Professional networking has become an increasingly common and necessary practice in the business world, with the aim of adding new contacts between companies, which in the future can help us generate new business opportunities.
In fact, today in any event, congress or business fair, a space is enabled to facilitate professional networking between the different companies and professionals attending, and thus create a collaboration with common interests.
What is professional networking?
When talking about professional networking we are referring to a technique based on the acquisition of contacts by a company,which are usually other companies or professionals with common interests, in order to create collaborations that help take advantage of new opportunities in the short, medium and long term.
We could say that networking focuses on expanding the contact agenda of a company,something fundamental today for the growth of any business, since it allows to create agreements and collaborations with professionals from different sectors.
Advantages of doing business networking
Networking offers the possibility of meeting new professionals who may be useful for your company in the future,helping you to achieve certain objectives.
Among the main benefits offered by professional networking to a company, we must highlight the recruitment of new workers to incorporate into its work team,as well as the possibility of looking for new investors and / or financing formulas.
It could be considered that SMEs and Startups are the great beneficiaries of professional networking,since these practices help them to find allies in their growth as a business.
Main advantages of making netowking for your company:
- Increase your visibility:networking will help you to publicize your company among different specialists and professionals in the sector.
- Exchange knowledge:you can share knowledge with other professionals and improve the training of your professionals.
- Increase your contact list :by meeting other professionals, you can add them to your contact list and go to them when necessary.
- Create collaborations:with networking you can establish possible synergies or collaborations with other companies or professionals.
- Get new investors or partners: if you need to get financing, networking events will help you find new investors and/or partners to support your project.
- Exchange of services with other professionals.
- Improve your business: by publicizing your products or services, you will receive opinions from qualified and experienced people who will help you improve them to meet your goals.
- Greater knowledge of the market: by maintaining contact with professionals, you will be able to know the market better and have an overview of the state in which it is.
- Expand your workforce: you will meet new professionals who perhaps you could add to your staff, making it more competitive.
Keys to professional networking
Be clear about the objectives
Having clear objectives is something key to get the most out of professional networking, since it will help you know who you want to contact and what you want to transmit to them. Likewise, you will know which events are the ones you are most interested in attending.
Before networking it is important to have a defined strategy of what you want to do and the objectives you intend to achieve,since it is not the same to want to increase your visibility as a brand, than to look for professionals to help you in a certain area.
Be useful to others
Although networking aims to obtain new opportunities for your company, you will also have to be useful for others,since we must not forget that it is a ‘two-way street’ in which we should all win.
You must be able to convey that your company is interesting for other professionals in the sector,since this way it will be easier for you to cross interests.
Take advantage of social media
Social networks have favored the practice of networking,so you must give it the importance they deserve. If you have a good network of contacts in the main social networks, it will be easier to generate impact and capture the attention of other professionals.
Without a doubt, maintaining a good activity on social networks is shown as one of the best ways to network.
Attend events
You must mentalize that today in any business event you can do professional networking,so it is important that you stay active and go to business events in which to have the opportunity to network.
Networking is not a one-off action, but a race to the bottom in which you must set yourself a series of long-term goals, gaining new contacts that help you achieve them.
conclusion
Professional networking is fundamental for a company to add new contacts to its agenda, and be able to take advantage of them to create new business opportunities in the future.
It is an increasingly common practice in the business world, which takes place in all kinds of events and congresses, and which favor collaboration between different professionals, with a mutual objective.
