Small Business Networking: An Overview

Small business networking is very important to success. You, the computer consultant, are entrenched in the professional services business, which revolves around relationships and thus networking with a large number of people.

You need to make small business networking of the utmost importance when starting your business and take things slowly. You will not get a large number of clients, nor will you get clients that need you immediately when you go to your first big networking event, even though you could come away with five or six really good prospects.

The Key Word Is "Contacts"

Small business networking offers the opportunity to find good client contacts, but it also allows you to find people that know people who might need you or perhaps have similar business philosophies that would be good to know in the future and might bring you more business.

Once you make contacts of any sort, make sure you follow up and have meetings, proposals and sales calls. This type of small business networking is much better than trying to find emergency, one-shot clients. You can forge paths with people that are or can put you in touch with steady clients capable of long-term support. Even if every networking event doesn't produce a large number of clients, it can help you get referrals that will improve your ability to conduct productive small business networking.

The key in small business networking is to have a lot of different leads and many contacts at the same time. Some will be ready to jump into long-term client status and some will not at different stages and different times, but keeping in touch with all of them will help you stay in contact with a lot of potential and actual business.

Client contacts and referrals will help you find long-term steady clients that will help your business last for the long term. Even though going to small business networking events may seem a waste of time, you could gain exactly the types of contacts and even clients you need to really drive yourself forward.

By Joshua Feinberg

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