The Power of Networking

Apart from relying squarely on God, in the few years that I have been in business I have known no other strategy work greater for business development than ‘networking’.

You see, people buy people before they buy those people’s products.  We want to be around and develop relationships with those we feel (and the word here is “feel”), those we “feel” have similar interests and goals to us.

Since then, in decision-making, people “feel,” before they “think”, then continuously building relationships with people so that they feel trust, affinity, common identity and sense of purpose with you, plays a large role in influencing how they will eventually “think” about you and your business....

It is said that “One of the secrets of professional success is having your resources in place before you need them.”

Networking does just that! Networking enables you to build relationships and ‘set the scene’, as it were, for people to know, first and foremost, who you are and what you stand for then what, how, where, for whom and how often you do what you do in business.

You see the beauty of networking as a strategy for business growth is that your network continues to work for you even when you are sleeping.

In conclusion, business strategies, systems and structures are necessary for a clear direction and proper functioning of operations but no high tech solutions can replace good ole networking. People remain people, even when hiding behind e-mails, smart phones and video conferencing. Relationships are key to establish trust, faith, affinity, reliability and more importantly, camaraderie.

There is an appreciable return on investment on time spent networking. Time really is money. We must put a premium on where, with whom and how we spend our money.


So if you ask me, in parting, I would say that what has worked in networking is:

1.     Be passionate about who you are and what you do and share this with others

2.     Be clear about where you’re going and how the person you’re speaking to can benefit from it (after having researched their interests so as to align yours with theirs)

3.     Communicate clearly, succinctly and enthusiastically – every time!

4.     Speak well about your organisation, colleagues and even the competition

5.     In conversation, show that you know the topic so well that someone will later look for you for solutions (but don’t be a smart arse J)

6.     Try not to pass up an opportunity to network (but be selective of where you go – where you can get most mileage, of course)

7.     Always have business cards in hand (but don’t just hand them out to people before speaking to them or give them to those who don’t seem interested – build rapport first)

8.     Look, smell and smile the part

9.     Follow up informal introductions by e-mail as soon as possible after the encounter

10.  Connect people with others you have met to show you value them and are interested in widening their network (they are more likely than not to return the favour)

11.  Do this repeatedly and one day you won’t have to do it as often as you will repeatedly be invited to participate in think tanks, conferences, business expos etc that you would have hitherto given your right arm to have access to and sometimes, your value is attached to the fact that you even made it to some of these events (you know how people can be “if he or she is here then he or she must be somebody worth networking with and voila! More contacts!

It is no lie ladies and gentlemen, your network does determine your net worth!