Free Website Content - Relationship Networking
What is Relationship Networking?
Relationship networking is simply the art of meeting people
and benefiting from those relationships. Often the benefit
of these relationship is to obtain information and leads
to further grow your business. Any successful relationship,
whether a personal or a business relationship, is unique
to every pair of individuals, and it evolves over time.
Effective relationship networking is all about building
those relationships and maintaining long lasting connections
with other professionals.
The Internet is an excellent vehicle for networking. Relationships
can develop in newsgroups, forums, and via email. Though
nothing really beats good old-fashioned face-to-face networking
to start the process of building a relationship and trust,
which is why industry conferences can be so important.
Not all contacts will be useful or worth pursuing. There
will be leads that don't provide much information. Use your
judgment on whether the information and relationship is
worth spending more time on.
Relationship networking opens new doors, often it's "who
you know, not necessarily what you know".
Tip to Build Network Relationships:
1. Provide genuine assistance to others.
2. Be open-minded.
3. Remember personal details.
4. Respect cultural differences.
5. Research people and companies. Know their goals and interests.
6. Reciprocate.
7. Introductions.
Where to Network:
So many people wear multiple hats; everyone and anyone could
possibly be a networking opportunity. However, just like
targeted search engine traffic, the more targeted the networking
the higher the chance of success. 'Targeted' networking
offers the most potential.
1. Trade associations or industry specific organization.
2. Trade shows.
3. Friends.
4. Schools.
5. Focused newsgroups and topic specific forums.
6. Customers.
7. Suppliers.
8. User groups.
Constantly refine and grow your network of relationships,
as they are valuable and need cultivating. If you are perceived
as someone who is only trying to get something your network
will likely not increase. Networking is about building relationships
and mutual interaction benefiting both parties. Share information
and help others grow their businesses.
In many ways relationship networking and partnering overlap,
and on some occasion's relationship networking will lead
to synergistic partnering.
Partnering
Partnering is an attractive flexible way for companies to
develop new markets and additional revenue. Working together,
partners can combine strengths in critical areas. Often
a larger well-known vendor provides small vendors with credibility,
while the smaller vendor contributes specific industry knowledge
unknown to the larger vendor. Synergistic relationships
come in all shapes and sizes, but the best relationships
and partnerships are the ones that benefit everyone. Partnering
is a good way of tapping into related customer bases. Often
the partners complement each other in such a way that they
can provide a combined solution that neither partner could
deliver alone.
Expectations
In order for a relationship to work you must have a clear
understanding of both your companies and product(s) strengths
and weaknesses. By being aware of any deficiencies, you
will find partners with strengths in the areas of your weaknesses.
1. Know what you have to offer.
2. Know what you are looking for.
3. Don't waste yours and your potential partner's time.
Different relationships/partnering that works:
1. Product bundling.
2. Newsletter exchanges.
3. Integrations.
4. Link exchanges.
5. Technology or knowledge exchange.
6. Revenue share.
7. Ad exchange.
Win/Win
Only when each partner is successful can the partnership
itself claim success. Partnerships are genuinely a win-win.
Developers, who master the art of strategic partnering and
relationship networking, will obtain long-term profitability
and success.
Final Tips
1.) Qualify sources.
2.) Adage - you are who you hang with.
3.) Not every relationship is a good one.
4.) Evaluate potential partners.
5.) Make it personal by taking the time to say thank you.
6.) Results are not always immediate.
7.) Carry business cards everywhere you go.
Being proactive and following up, you can have a network
of contacts that you will be able to access quickly when
you need them. Whether by more traditional means, such as
in person or over the Internet, personal networks are essential
for furthering your business. Relationship networking is
give and take, be sure to help others in your quest for
help.
About the Author -
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net
a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless
messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can
be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com
, and http://www.small-business-software.net
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appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
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