MediaSlap blog

Business Networking

December 5, 2008

Business Networking 2008

Remember the days when wining, dining and golfing were the way to win new business?  Although this is still a great way to network, we rarely have the time to devote to long engagements.  One of the most popular ways to new business is with an online business-networking site – LinkedIn™.

Making contacts and growing business relationships is easy with LinkedIn™?  First of all, go to the website to register.  Secondly, create your profile and be sure you are very detailed.  You want people to know everything you and your business have to offer.  The more detailed you are, the better chance you have of finding business contacts with which you have a natural synergy. Finally, search for people you know and request to add them as a “contact”.  Your contacts open the door to new relationships through their friends or contacts that share your common interests or business needs.  LinkedIn™ has an innovative feature that allows you to import your address book.  Then LinkedIn™ will use your address book contacts to find contacts that are already registered with LinkedIn™ with very little effort from you.  It’s a quick and easy way to build your relationships.

I believe that the most important business-building tool is receiving recommendations and giving referrals and LinkedIn™ is a great place to start.  I prefer to keep my recommendations short and sweet but with enough detail to really make the other person stand out.  The more people you recommend the more people will recommend you.  Let me give you an example of how a recommendation works.  I worked with Sam on a radio spot project and I liked his work.  Since he is a member of LinkedIn™ I can ask him to be a contact and then go and write a flattering recommendation.  A contact of mine is in need of what Sam offers and notices that Sam is a contact of mine.  So he goes to Sam’s LinkedIn™ profile and sees my recommendation. He is more likely to work with him based on the recommendation I gave Sam.

With the entire world online, you have to be willing to take advantage of new tools such as LinkedIn™.  Then you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing you don’t have to devote half your week to networking meetings or cashing in your retirement to fund business lunches!  Of course, if you are just a very social person and enjoy the lunches and golf meetings, by all means keep it up.  Just know that now you don’t have to, it’s just because you want to!

For more information, visit their website at www.linkedin.com

For a more personal approach, try social networking sites such as Facebook™ and Twitter™.  These sites can be used as another way to build personal relationships with business owners and potential clients.

Danny Reeves
http://www.soundworks.com/dannyreeves/

Entry Filed under: commentary, social networking. Tags: facebook, linkedIn, social networking, twitter.