Networking: building valuable relationships

What is networking?

When you network, you make new contacts or maintain your existing network. Networking is about building relationships in which you have something to offer the other person and/or the other person can help you further.

You can network both online and offline. Online, for instance, you tell your story using a company profile on networking sites, such as LinkedIn or Higher Level, the Entrepreneur Forum of the Netherlands. Or you can take part in an online meeting, training, or course. Networking offline, you can think of company get-togethers, trade and regional networks, conferences, and training courses. 

This article focuses on business networking – but you can network anwhere. At a birthday party, in your local café, or in the playground. Who knows, maybe the person you spontaneously chat to knows an aunt, neighbour, or colleague who needs your service or product. It just depends on what suits you or your company.

Why network?

Research carried out by KVK found that networking is the main way many self-employed people find new customers. When you network regularly, you make your business known within your sector. By making yourself visible, you increase the chance that people will think of you when they need your products or services. This  can ultimately lead to more customers and more sales. 

“With networking, you get to know new people who can recommend you to others at a later date,” says Judith Smits. She organises the Networking Show and wrote the networking book The FUN Factor. Smits, for example, got a new speaking job through Marie after they met at an event. Afterward, Marie noticed that her organisation was struggling with networking. She thought of Smits and put them in touch. “People want to help each other,” Smits says. “I got a new assignment and Marie had a good feeling because she helped both of us.”

Opportunities and collaborations

Networking brings you into contact with other entrepreneurs and  potential clients and partners. This can lead to new business opportunities, collaborations, and even investment.  Restaurants on Kapelstraat in Bussum jointly celebrate the opening of their terraces in spring. One restaurant took the initiative to organise this for the first time on a grand scale with other entrepreneurs. Now it is a well-attended annual event reported by local media.

Personal growth

Networking allows you to learn from other, experienced entrepreneurs.  When you talk about yourself and what challenges you have with your business, the other person often tells you about how they have faced the same challenges and you can learn from them. Or you meet entrepreneurs who are experts in areas in which you have less experience. In short, you grow when you dare to show yourself to the outside world. 

Practical networking tips

The most important thing about networking? "People need to remember you and feel good about their conversation with you. The more you practice, the better you become at networking," says Smits. Her tips will help turn your next networking event into a successful party.

1. Go to networking meetings with a speaker or topic that you yourself find interesting and that suits your goals and target audience. You will connect more easily with strangers if you have shared interests
2. Check the (online) guest list. Is there someone present you would like to speak to? Approach them in advance, for example via LinkedIn. Send a personal message saying you will be at the event and would like to meet them. 
3. Join a group of 3 people. Two people are having an intimate conversation. In a group of 3, 1 person is often talking. That person is so enthusiastic and has trouble focusing on 2 listeners. So one person basically just hangs around and you strike up a conversation with them. “I always ask ‘Do you guys mind if I join you?’ That sounds more positive than asking ‘Am I disturbing you?’ Then I talk and laugh along until I create a gap for conversation.”
4. During a networking event, do not immediately start agressively pitching your company but keep a relaxed and open attitude. First show interest in the other person and from there see if you have a link with them and whether you can mean something to each other. For example, ask something about the content of the event, such as which sessions the other person attended, and show interest in the other person. There is a chance that you will not do business immediately, but that you are in the picture for a later date. Or that your conversation partner can connect you with someone else from their network.
5. “Think of different pitches,"suggests Smits, "For example, I am a speaker, I do interim jobs and I am a mother. If the person works with interim speakers, I go into that in a business-like way when I tell them who I am.Someone told me the other day that she works at Rabobank. Then I could respond right away that I have done jobs for them.”
6. Describe briefly and powerfully what you do so that people remember it easily. Practice saying what you do in one to two sentences. As much as possible, use clear language and examples of clients or jobs you do. So not: ‘I am a coach and I make sure people are empowered’. But rather: ‘I help clients where sales are lagging. I make sure they earn 100K a year now’.
7. Remember, you are not just talking to the person opposite you. “I often see people wanting to move on because the person themself is of no use to them. But you are also indirectly talking to their network. So, finish your conversation well and listen carefully, so that the person leaves with a good feeling and recommends you. Your network extends beyond the small circle you are engaged with now.
8. Keep your conversation short. An average successful networking conversation lasts 5 minutes. In that time, you can already lay a good foundation. You can talk to many more people than you initially think. At networking events, Smits sees people spend hours talking to the same person. For example, with the colleague they came in with. “By doing this, you rob yourself of new connections, but also the person you’re talking to. When you do approach a stranger, that's when the magic happens,” she says.
9. Say goodbye energetically. People remember the beginning and end of a conversation. Link, for example, via the QR code on the LinkedIn app on your phone. Smits tackles it this way: “Shall we QR for a moment? I then make sure the other person shows their code and I scan it with my camera. Then I see their name and with a press of the button, you are linked. Almost always I see that we have mutual acquaintances and say: ‘Hey how nice, I see that you know this one and that one. Please give them my regards. I have to head off now.’ Knowing people in common makes a good impression. As a result, they remember you and are going to recommend you.’
10. Make sure the other person can find you again. Exchange contact details. You can do this via LinkedIn or the app Clinck but this is less commom in some industries. So you may want to use a business card. Or make sure you have a company name that makes you impossible to forget! For example, the Singing Chimney Sweep who releases their own songs, or the Pink Painter with their pink van and clothes. Keep your LinkedIn profile or website up-to-date with articles, insights, or updates relevant to your network. This will keep your new contacts interested and strengthen your professional reputation.
11. Keep challenging yourself. Set a goal that will make you stay longer and meet new people. For example, if you are just starting out, it's ‘today I'm approaching someone I don't know yet’ and if you are experienced, it's ‘today I'll speak to that director and approach 5 different strangers.”
12. Do you mainly speak to people online? Make sure you have enough (natural) light, so you are clearly visible on camera. Then link with the people you speak to online. For example, if you are in a break-out session on Teams or Zoom. So you expand your network again.
13. Follow up on a conversation or meeting. Once you have exchanged contact details, keep the contact warm. Send another message via LinkedIn after a while if you have a good reason. This could be anything, maybe you have read or heard something interesting in the media that relates to their company, or maybe the person you spoke to could mean something to someone in your own network. By helping the other person first, it is also more likely that they will think of you for an interesting assignment.
14. Keep track of who you have spoken to, for instance in a CRM system or a programme like Excel. Sometimes you talk to so many people that you forget valuable contacts if you don't save it somewhere right away.

What makes networking so exciting?

“85% of people find it exciting to start a conversation with a stranger. The same goes for that well-known entrepreneur or director of a big company,” Judith Smits explains. “That tension is logical. In the old days, as a hunter or gatherer, you paid with your life if you fell outside a group. So you preferred to stay with acquaintances you trusted. Now, this ‘safety instinct’ still makes you feel unsafe when you walk up to a stranger. But people are more human than you think. So are directors.”

Proven ways to find clients

KVK research shows that networking, recommendations from previous clients, and social media are the top 3 ways self-employed people find clients and assignments.