Use Business Networking as Major Strategy to Find New Customers

Building relationships with various types of people is important for networking both personally and professionally. You should take networking seriously because it can be a real asset for you and your organization.

For many organizations, networking is a key component for generating new customers. This especially holds true if you work in business development or sales. Regardless of your role, you should always be selling your organization because you may be able to find new customers or build new partnerships, which could lead to new sales.

Attend Business Functions

In order to generate awareness for an organization and its products or services, its evident that a firm needs to market to the public and its target market. Part of this process should be done by each employee as he or she interacts outside of the office.

Its important for you to attend various business functions inside and outside your industry. Do some research and find out what professional associations exist as well as what events take place each month in your city.

If you work in sales, its a necessity for you attend these functions. Many of your leads will come from meeting the right people at these events.

The right people are the ones who you connect with and form a relationship. Because of these relationships, you may be able to convert these individuals into new clients or get referrals that could lead to new customers.

Another great way to build relationships is to volunteer with some of the professional associations that put on events. By helping out, you will get the chance to meet other like-minded professionals as well as help out at the events, which will provide you with some great exposure in the business community.

When you meet people for the first time, dont try to sell your product or service right away. Get to know these people before you try to sell to them. Once they get to know you, they will feel comfortable doing business with you.

If you dont work in sales, you will be indirectly selling your organization when you meet people at these functions. The fact that you will be explaining to people what you do as well as what your company sells is important for getting the word out about your organization.

You will meet individuals who you form relationships with and then refer to the appropriate people within your organization. Treat every situation and relationship seriously because you never know when you can help your organization or the people you integrate into your network.

Leverage Various Networks, Resources

In addition to attending business functions, make sure you utilize existing networks to find potential customers. You first need to work your own network and find the most appropriate people to talk to about your company.

For this reason alone, this demonstrates how important it is to build relationships with people over time. You never know when you will need to tap into your network and you should continuously expand your Rolodex of quality contacts.

Thats why you need to attend various business functions and expand your network. Without an expanded network, youll have a harder time selling your products and services.

As obvious as this sounds, its much easier to sell to warm leads than to convert cold leads into sales. Of course, cold leads can still be turned into customers. However, the point to remember is that you need to get yourself out there and build relationships with other professionals.

Talk with friends, family and existing business colleagues about your company and ask them to refer people to you who they think would benefit from talking with you. You want to make them feel comfortable referring people to you. Make sure you make clear the types of people who you would like to talk to about your products and services.

Part of leveraging your own network is leveraging the network of others. If people respect and trust you, they will open up their networks. This is a very powerful way to find new customers.

For example, the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) aims to help select early stage businesses and expand their client roster by making targeted introductions to certain companies. In doing so, the CEC is opening up its network to businesses and individuals that it has built a trusting relationship with and feels could benefit from a connection.

Final Thought

In order to generate new business for your organization, you need to take networking very seriously. Without building relationships, you will have a much harder time finding prospective customers.

Jason Jacobsohn is a seasoned networker who believes in relationship building as a key component to business success. He enjoys helping others succeed by making introductions, planning events, and sharing resources. In addition, Jacobsohn enthusiastically shares resources with his network through his e-mail newsletter, Network Your Way to Success, and http://www.jacobsohn.com, a comprehensive business and networking resources Web site. Further, he shares an additional perspective through his blog at http://www.networkinginsight.com

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