For small and medium-sized companies, and especially for businesses that are serving a specific locale, knowing the “right” people is incredibly important. Strong relationships in your community, and often in your industry, provide you with clients, collaborations, and opportunities that you would not otherwise have. Future success and visibility are the fruits of your efforts to engage and help others in your sphere of influence.
In a fast-paced marketplace, having a good product or service is not enough; you also need a network of people you can get to support your product or service. Many businesses have trouble getting the introduction to result in productive, meaningful engagement. It is easy to get lost in an ocean of handshakes and 30-second introductions. The key is to transform the introductory conversations into deeper, mutual benefit professional relationships.
How to Build a Stronger Professional Circle
For any business that specializes in a certain market, engaging with Local SEO Search and significant individuals is part of your growth strategy. When you engage in your local professional community, you create trust and illustrate commitment. This involvement will help to position your name in the minds of potential customers.
- Focus on Giving, Not Just Getting: Instead of showing up at a networking event with the aim of selling your services, re-frame your thinking by discovering how you can provide value to others first. Ask genuine, thoughtful questions about their pain points and, if warranted, offer up a resource or connection that might help them, even if you gain nothing in return. This transition establishes you as a valuable and supportive connection, and people will be more likely to think of you when they (or someone they know) needs your service.
- Become a Connector for Others: If you want to assist the people in your network, actively seek opportunities to put two people in your network together who could benefit from meeting. These efforts will quickly establish trust in you and position you as central and valuable to the network of contacts that you have made. When you help others succeed, you become someone that people want to improve their business.
- Attend Events with a Purpose: Instead of going to every event, survey attendees or speakers ahead of time and set a simple goal ahead of time: having a quality conversation with a potential collaborator in your industry. Quality conversations always outweigh many quick conversations. If you are looking for a reliable miller supplier, for example, attend an event that you know industry professionals will be at.
- Keep the Conversation Going After the First Meeting: Where the heavy lifting in networking truly takes place is after that first meeting. Send a simple and personal message that acknowledges something from your conversation and suggests a low-pressure next step, such as sharing a relevant article or requesting a brief 15-minute coffee meeting. The ongoing and genuine ability to connect after a quick conversation is what turns a one-time conversation into a useful connection.
Turning Local Visibility into Real Relationships
Strong networking will only complement and boost your efforts to be discovered online. The principles of relevance and trust that elevate your business in search apply to professional relationships, too. Your reputation builds when people come to see your business everywhere, in person and online.
- Use Digital Tools to Deepen Real-World Ties: After meeting the newly acquainted person, make sure to find them online via a professional platform like LinkedIn. This will allow you to stay updated on their professional achievements and milestones, offering you an opportunity to say congratulations or share an article without it feeling awkward. Being active with our connections’ content online allows you to be front of mind and shows you value them beyond just the first in-person meeting.
- Partner on Content or Local Projects: Ask to collaborate on a webinar, co-run a fundraising event for charity, or ask them to be interviewed for your business’s blog. Initiatives like these create co-promotional opportunities with local businesses and expose both businesses to new audiences. Not only do collaborations help build goodwill among businesses, but they also provide you with shareable content in your online promotional efforts for free, which strengthens the local search components of your overall Local SEO Search strategy.
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Lasting Relationships, Lasting Growth
Establishing a strong network is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires patience, consistency to put yourself in front of others, and a genuine desire to help others. You need to transition from short-term sales pitches to building a long-term professional friendship with people, and this is what will establish an unbreakable foundation for ongoing growth. We can assure you that these people will be your best referral sources, career advice, and business opportunities, and most importantly that human connection can become your strongest asset for success in business.
