Who’s in your Network?

When doing research, we discovered that there is one thing that all 7.5 Billion people that inhabit the earth have in common, they all have a natural instinct for developing relationships with other people. One might say we were created to “network”. Therefore, if developing a relationship with other people is a natural instinct, and another word for that is networking, and no business can survive without customers (other people), it would make sense that all successful businesses must network. 

Why Networking Matters 

Three years ago, when my partners and I were sitting around a table at Panera Bread developing the vision for the Small Business Resource Association, we asked each other the question “what are the most important services we could provide to best help small businesses be more successful?”. The old saying “it takes money to make money” led us to realize that what most small businesses needed most was more “business”. To get more business they needed more customers and to get more customers they either had to advertise more or get out in the marketplace and talk to people about their products or services. They needed money to advertise, which many of them had very little of, so we concluded that one of the best ways we could best serve our members was to provide as many opportunities as possible for our members to meet people, talk about what they do, develop relationships and then, hopefully, make a sale. Remember the old saying “people like to do business with people they like”. 

What Networking is Not 

Let me first tell you what networking isn’t. It is NOT going to an event and socializing with coworkers, friends and people you know. Networking is meeting new people and developing a relationship with them as well as reinforcing old acquaintances. If people know who you are and what you do, they have your contact information and they “like you”, there is a good chance that some day they will either do business with you or refer you to someone else. Today’s cover story is a great example of SBRA members that have built their businesses on this networking principle. 

Here are a few helpful hints to make your networking experience a super success. 

1. Meet people with a smile and a Positive Attitude. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer.

2. Be a much better Listener than talker. Make the other person feel like what they have to say is important to you. 

3. Be a Reverse networker by focusing on helping others make connections. What you do to help others will come back to you in spades. 

4. Be yourself, whatever that may be. People appreciate authenticity. 

5. Don’t make promises you cannot keep. Prove you are worthy of Trust. 

6. Be Approachable and make people feel comfortable talking to you. 

7. Hand out your business card and get theirs. 

8. Follow up with a personal call explaining how much you enjoyed meeting them and possibly providing them with a lead that they could reach out to. (reinforcing #3) 



Over my career, I have given out literally thousands of referrals to help people connect with the people that could use their products and services. I can honestly say, 50 years later, that it was the people that I networked with and helped that gave me the support I needed to grow my successful businesses. They were my network. Now it’s your turn, take an assessment and find out “Who is in your Network”. 

The SBRA provides numerous ways you can meet people and exercise the 8 principles above. To learn more about networking opportunities visit https://www.sbrassociation.com/#JOIN