Networking – Excuses, Obstacles, Rewards

Networking – Excuses, Obstacles, Rewards

If you are in business, your mission includes reaching out to prospects that have a need you can fill. If you want to keep the doors to your business open, you can’t hide under a rock or in a cave and expect prospects to beat a path to your secret lair. You have to reach out in effective ways to let people know who you are and how you can solve their critical problems.

One of the easiest and most immediate ways to market your business is through personal networking. You can hire a business development person to do this for you. But if it’s your business (no matter if you have 0 employees or 110 employees) you still need to get out there and take a pulse on the market, make connections and create the opportunities.

Not everyone is a strong advocate of networking. It takes some effort, commitment and time. I talk to a lot of people who have a myriad of excuses why they can’t do networking. I agree there are plenty of excuses and obstacles to keep all of us away from live networking completely. See if you recognize even a few of these:

It takes time away from work

It takes time away from my family

It costs too much

It’s too far way – inconvenient, wrong direction, I don’t know how to get there

I get stuck in rush hour traffic to get there

There’s no parking/Parking costs too much to attend

I don’t like the food/There’s no food

I don’t drink/ I don’t golf/There’s no beer/wine

I don’t know anyone going

I’m not a member

I don’t know what to say

I went once, it didn’t work for me

I admit that on occasion a few of these slip in to my self-talk too.

On the flip side, there are terrific rewards for investing the time and effort in networking. See if any of these benefits sound appealing:

It’s fun and friendly– people are there to meet new people, to explore connections and set up follow-up meetings.

You meet many people fast – so often isn’t it timing that makes things come together?

You meet people who in some way are pre-qualified for your product or service by being members of the group or attending that particular meeting.

People who attend networking events have an agenda and they will tell you why they are there – the openness and directness is so productive.

Something leads to something – whether you are looking for clients, vendors, professional services, a new job, or contacts at a particular company; if you put it out there, you are bound to get a few hits (6 Degrees of Separation Theory). If you keep your product/service a secret, no one can know how great you/your company are.

Practice/refine your elevator speech – here’s an event where you’ll get to practice in front of a group at least once, and 1-on-1 at least another few times around the room. You get to do it in the time it would take to introduce yourself to one new prospect from a cold call.

Professional friendships – attending networking events regularly, you will build up rapport with people as they get to know, respect and trust you.

Get your nose out of your day-to- day business and get a pulse on the marketplace – clients won’t come to you unless they know you can take away their pain. Networking gives you a chance to assess the market and know where the trends are headed.

The most important time to network is when you don’t need clients or a job. It takes a good six months of networking actively and consistently to see an impact, which is where the consistency comes in.

Now here’s the newest form of networking that is taking off around the globe – online networking. If you have not plugged in to any of the online groups you are missing out. Many have a free option. Here are a few strong ones I belong to:

www.linkedin. com

www.ecademy .com

www.meetup. com

If you’d like to join my network on any of them, send me an email and I’ll send you the invitation link. The key to effectiveness online is to stay in touch – at least touch base every 6-8 weeks.

These online networking groups are more responsive in many ways than a lot of the forums and email lists. On many of them, if you respond or engage with people, you increase your self worth in the eyes of the group.

There is a difference. Online, you are casting a broad net, less selectively. In live networking, you can be very selective in choosing which group you attend and who you speak to in that group.

Here are two books on networking with an emphasis on online networking:

Endless Referrals – by Bob Burg

Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty – by Harvey McKay

Networking can become addictive, once you get over the excuses. Remember, it’s only one step in the process. You still need to bring people through your marketing funnel.

All About Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs

All About Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs

Malaysian women entrepreneurs today are still facing a considerable number of obstacles. You see, venturing in new markets can be a problem for Malaysian women entrepreneurs simply because of the fact that information can be hard to obtain.

We all know that you need information in order to start a proper business venture. You will need to know about:

a) The market – is there an available market for your product? This determines how well you can expect your product or service to be received. The market determines how much profit you will be able to make. Do you think that people will be wiling to pay the prices you set? Will your market last, or are you experiencing some kind of fad?

Without proper knowledge of the market, Malaysian women entrepreneurs can end up spending a lot of money on complete and utter failures.

b) The finances – you also need proper information as to the costs and the profits you can expect from your business. Entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs mainly because of the objective of profit. By having the correct financial information, you can successfully plan out your business and where you think that venture will take you.

Difficulty in obtaining financial information can cause Malaysian women entrepreneurs to make wrong decisions. You see, you need to be able to estimate your finances ion the best possible manner in order to set up a business correctly.

c) Comparative studies – you need to obtain accurate information about similar businesses in order to know what to expect when starting your business venture. You see, it is often hard for Malaysian women entrepreneurs to obtain accurate and up-to-date information. This can lead to some pretty serious lapses of judgment.

Hypes and fads occur all the time. You need accurate information in order to see if a business that was popular last week is still feasible today.

Another problem encountered by Malaysian women entrepreneurs is lack of networking. You see, connections are important when running your own business. By establishing connections with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs you get a lot of advantages, including:

1) Information sharing – information is easier to obtain if you have a number of people keeping their eyes and ears open. By forming a network with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs, you actually get the opportunity to gather more information, providing you also share what you know.
2) Advice – in starting your own business, you need all the help you can get. How can you get it if you don’t network with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs? Nobody can claim to know everything about business, but within a network, you can come pretty close.

3) Pooling of resources – by networking with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs, you have the opportunity to share resources. We all know that businesses suffer losses. However, being in a network can help you recover quickly from any type of defeat. Entrepreneurial networks today actually have help systems which try and support members when their business is facing a crisis.

Fortunately enough, there actually is a group that Malaysian women entrepreneurs can turn to when they need help. The National Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Malaysia (NAWEM) was formed with the objective of helping Malaysian women entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground and become globally competitive.

NAWEM actually provides Malaysian women entrepreneurs with different types of help. The organization conducts trainings and seminars designed to help Malaysian women entrepreneurs expand their skills and gain more knowledge regarding entrepreneurship.

NAWEM also provides Malaysian women entrepreneurs with various opportunities to help them penetrate their target market. You see, by joining an association like this, Malaysian women entrepreneurs finally get the edge they need. The group can act as a network, letting Malaysian women entrepreneurs share resources and information. The organization strives to fulfill the shortcomings of the individual.

NAWEM also helps Malaysian women entrepreneurs with their financial needs, giving them grants or loans in order to help them expand their ideas and business ventures. In doing so, they also strive to better the status of Malaysian women entrepreneurs. They also help these women by providing them with guidance and leadership. Entering the business world can be quite confusing, but an organization like NAWEM can help you find your way.