Networking has become an essential part of business development for SMES.
It can provide you with a support team who you can trust, seek advice and help from in connection with your business, plus it can supply you with a sales team of strong business contacts who are all actively helping you with business generation.
It is one of the most cost effective ways of marketing your business as long as you are clear about your business proposition and who your target market is.
A brief overview of what networking means to us at Ladies at 11 is:
It is an opportunity to:
- Build trusted relationships with like-minded women
- Help one another to grow businesses through providing support and advice where needed
- Contemplate how you can help members within your network
- Constantly think about what you can give to the group as this will be reciprocated
- An opportunity to collaborate with others within your network
What is is not:
- An opportunity to sell, sell, sell!
- The chance to collect data and spam those you have met
- It is not all about YOU but about helping others first
To be successful you need:
- Commitment
- Honesty
- Trust
- Be willing to go out of your way to help those in your network
- Time to get to know others within your network and understand their businesses
- Patience
- An open mind- never discount anyone as you never know who they might know
Paid vs Unpaid Networking
This is a question we are frequently asked, why should I pay for a membership as there are so many free opportunities? The answer is simple if you have paid to be member of a network you are showing that you are committed and serious about your business. The financial transaction indicates to others that you comprehend what it takes to grow a business and you want to become part of a team of women who share this understanding.
Our experience has demonstrated that you are more likely to have a serious approach to your business and make sure you get return on your investment by committing to the group and help others to do the same.
You are also paying for someone else to create and event which fits your requirements and is going to be full of other like-minded women who are either your target market or who can help your grow your business-it’s not just a lucky dip in terms of who’s at the meeting.
Come and visit us and see how we can help you grow. Visit a meeting by choosing a location in our expanding network on the right hand side of our website. It could change your life!
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