Networking Strategy Plan
Networking is what you call the act of creating multiple connections and work relationships that can benefit your business or your professional career in any way. It involves establishing a mutual alliance that can bring positive results to the members of both parties. You may also see quality plan examples & samples.
Networking is essentially done by exchanging basic information details such as your name or your business’s, a phone number, an email address, and a physical address.
If you have gone through what we call the preliminary aspect of networking, you will then move on to discussing your field. What is going on in your line of career? Do you have any plans of expanding your business operations or perhaps release a new trademark product? You can also exchange suggestions and survival tips with the people you meet through networking. You may also like company plan examples & samples.
Maybe they know where you can find an A-list job in your area of expertise. Or maybe you can give them ideas on how to better their business’s services.
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Networking is a chance for you to meet people who share the same business-related interests as you. Aside from exchanging information, this is actually an effective method of marketing. Whether you are trying to sell yourself to future employers or you are trying to sell your business to prospective investors. You may also see sales plan examples.
Networking gives you an excuse to stay in the business field and roam around each corner to look for a pair of suit and tie that can give you something you can use to climb a step higher in your field.
Contrary to what most people think, networking doesn’t only happen during business meetings, conferences, and corporate parties. In fact, as long as you are out where people are, you have already given yourself a chance to network. Ordinary places can surprise you with how many corporate workers they hold. The gym, for example, is an endless source of networking opportunities. You may also like advertising plan examples & samples.
The grocery, a coffee shop, the people you meet during your town’s club meetings, your child’s school, these are all a suitable environment for networking. You can even use social media sites to network. Who said the Internet was a waste of time? There are discussion groups in blogs, newsgroups, and forums that you can use as a networking medium. You may also check out event plan examples & samples.
As long as you know exactly where to look and where to display yourself, the people will effortlessly come to you.
The friends of your present colleagues are also a networking opportunity.
Ask your present contacts to introduce you to people they know (and who are also related to your business field) and keep a long list of all the contacts you will be given the chance to meet. This way, your list will keep growing and growing, and the number of people you have networked will be bigger and bigger. Networking is all about using the instruments around you no matter what form they take. You may also check out action plan examples.
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What Are the Effective Networking Strategy Plans?
Although networking sounds easy because you basically only have to talk to a stranger and maybe hope to give him one of your business cards, it’s actually a lot trickier. When done poorly, networking can give you or a business you represent a bad image. You don’t want a person you tried to network to badmouth you. It is important to understand that word of mouth is not only your greatest weapon. In networking, it is also the sharpest sword an enemy can use against you.
Even if you have a business plan prepared for the next five years, it will not suffice. You need to conduct constant networking not only to make new connections but to deepen the ones you already have. And to avoid an unsuccessful, not to mention embarrassing, networking opportunity, here are the strategies you need to live by:
1. First of all, you need to ask yourself the purpose of your networking.
As with everything else, no plan could really be successfully carried out without a clear and definite goal. The same rule goes with networking. Before you decide to take part in it, explain to yourself first why you have to. If you don’t understand what you’re trying to achieve, you can never really design the most accurate strategies that can you help you in achieving them. You may also see daily plan examples & samples.
There are a lot of reasons behind why someone involves himself in networking. Here are a few:
- to find new businesses and contacts;
- to build new relationships and to maintain the existing ones;
- to find a sponsor or a mentor;
- widen your career prospects;
- to create a positive, lasting image of yourself in the market;
- to gather a team of experts; and
- to increase your knowledge of your market and to gather new ideas on how to better your performance.
2. Once you have decided on what you’re networking for, you can proceed to determining the number of people you will network.
Networking takes time. You can’t simply approach a person and divulge every detail about you or your business. Of course, you have to establish rapport first and that can be time-consuming. Because of this, you should only limit yourself to a number. This can also push you to make every connection memorable because you only have one chance and a few minutes to state your point. You may also like annual plan examples and samples.
If you have multiple reasons for networking, you can create a different estimated number for each one. For example, you are networking to find new businesses and contacts. If this is a major priority, then you can spend more time doing this than, say, finding a mentor. Be smart with your time when you network so you can be assured that you have covered enough ground and still have time for other things. You may also check out project plan examples.
Creating a list of people who are already in your contacts is also effective. You can browse through everyone you know and list down all of those who can be helpful to you in your present pursuit. This way, you have already created a prospect with which you can start. You might be interested in management plan examples.
3. When you’ve successfully established the first two steps, the next thing to do is to identify the people you should network with.
Unfortunately, the entire world is not going to be able to help you achieve your networking goals. Which means that your options are limited. However, if you make the most out of each one, these limited resources can actually be enough already. You may also see audit plan examples & samples.
What you have to do first is to lay down one purpose for your networking. Then, work out who can help you achieve that. Is it a person you already know? If so, you’re already one step closer. However, if this person is someone you have not made any contact with, find a common bridge. Do you know someone who might know this person? Work your way toward meeting someone by going through people both of you might know. You may also like work plan examples & samples.
You can also target companies and organizations as a medium to help you accomplish your task.
4. All of these three steps are nothing if you forget this last one: review and act.
Let not your networking strategy plan remain what it is—a plan. After you have settled all the details you need, review it all. Your networking strategy should be faultless. To accomplish that, you have to keep reviewing and editing it until you are sure that it takes the form that will work best for you.
Are you sure that your purpose for networking will really benefit you or your business? Will they help you achieve your goals quickly? Are you maintaining balance between creating new contacts and keeping and taking care of the existing ones? Is your networking purely internal or purely external? Won’t a combination of both work better? Have you created a deadline for yourself? If not, do you think you can do well without one? You may also check out implementation plan examples & samples.
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Understanding what you want to achieve and the things you need to do to achieve them is a crucial aspect of successful networking.Your networking strategy plan will tell you how you are going to achieve your networking goals, so you need to make sure that you have chosen the right elements that will help you do exactly that. You may also see financial plan examples & samples.
However, a long list of prospective contacts can only do so much to help you. The rest of the job needs to be executed by yourself. Here are a few tips to help you do better in every meeting or networking opportunity:
1. Practice.
“Practice makes perfect.” This line is a pioneer in the cliche department. But it’s only cliche because, after numerous times of being used, it’s still true. You cannot be good at something if you don’t practice in that field. The same rule goes for networking. You may also like job plan examples & samples.
Meet a lot of people, attend as many conferences as you can, go to a lot of networking events. You’d be surprised at the number of interesting people you can meet if you try. And you’d be surprised at your own improvement if you keep performing your craft. You may also check out business plan examples.
2. Be tenacious.
You are going to get a lot of rejections and even more defeatist responses from the people you’re going to meet. Make sure you develop a thick skin against all that. If you let a negative criticism stop you from what you are trying to accomplish, you will never get anywhere. You might be interested in weekly plan examples.
3. Be nice.
It’s true what they say about our world. It’s getting smaller and smaller every day. The people you’ve met may just be the people you would need in the future. It is important, especially in networking, that you try to create as many bridges as you can. Don’t burn them down. Be genuinely nice to people. You are in an industry that treats human connection with utmost importance. Bear that in mind every time you meet someone. You may also see transition plan examples & samples.
4. Keep communication going.
Although networking is all about meeting new people, maintaining a good working relationship with your present contacts is just as important. Don’t just call the people in your database whenever you need them. Networking is all about creating a mutualistic relationship with people. So preserve your communication and show them you’re not just in this relationship, this partnership, for the benefits you can take from them. You may also like risk plan examples & samples.
5. Exude warmth.
As cheesy as that may have sounded, it’s important. The image that you present to people will establish how they will react to you. Do people see you as friendly or are you intimidating? Do you make people want to talk to you or do you repel them? Make sure that you present a positive aura that can naturally attract people. You may also check out evaluation plan examples & samples.
6. Access the right resources.
You don’t have to be extravagant in your attempt to network with people. The good thing about this craft is that you only need people and people are everywhere! There’s no need for expensive parties and extensive effort. Even the simplest, most ordinary setting can work for you if you play your cards well. So make sure that you do. You might be interested in research plan examples & samples.
In whatever type of business you are engaged in, it is important to understand the value of people as your major resource. Your business can only go as far as your employees and your connections take you. This is why networking is important. To survive in the corporate world, you will need as many people in your team as you can. Every introduction, every handshake, can make big difference in your business. Make use of it.
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