How networking can help your business grow

Whether you’ve already set up your own business or you’re looking to do so in the near future, understanding the importance of networking is crucial. Knowing the right people can not only help in the day to day running of your own business but can also help you on a personal level.

We’ve taken a look at some of the reasons why networking is likely to be important to your success.

Increase in leads

One of the biggest advantages of networking is the increased level of leads you’re likely to generate off the back of it. Getting to know people and making them aware about what you do along with your ideal target customer will open the door to your name being mentioned to people they know. The more people you develop better relations with and coherently get across the typical target customer you’re looking for, the more chance there is that you will be the one that’s recommended.

To add to this networking also grants a higher quality of leads, with many likely to be pre-qualified and thus giving you more chance of converting.

Impartial advice & ideas

Owning your own business is a huge responsibility and for many it’s their entire livelihood. Therefore having impartial advice available to you is important in allowing you to identify areas of your business which could be improved. Now you might be thinking you have plenty of friends and family around for advice, however the problem here is that in many cases they’ll simply tell you what you want to hear, and not necessarily the truth. Networking allows you to meet people who have no real reason to play the “yes man” and are likely to be far more honest if they see an area where your business could improve.

To add to this the people that you network with are likely to be either experienced in your industry or from a range of different industries – and you can benefit from both of these. Knowing someone from the same industry can help to give an alternate yet experienced perspective on your business while those from other industries could well lend you some advice on how to improve certain functions of your business (such as marketing or accounts)  or simply offer nuggets of insight that could come in use.

Rewarding

The feel good factor gained from helping other business owners generate leads is another benefit of networking. Networking should most certainly be seen as a 2-way process. Don’t go into it thinking purely about generating leads without helping others in return. Knowing that you’re actively helping others is something that can occasionally get lost in business when people are so consumed in their own gains, however networking can help to reinstill that self-satisfaction from supporting other business owners.

Raise your profile

Regularly networking will ensure that you and your business are known by an ever growing number of people. This will merely snowball over time; with the people you network with then sharing your business amongst their peers leading you to become far more well-known than you’ll realise. Having your business regularly mentioned will also provide an air of reputability and encourage those being referred to actually come to you.

Build confidence

Another area where networking can help, and is often overlooked, is in building confidence. If you don’t consider yourself a people’s person or you just aren’t generally too keen on meeting strangers, networking can certainly help to ease these concerns. It will force you out of your comfort zone and over time allow you to confidently communicate what it is you do to virtually anyone and everyone. What can initially feel like a daunting experience can soon become something you relish.

Networking can often play a fundamental role in setting you up for success and at Opportunity Marketing this is something we realise and understand. That’s why we encourage all of our franchisees to network and offer advice on how to get the best out of networking events along the way.

Remember if you (or anyone you know) is a marketing professional with 5 years of experience and would like to work for yourself then get in touch to day to find out if the Opportunity Marketing Franchise is the right move for you.