You’ve probably heard the expression, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

Your ability to quickly and effectively transform from the perfect stranger to the perfect ally in a matter of minutes will give you a tremendous advantage over your secretive peers and competitors. It is through a successful network that you gain access to the people and resources you need to achieve your goals. But what exactly does networking mean? Webster offers the following definition:

“A process by which people who have common interests and concerns come together to exchange ideas and information, for the purpose of professional development and achievement.”

If you have a product, service, talent or company to market and are completely Ready to do business with others, the following steps will help you network on your road to success.

1.) Improve Your Appearance: Human beings are visually oriented creatures. We develop impressions, form judgments, and make assumptions (correct or incorrect) based on what we see. Take the time to pay attention to the details of your appearance and aspect the role you want to play (eg consultant, accountant, marketer, lawyer, etc.). This does not mean that you should dress in designer clothes. It means you need to understand the importance to put together a visual presentation that says that you care how you are perceived.

2.) Be Goal Oriented: Before you start networking, ask yourself, “What do I have to offer of value to others?” It is in helping others to fulfill his targets that use your services, products and talents. Your mission is to make sure that the information you share with others is applicable to meeting those goals. Please keep this in mind as you navigate through conversations.

3.) Be tactful: In this reality-driven age we live in, where everything is bold and crude, those tactics don’t work in networking situations. People are more likely to be offended by brash and exaggerated personalities. Don’t let your personality quirks blind people to the benefits of doing business with you.

4.) Have a Mental Script: Practice your presentations and be able to explain clearly and concisely who you are and what you do. It’s also crucial that you provide supporting facts and details so people can better understand and appreciate what you have to offer as an ally. And consist with professional information that you publicly disclose. People often share notes with each other about who they know. When comparing those notes, you want to make sure that an accurate and authentic picture of yourself is painted.

5.) Provide business reasons: Why should anyone care what you have to say? They don’t, until you make your conversation beneficial to them and provide business reasons to care about what you’re saying. The true interest of people is not in you, but in what you can offer or do for them. Take care of it at all times.

6.) Rate your contacts: This is done by asking questions. Asking questions allows you to get clarification or expand on details that will confirm or lessen interest and reflect your understanding of what your contact is saying.

7.) Listen more than you talk: This rule applies no matter who you’re networking with. Through active listening we can assess what our potential business partner has to offer and identify his needs and concerns. Talking too much reduces your chances of getting this vital information and makes you appear self-centered. It’s also annoying. You will find that asking questions will help you balance your conversations in both directions.

8.) Issue a call to action: Once you’ve qualified your contact as a potential business partner, you need to issue a call to action. This may be an invitation to meet with you at a future date to become part of the equation for your (greatest) success, to offer services that provide solutions to challenges/problems, to negotiate the sharing of resources, or to discuss business ideas, plans, or opportunities. This is usually done over lunch or dinner, but you can think outside the box and invite people to activities and events that give you a chance for one-on-one dialogue with minimal distraction. This is why golf has become the networking activity of corporate America. General rule: if you send the invitation, you pay the bill.

9.) Track and Trace: Once you get your new contacts, it’s imperative that you follow up with them. Please email to say hi, or to set up the aforementioned lunch or dinner appointment. It is important to note that it is during this critical stage that most people stop their networking efforts when, in fact, the most effort and energy expended in the networking process should be used to turn your contacts into relationships. profitable. By profitable I mean relationships that produce beneficial dividends, financially or otherwise.

10.) Deliver the goods: We network as a means to an end. Often, that end is the delivery of a product or a service, but it is also being able to fulfill the potential or a promise. Ultimately, when we network, we look for those opportunities. At the end of the day, that’s what networking on your path to success is all about.

Good luck in all your future networking endeavors!