5 Proven Ways To Gain The Trust of Your Clients

5 Proven Ways To Gain The Trust of Your Clients

Subscribe to Articles

When your business lands a new client, you will then begin to establish trust that will hopefully lead to a successful business collaboration. The only way to establish the trust of your clients is through consistent relationship building. This will create strategic partnerships over time that are strong. 


How do you go about planning and implementing your relationship strategy? Below are five proven ways to gain the trust of your clients.

Proven Ways To Gain The Trust of Your Clients

Be Reliable

Let your clients know that you are a reliable business partner. Whatever the task or project may be, give it 150-percent effort. Be very thorough and accurate in everything you do, and always complete your workd by the deadlines.

Be Proactive

Be proactive, not reactive. This means don’t wait for the clients to come to you. Communicate with them once in a while just to touch base. It could be something as simple as forwarding them an article that you may find useful to them. If you do this, your customers will be more open to your advice and appreciate your interest in them.

Be Available

If you are there for your clients, you let them know you value them. You can set up many ways for them to contact you. This includes a client portal, email, text message, phone call, and more. When your customers reach out to you with any question or concern, respond to them promptly. When you show availability to your clients, the trust builds.

Be Authentic

Creating genuine relationships is the only way to establish trust with your clients. Avoid fakeness at every turn, as most people can spot phonies. Take some time and get to know your clients to let you know you care about them, not just their business. 

It is always important to maintain that human contact with your clients. Discover who they are and what their goals are both professionally and personally. See if you have any common ground with similar tastes in music or hobbies. This helps you to build a foundation with the connection, which will bloom into a long-term successful business partnership. 


PS Inc. has business consulting services that cater to your customer relationship management and business networking needs. Contact us today to get you started on reaching all your business goals.

5 Tips To Create Win-Win Relationships

5 Tips To Create Win-Win Relationships

Subscribe to Articles

For your business to succeed, you have to create strategic relationships with people in your industry. When you network, you need to develop and cultivate mutually beneficial relationships, also known as win-win. If you are unsure how to grow these, we have provided some advice for creating win-win business relationships.

5 Tips for Successful Relationship-Building

Keep People Separate From The Problem

When there is a business issue with a colleague, do not see the other person as your opponent. Try to ignore any personality differences and keep your focus on the issue at hand. You should also try to recognize the perception of the other person for it to be easier to find common ground. 


Make sure that all communication with the other party is perfectly clear and there aren’t any misunderstandings. The best tactic is to use
active listening techniques, which include listening carefully, looking directly at the person, and allowing each person to finish before responding.

Keep Your Focus on Interests, Not Positions

There are reasons why people have a difference of opinion. A particular issue may be seen differently by someone with a different cultural background. When you let people know that their interests are considered, they are more likely to be more receptive to a different point of view. 


This is why you need to see others for their interests and not the position. The person who you are negotiating with may be under pressure in his or her position to reduce costs. Find that common interest between the two of you such as increasing your team’s productivity.

Create Options for Mutual Gain

If there is an understanding of each other’s interests, you may be able to come to an agreement. If that is not possible, consider a new position and negotiate from there to explore your options. 


It might come time for you to brainstorm and come up with new solutions to your problem. Hear all suggestions offered, then develop the best ones into proposals to bring to the next meeting.

Have Criteria That Is Objective

You cannot just state a random bunch of facts. These facts can be interpreted differently by different people depending on many factors such as their background. But you can not choose facts that support only your position. Your information must be objective. 

 

You need to set a sample of objective criteria to provide a framework for your discussion. This could include many factors such as legal standards, contractual terms, mission statements, and more. When you can agree on standards, it demonstrates a commitment to reaching an agreement.

Have a Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement Ready

A Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) is your favored fallback position if you cannot get everything you want in the initial negotiation. It can help you discover a new course of action. This is much better than if you had the typical “bottom line” or deal-breaker where all negotiations would ultimately stop. This way, you are not in a fixed position and you can come up with these alternate solutions that you had prepared. 


PS Inc. offers a wide variety of business consultant and customer relationship management services to help facilitate successful business collaboration. Contact us today to help you create strategic partnerships through business networking.

3 Tips To Be A Valuable Networking Partner

3 Tips To Be A Valuable Networking Partner

Subscribe to Articles

The best way to grow your business is by networking. When you successfully network, you pave the way to mutually beneficial business collaborations.

3 Tips for Valuable Relationship Building

Ask Questions and Be Inquisitive

When networking, it is best to keep conversations flowing. Drop the small talk about irrelevant things like the weather, and start a conversation about your mutual interest. When speaking to the other person, you should ask open-ended questions. This keeps the conversation flowing. 


Take some time to get to know this new lead. While speaking with them and gathering information, think about how you and this potential connection can add value to each other’s business. Make the conversation about how you can help each other out. This is much more effective than a quick introduction, handshake, and handing off a business card that they might eventually discard. You want to make sure you stick in this new connection’s mind.

Take A Lot Of Notes While Networking

How do you organize all this new information about your new connections and their business? One of the best ways to keep track of all the information you receive at networking events is by taking notes. These notes will help your future self remember pertinent details about the people you meet and their businesses. 


These days, the best way to take networking notes is with a notes application on your phone. You can quickly type in important details about this new connection while the information is still fresh in your mind. Jot down a few bullet points or something interesting you learned during the conversation. For example:

Georgia Thomas:

  • Met at Business Travel Show, London

  • Works in Marketing at Sabre

  • Raised in New York

By doing this, you can jog your memory when you reach out to reconnect with this person. You also set yourself up for a successful follow-up that is valuable and deepens your connection.

Follow Up To Confirm The Connection

After the connection is made, it is now time to implement a successful follow-up. This valuable connection will help strengthen your relationship, and it reminds the new contact who you are now in their network. 


For example, if you reach out to this new person via a LinkedIn connection request, be sure to add a quick personalized note to that request. Add a detail that you had learned about this connection in the note. 


Dear Mike, I hope the rest of your week went well. Congratulations on your anniversary at XYZ Corporation. 


This personal touch shows that your connection means something to you. You took an interest, listened to them, and showed that you are interested in continuing the relationship. 


Conclude your message with the suggestion of a connection and mention what value you can add. Including an open-ended offer of support or mutual networking support shows you want to help this connection. 


If you are unsure how you can establish yourself as a business that people want to
create strategic partnerships with, we can help. PS Inc. provides several network management and business networking services. Schedule a call with us today to get started.

Get Your Network to Work For You

Get Your Network to Work For You

Subscribe to Articles

To grow your network, and therefore your business, you will need to practice proper network management. You can use these tips to help you create strategic partnerships with those in your network.

How To Get Your Network to Work For You

Offer To Help Anyone Anyway You Can

The experts say the best networking tip is to help others first. Chances are that they will return the favor. You should always ask your new contacts to disclose a challenge they may currently be having. You may very well know someone who can offer a solution. That is the foundation of a successful relationship. 

 

This is the first step in creating credibility in your network, which will grow over time. You create this credibility in many ways — when you verify facts, keep appointments, act on promises, and render services. A failure to live up to any expectations you have set can ultimately squash the potential of a budding relationship.

Be A Person Who People Know

Create a business image for yourself that will help people remember. This, in turn, will generate business and opportunities. People tend to call on someone who is not just an expert on a topic, but someone who has been known to make others comfortable. 


Besides in-person networking opportunities, a social media presence is also extremely important. If you post industry-related relevant articles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., you can provide value to your connections virtually. This also helps to establish yourself as a person in touch with pertinent business issues in your industry. When you write your own articles or post comments on social media, you keep yourself in people’s minds.

Think About How Others Feel

Sometimes you will also have to try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Not everyone is going to come into your new relationship with as much enthusiasm as you might. This person may be overworked or going through some personal problems. This will require learning how to read people and their body language and signals to determine and plan your relationship strategy

 

For instance, if you know someone is currently swamped with work, you can decide to call on them after hours. When you leave a message, it is less intrusive than if you called them during business hours. Plus, this person will not be distracted and interrupted when you try to speak with them. This new connection can listen to the message and get back to you when it is convenient for them.

Grow and Maintain Your Network

When you grow and maintain your network, your opportunities for business collaboration increase significantly. While you grow your network, be sure to include a diverse group of people into the fold. People from different industries, nations, and socio-economic backgrounds can offer many contacts and possible solutions that might not have been on your radar. 

 

To grow and maintain your network, you must:

 

  • Be sincere to gain credibility and establish long-term relationships

  • Be very active on email marketing and social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook to pass on useful information and show that you are involved in your industry

  • Offer to help with a little tact and a little humor.

PS Inc. offers many relationship-building and business-networking services. We can help you establish long-term business relationships. Schedule a call with us today to get started.

How To Determine What Value You Bring To Your Network

How To Determine What Value You Bring To Your Network

Subscribe to Articles

Let’s face it: You meet many people at networking events. It can be very easy to forget people while networking. It isn’t practical to remember every single person you encounter, because with so many new interactions, they all can become a blur. 


How can you set yourself apart from everyone else when
business networking? Networking is the best way to create strategic partnerships that lead to mutually successful business collaborations.

How To Add Value To Your Network

Be a Service To The Community

One important part of networking is reciprocity. Your focus should be on giving and helping others, as it will come back to you someday. This helps build strong and authentic relationships. 


It can be very satisfying to connect two people who can add value to each other’s businesses and lives. When you are giving, don’t expect anything in return. When people notice you helping others with a passion, they may be influenced to reciprocate.

Share Experiences, Both Positive and Negative

Business people network not only to get new connections but to gain knowledge from others’ unique personal and professional history. This is an opportunity to learn from someone who has experienced something you have not. Share whatever insights you have with this connection. If you had learned a lesson from a past mistake, pass this information on to someone in a similar situation. Your insights may provide them with the tools to prevent a similar problem in the future.

Share Your Resources

When you find a valuable business resource, no matter if it is an article, a tool, a conference, or something else, share this with your network. There may be some people in your network that can benefit from it in some way. When you regularly share tips or other useful work strategies, people will notice you. Your network will start to see you as a person who wants to help improve the quality of their business and lives.

Share Opportunities

Share business opportunities with the people in your network. If you have a new assignment coming up, think about who in your network can contribute. If you share opportunities within your network, this shows an element of selflessness that helps build the relationship with the connection.

Share Opportunities

Networking is truly a two-way street. Your network should not consist of gathering multiple contacts where you are the only one reaping any benefits. When you are a source of contribution, you raise your value immediately. This gives you the power of building a strong business network. This network outweighs quality over quantity.

 

You can ultimately support your success when you create a way for people in your network to succeed, as well. These individuals who you helped will contribute to your life professionally, and perhaps personally. 


PS Inc. can help you develop
lead generation strategies, network management, and many other business consultant services. Contact us today so we can help grow your business.

5 Secrets to Growing Your LinkedIn Network Organically

5 Secrets to Growing Your LinkedIn Network Organically

Subscribe to Articles

LinkedIn is a great tool for networking, but growing your network can be time-consuming. Some people are tempted to take the easy route and buy connections, but this is frowned upon by both LinkedIn and networking professionals. To get high-quality connections that will be valuable to you and your business for years to come, you have to put in the work and grow your network organically. 


Network growth is very important, and some organizations need this to happen quickly to maintain progress. You can speed up this process by following our 5 secrets to growing your LinkedIn network organically.

Secret #1: Set Monthly Goals

You can’t measure your success if you don’t have goals. This is why it’s important to set monthly growth goals. These goals need to be specific and achievable to ensure that you can measure them accurately. If you are starting with 500 connections, a potential goal that you might set for yourself is to reach 750 connections by the end of the month. To some, this might seem like a lofty goal, but it just depends on how much time and effort you can put into growing your network. If growing by 250 is not achievable for you, set your goal for whatever you think you can reach within the month. 


Check on your progress each week so you know how you are doing with reaching your goal. If you notice that you aren’t adding as many connections as you planned for one week, then you know you will have to put in a little more effort the following week to make up for it. 


Having goals helps you to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and helps push you to get there.

Secret #2: Post Often and Make Your Posts Visually Appealing

The more you post, the more opportunity you are giving your connections to engage with your content. As your connections like or comment on your posts, their connections will see their activity. If your content is engaging and relevant, it opens the door for these second-degree connections to engage with your content and potentially send you a connection request. 


One surefire way to make your content more engaging is to make it visually appealing. You can achieve this by adding relevant photos or videos. People are more likely to stop and read your post copy if they see an image or a video that piques their interest. 


The number of times you post per week is entirely up to you and what you can commit to, but we suggest posting anywhere from three to five times per week. This keeps you relevant and in the news feeds of your connections, and it will hopefully encourage them to engage with your posts.

Secret #3: Engagement, Engagement, Engagement

If you want your connections to engage with your posts, you need to engage with theirs. Networking is all about adding value to relationships, and one of the easiest ways you can do that on LinkedIn is by adding comments to your connections’ posts. These comments need to be thoughtful and relevant to the topic. 


Commenting on your connections’ posts allows their connections to see you and engage with your comment. You can also take this opportunity to engage with other comments on the post so that you can start building connections with people you aren’t connected to. If you find that you connect with someone whose comment you’ve commented on, you can take that opportunity to send them a connection request. 


Regular engagement with your current connections allows you to form secondhand relationships with their connections and boosts the likelihood that they will want to connect with you because they see that you add value to the conversations that you participate in.

Secret #4: Use Keywords in Your Profile

When you’re setting up your LinkedIn profile, you want to be thoughtful about the keywords that you use. If you are interested in forming connections with people in a specific industry, you will want to use keywords specific to that industry in your “About Me” section. You should never use keyword stuffing; however, adding keywords that are relevant to you and the people that you wish to connect with is encouraged. 

 

These keywords will help people outside your network find you when they are looking for new connections. For example, if someone is looking to connect with fellow small business owners, they will search for the keyword “small business owners.” This will generate a search result of more than 680,000 LinkedIn users. If you have a well-written “About Me” that contains the keywords they searched for, you will rank closer to the top of the search results.

Secret #5: Don’t Be Afraid to Promote Yourself

If LinkedIn isn’t the only social media channel you use, then don’t hesitate to promote yourself on other channels. Encourage your connections on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Clubhouse, or other platforms to also follow you on LinkedIn. If you are sharing valuable content on these social platforms, then they will be more likely to connect with you because they can assume you will be sharing relevant content they will enjoy on LinkedIn, as well. Don’t over-promote yourself, but one or two posts per month encouraging your followers to join you on LinkedIn is acceptable. 

 

Also, if you have a website, you will want to ensure there is a link to your LinkedIn page there, with the rest of your social media page links. This will be valuable to help drive traffic from your website to LinkedIn. 


Organic growth doesn’t happen overnight, but if you follow these five secrets, you will see your network start to expand. You have to be willing to put in the time and energy, but it will be worth it in the end. 


For help getting started with growing your network visit our website and download a free copy of
5 Secrets to Double Your LinkedIn Connections in 30 Days.

4 Ways to Be More Valuable to Your Network

4 Ways to Be More Valuable to Your Network

Subscribe to Articles

Networking is a business tool that can add substantial value to your business. In order for that to happen, however, you need to make yourself a strong member of your network. 

 

If you want to be a valuable networker, you need to be a connection that tries to give better than you get. Just remember, If you make yourself more valuable to your network, that network will become more valuable to you.

Ways to Be More Valuable To Your Network

Quality Better Than Quantity

At networking functions, don’t just stand there passing out your business card randomly. This type of connection gathering can be a real turn off to many attending these functions. On the same note, do not spend the entire time ‘working the room’. This makes you appear as if you are on the hunt for the next professional hookup, and people tend to take offense to that. 

 

A better use of your time at these networking events is to ‘cherry pick’ prospective connections. You should find people in your industry that may be in the same position as you, or came from a similar background. See if you have any outside interests (hobbies, etc.) with this person. 

 

 It is best to leave a networking event with a handful of choice connections that will benefit your business the most.

Make A Real Connection

Try to have more than just a superficial relationship with those in your network. Establishing a true connection with a select few in your network is ultimately more productive than having many vague connections. Over time, those connections will just fade and become little more than a name on your LinkedIn connections list.

 

You can do this by making a case for building the relationship. Find a compelling reason for this person to see you, other than employment requests, which many may be overrun with requests. 

 

Make sure you exchange industry stories with your prospective connection. This is a great way to key pieces of information about a connection at the start of the professional relationship. 

 

When you feel you are simpatico with a connection, you can then start discussing how you can begin a mutually beneficial business relationship. That real connection hopefully will grow over time.

Respond To Professional Challenges

The best way to solidify a new business relationship is to help out your colleague with a pressing problem. If someone mentions a particular challenge they are having with their business at the moment, respond to them as soon as possible. Bring something of value to the table that helps to address their particular issue.

 

 If you make yourself a useful entity in your network, the time may come when those connections will gladly reciprocate. This is also a great way to set yourself up for future contacts. You hope that your assistance in helping your new connection in their challenge will become news in your network. Hopefully, this can lead to more people reaching out to you to connect.

Plug Yourself On Social Media

Use your various social media outlets to increase your network value. Social media posting is one of the most efficient ways to keep your network active. Just be aware that social media networking should be done with care, as you don’t want to overexpose yourself to the point of becoming spam. Be selective with your social media posts. Keep in mind that these virtual contacts are meant to supplement face to face meetings, not take over for them. 

 

PS Inc.can help you become a more valuable member of your business network. We have the tools you need to help you grow your business. Contact us today to get started.

The Pros and Cons of Relationship Management Tools

The Pros and Cons of Relationship Management Tools

Subscribe to Articles

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools are designed to compile information about your customers. Many industries have CRMs designed specifically that specifically fit into their criteria, while others may need to manually add their data. 

 

Although using a CRM to manage our business has many advantages, there are a handful of disadvantages with CRMs as well.

Pros of Relationship Management Tools

A CRM system, when properly implemented, can streamline your sales process.

The Dashboard Streamlines Sales Activities

If you customize your CRM dashboard, you can make tasks more organized for you and your team. The majority of CRMs allow you to set up how your information appears, so that the most relevant data is at the top of the screen.

Automatic Data Entry Makes It Easy

There are still a few CRMs that rely on manual data entry. An investment in a top of the line CRM can remedy this as these CRMs automate as much as possible. You can also integrate your CRM with Google and social media searches. This method helps save time for you and your sales teams, as hours of research are avoided by this automatic data entry.

Additional Revenue

Although your CRM is an expense for your business, there is still a benefit. Your CRM use is directly connected to a boost in revenue. For example, HubSpot discovered that for every dollar invested into a CRM, the business sees an estimated return of $5.60 on their investment.

Much Easier Collaboration

If all your customer data is in one place, it will be much easier for you and your team to collaborate and monitor pending deals. You can also store your company’s marketing materials in a centralized library so your team can use this content to facilitate sales.

The Automation of Repetitive Tasks

Besides automated data entry, CRMs allow your team to automate tasks to boost efficiency and ultimately close more sales. Your CRM can do many tasks including lead prioritization, logging phone calls and emails, automate reporting and the ability to create and save email templates.

Scalable CRMs

This means that your CRM can grow along with your business. As your customer list increases, it will be easy to add new users and capabilities. 

Cons of Relationship Management Tools

Although CRMs are extremely helpful with your sales process, there are a few drawbacks.

The Burdensome Data Entry

It really depends on the CRM you choose, but all data may need to be added manually. Anyone that has ever done major data entry knows how time consuming this can be. The time spent manually adding this data takes time away from active selling.

It’s Dependent on Proper Set Up

If the CRM components are not set up properly from the start, using it may become difficult. If the system is tedious for your sales team to use, they may be discouraged from using the system.

The CRM Is Focused on Wrong Person

One common mistake made when implementing a CRM system is putting the focus on the wrong person. Many companies have their CRM tool focused on the needs of the sales manager. The CRM focus should be helping the reps sell to the customers.

It's A Time Waster if Incorrect

Having a CRM without a firm process can be a waste of time. The first step is implementing the CRM. If you neglect to follow through with the other half of the process, the CRM is pointless. The second step is to implement a regimented sales process for your team. If this plan is not expedited, your CRM may become a disorganized mountain of data.

It Can Be Costly

A CRM system can be costly depending on the number of users the system has. There also may be a need to hire an outside consultant or in house administrator to monitor the system and users. For small and mid-sized businesses, this could be a major expense. 


CRMs and relationship management are vital in establishing and growing your business. You need to choose a CRM that is compatible with your business needs. PS Inc.can help you every step of the way. Contact us to get started.

The Benefits of Relationship Management

The Benefits of Relationship Management

Subscribe to Articles

In business, the relationships you establish can make or break your success. Finding new customers for your business is very challenging in of itself. The next biggest challenge is establishing and maintaining strong, productive relationships with these connections. 

 

Just remember, the better the relationship, the better the customer satisfaction will be.

Benefits of Relationship Management

If you wonder why relationship management is so important, we have outlined the benefits of relationship management.

Better Customer Knowledge

It is best to know your customer inside and out, and CRMs can help you do that. Your CRM is a one stop customer information system. The data you have stored on your customers such as address, social media accounts, website, etc. are key in continuing the communication process. 

 

The CRM is also able to track all interactions with you and the contact at various business functions, past sales, orders, and more. This information will help you to know your contact better and  anticipate what the customer will want in the future

Better Segmentation

The CRM is a great tool for segmentation. You want your brand to be in front of the right audience. When you segment your contacts into a target audience, you make sure that the right message is getting to the right people. 

 

A CRM enables you to categorize all your contacts’ criteria and funnels it into a focused target list. This allows you to create specific marketing campaigns and analyze the sales process and your leads. 

 

When you know the specific details of your target audience, the customized marketing possibilities are endless. You can then make personalized customer offers and sales pitches. You can even adjust your overall sales tactics as well.

Better Customer Retention

A CRM system can help you keep your customers happy, and then retain them. The CRM helps with customer retention in many ways. First, it reminds you of all appointments with the customer, and reminders to send follow ups. Secondly, a CRM can prompt you to reconnect with inactive or ‘stale’ customers. Lastly, the CRM can help you organize marketing events and activities, special offers and customer surveys, etc. at the proper times.

Better Anticipation of the Customer’s Needs

A business just works better when it knows what to expect. When you track a customer’s buying habits, it will be easier to cross-sell or upsell your customers with a CRM system. 

 

If your sales team has access to an entire customer sales history, it can help them sell more and sell faster due to the ability to anticipate the customer’s needs.

Better Communication with Customers

Just like most people, your customers hate to wait. A quick reply to a customer request is the utmost in professionalism. 


A CRM can help you establish a set of customizable, ready to use marketing materials. At your fingertips, you can have a selection of email templates, form letters, documents, newsletters, proposals, etc. to help facilitate speedy communication with the customer. 


A CRM has an autoresponder, which sends a quick acknowledgement to the customer. A reported
90 percent of companies fail to use autoresponders to acknowledge a customer service email. A template email acknowledgement of a customer contact can put your business out in front of the competition.

Data Privacy

A CRM system can help you document your customer’s permission to store and use their personal details. Along with these consents, you can also manage your customer’s email preferences, and apply rules for updating details for contact groups-all simultaneously. In the past, doing this task manually was time consuming and had a high risk of mistakes. 

 

Effective relationship management is vital to growing and maintaining your business. PS Inc. can help with all your relationship management needs. Contact us today to get started.

10 Reasons Why People Resist Networking

10 Reasons Why People Resist Networking

Subscribe to Articles

Networking has to be one of the most important elements of growing a business. Although this fact is universally known, there are still many people out there that resist networking. Why would someone avoid doing something that will improve the vitality of their business? If we can recognize the reasons why some resist networking, perhaps these same people can be convinced to give networking a try.

Reasons People Resist Networking

Shyness

Many people are not comfortable in large groups or speaking to strangers. If this is an issue for you, try to build your courage to speak to people. 


Don’t allow shyness to prevent you from networking. You can begin a conversation with someone new just with basic chat about current news or a common subject. After the ice is broken and you feel that you have a rapport with someone, then you can begin to lay the networking groundwork.

Fear of Rejection

Rejection is not an easy thing to hear and take. Some may be so frazzled by a fear of rejection that it prevents them from growing their business. You cannot allow the fear of rejection to prevent you from reaching out to others. Just remember the old saying, ‘If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no’.

Uncomfortable Talking About Yourself

Rejection is not an easy thing to hear and take. Some may be so frazzled by a fear of rejection that it prevents them from growing their business. You cannot allow the fear of rejection to prevent you from reaching out to others. Just remember the old saying, ‘If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no’.

Time Restraints

Networking is an ongoing activity that is very time consuming. Some are just too busy with their work that they are unable to find time to attend networking events.

Lack of Networking Knowledge

There are a few out there that do not understand the whole networking process. To network effectively, you need to exchange information, build relationships on trust and reciprocity, leverage your existing relationships to create new ones, and invent ways to keep in touch.

Don’t Want Others Knowing Your Business

Are you looking for work but too ashamed to admit it? Networking is not exactly asking for a job, it is more of a way to find out what is out there and meet other people in your industry. If you are on the job hunt and you do not network, you may be searching for that job for quite a long time.

Impatient for Results

You will not see immediate results with networking. Networking, just like anything else worthwhile, takes quite a bit of time and patience. You need to understand that it may take you quite a bit of time until you find a person involved in making a hiring decision. 

In order for your networking to be successful, you need to first take the time to build the relationship.

Don’t Want to Sell/Be Sold To

Many people still confuse networking with selling. After all, in a way you are selling yourself to new contacts via networking. 

 

Networking is not a ‘cold call’ sales pitch. It is a conversation that involves listening on both ends. Both parties can get to know each other, and get comfortable in the relationship.

Unaware of Effectiveness of Networking

Searching for work the traditional way through recruiters and job boards can be a daunting task. You are searching and applying for work through the mass market, and thousands are your competition for work. 

 

Networking is like an underground job market. Employment is not filled through job boards, but word of mouth through connections. You have a better chance of obtaining employment though this smaller channel than if you had canvassed and applied to the same job boards the masses apply to.

Failure to Network Consistently

Networking is a task that needs constant cultivation. To keep your relationships strong, you must pay attention to those in your network. You need to take care of your network. Ultimately, in time your network will take care of you too. 


Networking is one of the most important tasks that a new business owner can do to help grow their business. We realize that some people need guidance in building their networking skills. PS Inc. can help you get started on improving your networking skills.