RS-Control Instrumentation Services

Networking is not simply the process of "pimping" your business name and making other people know about you, but it is also an exercise in getting to know people and knowing the right people who could let people know about your business, what you are selling and inevitably support you in the process. Networking will behoove you to look beyond your immediate circle of friends, family and business colleagues - this will encourage you to meet as many new people as possible, people who will be happy to listen to you as you discuss your brand, people who will gladly represent your good business name and tell others about it.

Most of the time we associate travel with business purposes, but it could also be a simple visit to your parents' or relatives' home state or some quality time for yourself. Instead of making sure you sit next to your family or business associates on the plane, do the opposite and make sure you sit next to somebody you do NOT know - talk to that person and get to know him/her, and do the same to the people next to you in the lobby before the flight. Make it a point to meet and greet at least one new person a day.

So what should you do in order to achieve this?

Muster the confidence to go up to somebody and ask them how they are doing. Go interview people. You cannot expect you know somebody if you do not ask them questions. If you do not ask questions, then you can expect the conversation to end faster than you start it. Nothing hits the spot, nothing breaks the ice better than asking questions, and on the other side of things, the other person will loosen up and tell you more about themselves, maybe about why and where they are traveling. You can then lead into something like, is this business trip or a personal trip?

As you go on with the conversation, the person is going to ask you questions, which is where you will be able to talk about your business and what you do. As you make it a point to get to know at least one new person a day- you are going to increase your network, which means you will increase the people that you know in life. If you really want to increase your business network, it would behoove you to improve your social skills if necessary or improve the way you converse with others. There is no excuse not to do this. There is no excuse not to meet at least one new individual per day, and if you don't, make it at least two the next day. If your parents told you ages ago never to talk to strangers, ignore that advice as a confident and driven adult - talking to "strangers" to increase your network will subsequently increase your sales in the long run!