businesses. If you are known, liked and trusted as a business you are more likely to get leads and referrals. By building up your reputation as a knowledgeable, reliable and supportive, and by offering useful information or tips to people who need it, you can become the trusted advisor in your sector, meaning that you will be the one people think of when they need what you offer.
Find out more about our networking opportunities at Ourworx Office Solutions.
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