4 Keys to Natural Networking

You know that networking is important, but are you doing it right? Showing up to events is just one piece of the puzzle but it won’t get you far if you haven’t mastered the others:

• presenting yourself professionally
  
  
• making strong connections
  
  
• maintaining new relationships

The next time you put yourself out there, try out these 4 tips.

1. Practice varying your pitch

Have a technical pitch for professionals, a super-short, laid-back one for the backyard barbecue and a medium-size, understandable-to-the-masses pitch. When the “What do you do?” question comes, relax and answer naturally.

2. Let them get to know you

Have ways people can learn about you. It starts with the information on your business card. It might continue with your “Thanks for our talk” email: “I’ve attached the video clip I mentioned. If you’d like to receive my newsletter, just click on the link below.” And then there’s your website, portfolio, social media profiles, bio or anything else that helps people know what you do.

3. Don’t buy into status marketing

You’d be surprised what you can do with just a handful of business cards or a basic website. Maybe others have achieved self-marketing world domination (website-blog-newsletter; social media moguldom; professional memberships). All that can come later, if you want. Don’t let anything stop you from getting out there right now.

4. Take steps toward financial stability

Being more financially secure will help you network with confidence and not give off that frantic vibe that puts people off and alerts prospects that they can have their way with you at the negotiating table.

For some quick financial relief, look for ways to pare your expenses in the short term. Chip away at longer-range stuff: pay down debt, save small amounts regularly and even look at where and how you live. You can’t change everything at once, but making your life fit better with freelancing is a huge pressure-reliever.

Networking is essential to having a successful freelance career. The more authentic your approach is, the easier it will be to make long-lasting professional connections. Take the above 4 keys seriously and watch your network and your business grow.

SOURCE: Freelancers Union