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Working Your Network

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tues, 4/8/2014

In the past few months I’ve made a transition from working with locally based accounts to predominantly national or international accounts. Along with that I’ve had to re- prioritize how I network for business. It doesn’t mean I stop networking. I have just made a new path to be able to focus on what I am now charged to do.

If you have made some changes in your company’s products or services, either dropped lines of product or added some to your arsenal, you must make some changes too in your networking. Occasionally a change is needed even if there has not been a shift in products you are marketing. It may be that how you network just needs some freshening up.

It always starts from the products or services your company is marketing. Now you may have new demographic or geographic targets. Learn the innuendos of these new markets and then determine where is the place or places to cross paths with the decision makers of these new targets.

Next you need to allocate time to network. This is not a short range proposition. It may be almost starting over with certain groups of people, if you have not networked in their circles before. Try as best you can to find connections. Keep in mind that you are the new kid on the block, so you’ll need to work yourself in one step at a time.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, and in some cases it may be. However your best results will come from the connections you make while networking, and in the end, the time spent will be well worth the headache, pain and aggravation!

What are your challenges when it comes to business networking? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time…