Gary Kurtis – Five of the Best Networking Tips for Small Businesses

Introduction

Networking is something that many business owners overlook or don’t think about. They may not be aware of the business networking opportunities in their area, or they might not know how to get started with business networking. In this blog post, Gary Kurtis of Salestips101.com will discuss five of the best networking tips for small businesses!

Get involved and be prepared

Investigate your many local business groups and the Chamber of Commerce but be selective based on your specific needs. Then create a pre-plan to include researching the group and contacting the organizer and developing a potential list of those you’d like to meet with objectives. Strive for commonalities and be a connector by providing introductions to others. It’s always beneficial to connect them to your clients. 

It’s always about them not you

Your goal is to learn about those you meet by asking them to discuss what they do. Then if applicable you can discuss how you can potentially help them. This is never the time to “sell”, you are here to develop mutually beneficial relationships. 

Have a good elevator speech

Keep it simple; needs you address, how you address them (your differentiators) and expected results.  

Take good notes and have a follow-up plan

After the event, review and record all your notes. Then selectively thank those you’d like to meet again but keep it very low key and never attempt to sell your solutions in this communication.

Keep learning

As a small business owner, it’s important to be learning and learning. This includes keeping up with the latest trends in your industry, as well as networking tips and tricks. Attending business events and seminars is a great way to learn about business networking and keep up-to-date on your knowledge of the industry.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we discussed five of the best networking tips for small businesses! Networking is something that many business owners overlook or don’t think about. They may not be aware of the business networking opportunities in their area, or they might not know how to get started with business networking. Get involved by joining business groups and online forums. Start small; don’t do too much at once. Join Facebook business groups if you are new to business networking so you can share your goals and ideas with others. Get out there and start attending business events and seminars. Keep learning by attending business events and reading articles about business networking tips. These are five great ways to get started with business networking!