We buy from people we know, like and trust so it is vital that you build relationships with people you meet at networking events to make sure you get a return on investment for time and money you spend.

Some people don’t see why building relationships are important and time well spent so picture the scenes below:

1. You’re at a networking event and looking forward to meeting some new people when from out of nowhere, this person walks straight up to you, passes you a business card, tells you their name, what they do and asks you to contact them if you need their product or service … all before you get a chance to say hello and doesn’t even ask you for your name.

Not a great start to the event and doesn’t really form a good impression of the person so the next time you see them, you will avoid them like the plague … not good for forming long term relationships!

2. You’re at a networking event and looking forward to meeting some new people when someone approaches you with a friendly smile, introduces themselves to you and asks your name.  They then start asking some questions about your business and seem really interested in what you have to say, they ask for a business card and suggest that they talk to Joe Bloggs as someone who would be interested in your product / service and introduce you to them. 

Not once have they mentioned anything about their business or done a hard sell on you but you will definitely remember how friendly and helpful they were so the next time you meet them, you will go out of your way to get to know them and try to repay the favour.  This is the start of your relationship with them and it is already turning out to be beneficial to both parties!

Which scene would you rather be involved with?

Want to learn how to network effectively to build your business? Check out Networking for Virtual Assistants online course, a practical course designed to help you build your networking strategy and network effectively.