Ok, really. How tough can networking be? It involves TALKING to
people and I talk to people every single day. Why do I
constantly need to learn how to network? Why do I need to
constantly develop networking skills? Why is it recommended that
I participate in GROUPS that only have a focus on networking? It
just can't be that tough.

But that IS a misconception. Without constant exposure to new
relationship-building ideas, without exposure to different
people, and different communication styles, without training in
the field of networking, a business professional would suffer
from some serious business development challenges. These
challenges included but are not limited to:

1. A lack of ability to get past "gate keepers". A very common
way to get past gate-keepers is through a referral from someone
the gate keeper knows and respects. Without strong networking
skills, a business professional will be unable to generate such
referrals.

2. Once past them, a challenge with getting an appointment with
a decision-maker. Here, without strong listening skills and
precise presentation techniques, the busy decision-maker finds
it easy to end a conversation before it's started.

3. Once an appointment is made, difficulty communicating
features and benefits to your prospect. People relate to
different styles of communication in different ways. Usually,
someone likes to be related to in the same manner that they
relate to others. To use a different style can not only cause a
delay in the presentation process, but can actually lead to the
termination of an otherwise mutually-beneficial business
relationship just because the STYLE was offensive to the
recipient.

4. Even if all the above can be handled successfully, a
difficulty in closing the sale. In an ideal networking
relationship, both parties are concerned with learning about
each other so they can best help each other. This skill makes
closing a sale easier, since you have learned how to best help
your prospect and your prospect has learned how you can best
help them. The close is much easier then.

There appears to be no formal courses someone can take on
Networking. (Although I personally would LOVE to change
THAT!)The closest thing to a networking course is participation
in networking groups. Here, a group of like-minded individuals
meet with common goals in mind-the over-all goal being increased
business revenue for all participants.

Any readers interested in furthering THEIR Networking education
may want to read a series of articles on the topic (including
articles on Networking groups)that I have available by
autoresponder. For a list of the titles of these articles, send
a blank e-mail to: 

mail to: files@profnet.org 

An autoresponder will return a list of the available files WITH
descriptions so you can continue YOUR networking education by
choosing the articles that are of interest to you.

Copyright c 1998 Nancy Roebke
 

Nancy Roebke
Execdirector@Profnet.Org   http://www.profnet.org
--
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