{"id":33126,"date":"2019-01-03T16:51:34","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T20:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/?p=33126"},"modified":"2019-01-03T16:51:47","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T20:51:47","slug":"networking-tips-small-business-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the planned rise of your small business. One of the primary attributes of reliable and smart leadership is to positively influence those around you with your networking skills. Whether you\u2019re experienced in this domain or not, this article looks at the fundamentals of communication in a business environment. Often, these situations involve negotiation, and you\u2019ll have to find the balance between delicacy and a harder approach to get the best deal for your company.<\/p>\n<h3>Case-by-case negotiation<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/225777\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/meeting-new-clients-contacts-networking.jpg\" alt=\"meeting-new-clients-contacts-networking\" width=\"700\" height=\"350\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33127 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 700px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 700\/350;\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Meeting New Clients and Contacts Through Networking<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Some people find a strategy that suits them, and they stick to it. While this can be helpful for confidence-building and uniformity, the inflexibility this entails can often lead to missed opportunities. For business leaders with emotional intelligence and an ability to read social cues quickly, a case-by-case negotiation strategy is far more preferable.<\/p>\n<p>Take a look through this guide provided by Hiscox, describing the various<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiscox.co.uk\/business-blog\/influencing-way-great-negotiations\/\"> modes of communication<\/a> with different business personality types. Hiscox\u2019s business experts list the following traits that exist in the different types of businessperson you\u2019re likely to encounter:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> \u00a0Dominant, assertive individuals who communicate decisively<\/li>\n<li> \u00a0Cooperative and receptive individuals who can sweet-talk themselves into influential positions<\/li>\n<li> \u00a0Dependable and compliant individuals you can trust and rely on<\/li>\n<li> \u00a0Patient and meticulous planners with analytical minds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By separating people into these four categories, it\u2019s far easier to draw up communicative strategies to appeal to their soft sides and to win the best possible deal for you and, more importantly, your business.<\/p>\n<h3>Openness, approachability, and initiative<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/shelleyzalis\/2018\/02\/23\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut\/#2b79abfcbf7d\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg\" alt=\"forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut\" width=\"960\" height=\"732\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33128 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut-768x586.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 960px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 960\/732;\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Forget Networking: Relationship Building Is The Best Career Shortcut<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Many people find themselves networking at explicit networking events. Places where business leaders gather, such as conferences, are excellent places to make contacts and to share information and knowledge. However, these aren\u2019t the only places you\u2019ll be able to start a conversation that can lead you to<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/small-business-network\/2014\/nov\/13\/how-network-effectively-tips\"> new, valuable contacts<\/a>. You might consider the following locations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> \u00a0Your own office building, if you share office space<\/li>\n<li> \u00a0The hotel bar or restaurant during a business trip<\/li>\n<li> \u00a0Workshops and tutorial sessions for businesspeople<\/li>\n<li> \u00a0Courses and classes at university or college that cater for businesspeople<\/li>\n<li> \u00a0Cafes or bars in central business hotspots<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You might be a little nervous to approach people in such locations, but the least you can do is to be approachable yourself, and to look out for other business people who might appreciate a conversation. In the majority of instances, you\u2019ll be able to strike up a conversation with ease, especially seeing as you have business topics in common.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, ensure that you\u2019re always carrying smart-looking business cards on your person to distribute to contacts you make as you journey through the world. If you\u2019re confident and self-assured,<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/uk.businessinsider.com\/how-to-talk-to-anyone-at-a-networking-event-2015-2\"> take the initiative to approach people<\/a> yourself in order to draw them into your circle and share know how that will be of eventual value to your company\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n<p>Networking is important for small businesses. Build your network and strengthen your skills by following the tips above.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the planned rise of your small<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[5891,8926,9363,1305,1302,1452,7458,6264,9786,118,7909,9741,9784,7292,1599,280,9369,3737,9521,8097,1205,281,4299,115,9785],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, &amp; Creatives by Andy Sowards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/andysowardsfan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-03T20:51:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-03T20:51:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"732\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Sowards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@andysowards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@andysowards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Sowards\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/\",\"name\":\"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-03T20:51:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-03T20:51:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2e0f72bd7f6497fd883e2bd67d9f3415\"},\"description\":\"Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":732},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, &amp; Creatives by Andy Sowards\",\"description\":\"Design Inspiration &amp; Business Resources for Creatives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2e0f72bd7f6497fd883e2bd67d9f3415\",\"name\":\"Andy Sowards\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15f95b011563b5894883b22bd4b32d59?s=96&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15f95b011563b5894883b22bd4b32d59?s=96&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Andy Sowards\"},\"description\":\"Im a professional Freelancer specializing in Web Developer, Design, Programming web applications. Im an Avid member of the Design\/Development community and a Serial Blogger. follow me on Twitter @AndySowards\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders","description":"Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders","og_description":"Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/","og_site_name":"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, &amp; Creatives by Andy Sowards","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/andysowardsfan","article_published_time":"2019-01-03T20:51:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-01-03T20:51:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":732,"url":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andy Sowards","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@andysowards","twitter_site":"@andysowards","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andy Sowards","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/","url":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/","name":"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-03T20:51:34+00:00","dateModified":"2019-01-03T20:51:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2e0f72bd7f6497fd883e2bd67d9f3415"},"description":"Excellent leadership is the most essential and valuable quality when running a small business. Without it, you\u2019ll not be able to influence others in the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/forget-networking-relationship-building-is-the-best-career-shortcut.jpg","width":960,"height":732},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/networking-tips-small-business-leaders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Networking Tips for Small Business Leaders"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/","name":"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, &amp; Creatives by Andy Sowards","description":"Design Inspiration &amp; Business Resources for Creatives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2e0f72bd7f6497fd883e2bd67d9f3415","name":"Andy Sowards","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15f95b011563b5894883b22bd4b32d59?s=96&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15f95b011563b5894883b22bd4b32d59?s=96&r=pg","caption":"Andy Sowards"},"description":"Im a professional Freelancer specializing in Web Developer, Design, Programming web applications. Im an Avid member of the Design\/Development community and a Serial Blogger. follow me on Twitter @AndySowards","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.andysowards.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33126"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33129,"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33126\/revisions\/33129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}