Charlott McAnsh of See No Bounds shares her top 10 tips for Networking

Spring is here and throughout April we’ve been asking business owners to share their top tips relating to their industry.

Today we’re talking to Charlott McAnsh of See No Bounds who is sharing her top ten tips for networking. See No Bounds is a network and community where you can connect via an interactive platform as well as showcase your interesting stuff such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts, and events.

As we move into a hybrid world many of us are looking for connections locally as well as further away.

This is why See No Bounds created the Get Connected Network.

Networking is all about building relationships and making new connections so we would love to share some of our top tips around how you can make this happen.

1. Listen – this may sound obvious but so many people we meet both online and in person meetings go straight in with the business card and say something along the lines of “here is my card and if you require IT services, please give me a call” We can PROMISE that this will never happen…
   
   So, please take the time to listen and this will build a ‘Know, Like and Trust’ relationship and soon you will be able to refer new connections to the person and by doing this we are sure that this person will remember YOU the next time they need a service that you can offer.
    
2. Ask open questions and if you are new to networking and slightly nervous, we have not yet met a business owner who does not like to talk about their business, so this is a great way to find out more and also to build your confidence.
    
3. Have a purpose – this could be that you are looking for a specific service – ask the others in the zoom room or in person if they have a connection that they can recommend.
    
4. Be prepared and if you know other people attending, connect with them on socials beforehand. This will make people familiar with you before you turn up. The group function on See No Bounds will share who is attending before you turn up and you can connect with them on the platform before the meeting.
    
5. Set a goal – if you are attending an event you are unlikely to connection with everyone in the room so it is always good to set yourself a goal to speak to at least four new people. If this is your goal it will make you move around and if on zoom in breakout rooms, you will make the effort to achieve your goal. Please don’t run around the room like a headless chicken and just hand over your business card – it is likely to end up in a pile or in the bin…
    
6. Offer help to others – many of our connections have been made by simply offering a helping hand and you will definitely be known as a good person to connect with if you are offering help.
    
7. Be patient – relationships are not built in minutes; they happen over time. So often we meet people that jump from network to network and chasing the business – please be patient and practice all of the above and you will soon enough be recommended to others.
    
8. Be authentic – people are more likely to connect with you if they feel that you are genuine and trustworthy.
    
9. Follow up – this is the part that is mostly forgotten and if the follow up doesn’t happen you are likely to miss out on great opportunities!
    
10. Stay in touch – So many people move from one community to another and sometimes they forget who brought them connections when they first started in business, and we promise that your core team will always stay with you as long as you keep in touch. If you haven’t spoken to someone in a while why not book a 1:1 and see how you can help them. The magic is always in the 1:1s.
     

An offer to the readers – if you are interested in more networking you can come and try See No Bounds Get Connected Network Free for one month – please email [email protected] and quote Total Swindon.

For more information visit www.seenobounds.co.uk