Hirsch’s Strubens Valley recently held their last Business Networking event for the year with guest speaker, Reshane Viljoen of the Business Woman Network Alliance, talking to guests about the importance of Networking.
Said Reshane “ I realized very early on, to build a successful business you need to focus on forming reliable relationships first. We all have the same struggles and concerns at the end of the day. The three most common being Finance, Finding a reliable customer base and Marketing.
Always look the part and do some soul searching. Why are you going? What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to meet? If you answered all the questions then your focus will be clear.
It’s not about meeting a hundred people, but a handful that will help you grow as a business owner. Always remember to listen more than you speak. Offer a solution or support first. That way you build trust and its more likely you’ve made a new friend, who would want to do business with you.”
She added “Always know at least 3 personal things about a prospective client, before you ask for a business card. If you receive a business card, take a few minutes and write down where you met this contact, keywords of your discussion and the date. This way it’s easier to follow up”
“Last but not least. Enjoy yourself. Know your business elevator pitch and come prepared. Never treat a business card as a Frisbee, only hand it out if someone personally requests one.
Be self- confident, smile and make eye contact. This way you’ll become a successful professional networker in no time” concluded Reshane.
The Business Networking will resume on 31 January 2019. To get more information contact [email protected]