The Three Questions You Need For Successful Networking

by Glenn Fisher

Thursday and Friday sees London’s Excel once again hosting the Business Start-Up Show...

It’s one of the UK’s biggest events for existing small business owners and those looking to get their own business off the ground.

If you’re in London, it’s well worth popping in for a wander around. I’ll hopefully make it down at some point tomorrow.

There you’ll find a vast variety of exhibitions, seminars and live events and a ton of people offering advice on all areas of setting up your own small business.

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Above all else though, the event is a great opportunity to network. You could easily stumble upon new partners, joint venture opportunities or even potential new customers.

That’s why I thought it would be useful today to take a look at the 3 key questions you need for successful networking...

The 3 questions you need for successful networking

Generating new customers, discovering possible affiliates and partners, researching your market... networking is essential for all three.

And at an event like the Business Start-Up Show you could easily meet someone who could help you achieve greater financial success.

So it’s important to always be prepared.

The secret to successful networking is to not waste time. You never know when someone else could cut in, or when you suddenly have to rush off to another meeting or an emergency.

So you need to know what questions to ask to get the quickest, most-targeted response...

But before we look at those questions, we need to cover some basic networking rules...

The aim of networking is not to get as many people as possible interested in doing things for you.

The aim of networking is - and this might seem obvious, but so many people miss it - to build a network between the people you meet and other people you know.

Of course, if you’re looking for a copywriter and you meet a copywriter that’s great but you should be thinking along the lines of ‘Hey, I know someone who’s looking for a copywriter - I’ll put you in touch with each other.’

If you take this approach to networking you will build a much bigger, happier network for yourself.

So, you’re at a stall looking at a pamphlet and you get talking to the gentleman next to you... what’s your first question?

1. What is your name?

The first, most simple question. And really the most important.

Don’t just ask for a name and forget it. Remember it. The power contained within a name is immense. When you address someone by there name it engages them, gets them listening.

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And it’s no good meeting someone, discovering a common bond and then forgetting what their name was!

2. What do you do?

Next up is establishing what the person does.

When you know that you can start thinking about how they would fit into your network.

What do they do? If you’re not interested in what they do yourself, do you know someone who would be interested in what they do?

Explain that you could put them in touch with each other... build your network.

3. Who is your ideal customer?

Finally, find out who their ideal customer is. Who does their product or service cater for?

If they describe your ideal customer - perfect. You could look at working together on something, advertising to each other’s customers or doing some kind of affiliate deal.

If they describe someone who doesn’t fit in with your ideal customer - think about people you know who would fit the bill.

Explain that you could put them in touch with each other... build you network.

You see how quickly and effectively you can build your network by asking just 3 simple questions.

So, memorize them today and next time you meet someone new - get networking!