Networking much like any other part of your business, requires a strategy and with that clear goals of what you want to achieve. If you don’t know why you're networking, how can you tell it’s effectiveness?

I don’t need to tell you that your goal needs to be SMART, so I’m going to jump straight in with the 5 reasons to set goals

Clear Purpose and Direction

Without a goal why are you networking? Are you going simply because you think it’s what you need to do as a business owner? By having goals it gives you a direction and focus with specific outcomes much like the goals you set yourself for your business.

A goal for networking could be connecting with 5 local business owners. This then ensures that you make a note of who you’re connecting with when networking whether online or offline.

Increased Motivation and Accountability

By having a goal your motivation for networking will be stronger and will give you a stronger purpose for networking and because it is measurable if you haven’t connected with 5 local business owners you can then reflect and assess if you are attending the right networking and if not you can then look to find more local networking.

*hint* MIB is full of local meetings and if there isn’t one near you, take a leap and become a MIB Leader, your business will thank you for it!

Enhanced Networking Effectiveness

Having goals for networking helps ensure that you make it a priority as part of your marketing strategy and business strategy. If it’s not part of your marketing strategy, trust me it should be. Remember your tickets for face to face meetings are tax deductible!

If you’re only doing online networking then you need to set a clear time and plan of how and where, after all it is very easy to get in the doom scroll of social media and tell yourself your networking but if your business isn’t growing either with engagement or clients then I’m afraid to say your strategy isn’t working.

1 of your goals might be to attend 1 in person meeting a month and then spend half an hour each day connecting in local and relevant facebook groups.

MIB Kidderminster is the 2nd Thursday of every month so you could plot that in your diary and say I’m attending that meeting every month and then you can work out your time for online networking as there is power in both.

Likewise if your goal is to find a particular type of client then you will more likely spend the time trying to find the places that they will be. For example, for my business I want suppliers and clients for Weddings and Events. To find the clients I will spend time in Wedding groups sharing my value and in turn this will also connect me with suppliers. I also utilise my Wedding Fayres to build my contacts.

Measurable Progress and Growth

You’ve set your goal which means you can monitor its effectiveness on a weekly and monthly basis. You can do this through a simple excel sheet or if you want to get fancy a CRM ( Customer Relationship Manager). You will see through a CRM how many more contacts you have since you started and then within your client pipeline you will be able to track where your leads are coming from.

This will help you to see where to put more of your effort! It is not surprising that by spending more time sharing my value within the MIB network I am becoming the go to person for Wedding and Event planning.

Today alone I had more people tagging me in a Wedding thread within one of the local groups that I’m not in. That's the power of networking, being talked about for what you do without you even having to be there!

Opportunities for Learning and Adaptation

Networking isn’t just about gaining the clients for your business but it is also a great way for personal development. I actively seek speakers for my meetings that I know are going to help attendees. April is all about mindset as it really is the key to a lot of areas within your business. May is all about sustainability as the cost of items are ever increasing it really is time to be looking at alternatives and I know that clients especially in my industry are vitally aware of the waste so are looking for the more sustainable options.

To summarise, having goals for your networking will mean that you're more strategic with your time and money which in turn will grow your business. I know for a fact that networking is the sole reason I still have a business so it’s a no brainer that I became a network leader and I get to help others achieve the same outcome with their networking

If you’re still unsure, why not set a goal to attend a MIB meeting and prove me wrong!

Charlotte 

Mums In Business Kidderminster