Business growth
Networking as a concept for growing businesses is becoming increasingly relevant with each passing day. However, many businesses, especially small scale ones, do not seem to be utilising this avenue, with its immense potential. Indeed, windows for networking both on the Internet and at the physical interaction level, is growing daily.
Networking in this sense, involves growing people, who are mainly targets for products and services provided by businesses. While not translating into sales immediately, it creates the room for massive sales in the nearest future.
Businessmen ought to network effectively, using club meetings, on the webs, at meetings and other event avenues.
The National Director of the Nigerian chapter of the world’s largest business networking organisation, Business Network International, Mr. James Agwu, says businesses should not just network, but network effectively.
He says, “So many people are networking without commitment. They are at the Ikeja Club, Ikoyi Club, and they attend events. But they do not keep track of or have any data on the people they meet for continuous relationship.”
Networking, according to him, is much more than selling. “Selling is one-way traffic; but in networking, businesses should look at forming a relationship that will lead to many selling opportunities,” Agwu says.
He notes that networking is effective through referrals, which are even more convincing than advertising. “A lot of expenses are involved in marketing, where only about 20 per cent turns into real sales out of every 100 converts. But in networking, expenses are eliminated, with people doing the marketing for you,” he says.
When businesses make plans for a new year, it is expedient that they should “plan big on how to become a people’s person r company,” advises Mrs. Janet Anwo, a renowned expert in personal finance and self empowerment.
The Chief Executive Officer, Character Moulders Limited, on which platform she has been raising raised entrepreneurs across Africa, Anwo says many people have poor social life. She says that in this present recessive economy, people must harvest from their abilities to build social networks.
She says, “Now this is not about partying or dancing. It is about how you can improve your relationship. Many do not know how to make friends, maybe due to poor complex. Now is time to do a self examination and improve on it.”
An advocate of zero capital entrepreneurship, Anwo says building relationships is one skill that is priceless and better than capital itself. With a well developed social relationship, she gives a list of vocations and businesses one can engage in without start up capital.
“When I tell people during training that they can start a business with zero capital, I expect to receive a ‘madam, that is not possible’ response. But I tell you that is very possible. A young woman, who is skilled in the art of dressing hair does not need a start-up capital. All she needs is a network of people whom she can service from house to house. Such a person would not need money to buy tools or raw materials because your customer provides all that you need to render the service to her,” she says
A management consultant and a personal finance specialist, Mr. Nuru Adesanya, also shares Anwo’s position on making fortune out of effective networking. Whichever way you want to go- getting a job or becoming self employed- people network is an asset.
He says, “If you want to do something new in 2011 or you need small capital to start a business, you don’t get such money from banks. It is still the informal relationship that you are able to keep from your club, or other associations that would help you. So people should be ready to tap from their ability to network among people. When you have people, there is really, hardly anything you can’t get, including money.
“Even when we want to talk about employment, you would discover that a large percentage of people got their jobs through their friends, relatives, or church members. Now if you are unemployed and you really need to get a job, the way to start this year is by connecting with people, especially beginning from the religious unit you belong to and then opening up to others such as connecting to employment consultants rather than sleeping at the cyber cafes or buying newspapers for vacancy advertisements.
“You would soon find out that your next job is not the one you will invest so much effort or even money in. In this country we know that up to 60 per cent of job placements are not usually advertised. The question is: how do they get people to fill those vacancies?”
Source:punch
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