Networking: Making The Most Of Your Connections

Frequently the greatest opportunities and resources available to us sit quietly waiting to be tapped, continuously present, yet often unrecognizable. What is this greatest of all resources? It is simply our human connections; the people we see every day, the ones we see occasionally and those we meet by chance. Each represents one of the greatest resources known to man, but are often overlooked. We are told instead to search for ways to make our businesses grow, bypassing the most important method, which is always right in front of us.

How To Open New Doors of Opportunity

Of course networking in organized meetings, placing advertisements in the right publications and getting the best search engine positioning are all appropriate and extremely helpful to a business, but for some those methods can often be too expensive. What I discovered over the years is that constantly being on the lookout for ways and means to share my gifts has proven to be more fruitful and much less competitive than using the standard methods. In fact, seeking opportunities to give and not focusing so much on what I get seems to open doors everywhere. Instead of competing with others, I find creating my own niche has been more productive and makes far more sense.

Be on the Lookout for Unexpected Connections

I am not suggesting that we should sit back and do nothing, because taking action is natural and necessary to success and I recommend doing whatever you can to promote your business. What I am suggesting is paying more attention to those opportunities that are present consistently, yet are often ignored. I'd be willing to bet that if you thought back over some of your best business experiences, you would discover that most of the more monumental business moments came about almost effortlessly. What might have seemed like sheer coincidence was actually the universe working in your favor. I am of the opinion that we are always presented with opportunities, but in order to make the most of them, we have to stay open and aware of the people we communicate with regularly, as well as those we meet by chance. If not we could miss out on some of the greatest opportunities to expand on our products and services.

Chance Meetings

Sighting two small examples out of hundreds throughout my career history will bring my point across more effectively. One morning while sitting on the patio of my local coffee shop, there were two other woman seated very near to me. One happened to be in very close proximity to my seat, and was talking incessantly on her cell phone, which I found rather distracting. The other woman, who was sitting just across from me, was attempting to read what appeared to be important material, but I could tell she too was distracted by the urgency of our cell phone neighbor.

We both glanced at each other and smiled, recognizing without words that we were on the same wavelength, as we both wished she would leave. When the chatty woman finally removed herself, we struck up an interesting conversation recognizing that we had some important things in common. She mentioned that she was working on a very significant project at which time I made a few business suggestions that I thought would help. I had not at any time even mentioned what I did for a living, but she found my ideas useful and eventually asked what I did. When I told her that I was a business writer/consultant she asked if she could have my business card, which of course I gave her. I wasn’t trying to sell my services but instead just let it all unfold naturally. As a result, this woman has become one of my dearest clients and friends. Had I not been open to communicating with her or hadn't trusted my natural instincts for our affinity, I would never have experienced one of the most rewarding relationships of my life. That in my opinion is true networking without design.

Saying Thank You Proves Profitable

Another wonderful illustration of natural networking comes in the form of e-mail communication. It began when I came upon a site that had reprinted an article of mine that had been published some time ago. Apparently the woman had seen it online and chose to share it with her readers. It was very nicely displayed and had my contact information and bio appropriately in place. Since I am always happy to gain exposure through my articles, I simply wrote her a very nice letter of thanks explaining that I appreciated the grand presentation of my article. She responded almost immediately and our communication found us sharing many interesting facts. A short time later she wrote me again, asking if I could write a press release for her new site, demonstrating once again another opportunity to network naturally.

Staying Open to Opportunities

I could go on and on with experiences I've had which continuously help my business grow, but basically what I'm trying to say is that opportunities are always around us. Many people only give themselves permission to "network" when it's at a planned meeting or during the business day. My suggestion is to stay open for opportunities that invite conversation, whether in person, by telephone and especially in e-mail. You may find that some people are receptive to your openness while others may not be as willing to communicate, but I promise that overall you'll be pleasantly surprised at the receptivity demonstrated by others. Pleasant, supportive and appreciative communication is a great way for promoting your business and usually proves to be the best form of networking.