How to Grow Your Team By Networking

With so many venues for social media right at our finger tips, it’s easy to make connections all over the world in just a few minutes. You can connect with old friends who you haven’t seen in years, form relationships with extended family & meet stay relevant with you colleagues all with a few clicks. Social media provides an excellent venue to expand your SOI (Sphere Of Influence) but it shouldn’t be the only way that you communicate & form relationships. Face to face in person networking is great way to grow your business & to make connections that are much more personal.

Growing Your Team

Whether you prefer to call them your Team, Tribe, Sphere Of Influence, or something else your network of influencer’s is very important to the growth of your business. Who does your web work? Who takes care of your bookkeeping? Who do you call if you don’t know about a certain neighborhood? If the answer all of these questions, or others like it, is “Me. I do it all!” then you will quickly fizzle out. So, you need to grow your team & meet the people in your area who can help you. Networking events are a great place to do just that.

Locating Networking Events

I’ve found a few great places that can help you locate networking events in your area that fit your needs. I belong to 2 different Real Estate Investing Associations in my local area, the have General Meetings every month & they also have different sub-groups that meet throughout the month focusing on specific areas or specific lines of business (ex: Flipper Group, Rehab Group, Landlord Group, etc…). Find a local group in your area that offers these events like these. Membership is usually fairly inexpensive and it’s a great way to place yourself in the same room as others who are doing what you do.

Bigger Pockets has a great section called “Networking Events” where members can list any events & they recently added a feature where you can search by proximity to your zip code or city.

Another great resource is Meetups.com. If you’re interested in anything from crocheting to business networking or anything in between, there is probably an event in your area listed on Meetups.com. And here’s the best, if there isn’t one, YOU can create on.

What Are You Looking For In An Event?

There are a lot of different types of networking events, so it’s best that you choose the type that fits your needs. There are some large networking events that often have a fee to attend, they’ll include some light food & might have the 1st drink included. These events are much more of a social event. They are good place to meet people, but make sure that you know if there is an agenda or not. I prefer events that have a specific agenda or topic of discussion rather than those that are just a happy hour with business cards.

What To Bring?

Rule #1 for any networking event: BRING BUSINESS CARDS! If the event is a good one, you will meet a handful of people. You can’t expect to just remember each of them & for them to remember you. Bring your cards. If you don’t have business cards yet, get to work on that. Cards are cheap and they are a great way for people to have all of your contact info. I met someone last week who gave me a business card that had his name, phone number, email address & a quick blurb about what he’s interested. He told me that he didn’t have a company yet & was just starting out, but wanted to make sure he could share his contact info. It’s also a good idea to keep a pen with you. If you have a good conversation with someone, write a quick note about it o the back of their card so that you can reference it when you follow up with them.

Follow Up

And that brings me right to my final point. So many people attend networking events and become “Card Collector’s”. They go home after the event and place a stack of cards on their desk with the greatest intentions, but never actually follow up with the people who they met. The whole point of networking is to form relationship. Send a follow-up email or text, stay in contact from time to time. This isn’t about making a sale, it’s about cultivating a relationship that is beneficial to you & to someone else, so treat that relationship like it means something to you.

Make It A Habit

I plan to put myself in at least 2 networking environments every week, some are networking events, some are meetings with other people in my business. I schedule them to make sure that they remain a priority. I make calendar appointments that remind me of the events that I want to attend. Make it a habit & you will grow your network.

Good Luck Growing Your Network!!!