5 Tips for Better Networking as a VA

Keeping your business pipeline full just takes planning.

Some small business owners get caught up in the process, rather than the planning piece, and a lot of time can get wasted when you are not really aware if what you are doing is productive or not.

It’s important to think about a few things before you get started with networking (or prospecting).

1. Develop a plan that suits you. You need to fit marketing into your day, every day if possible. You don’t, however, want to get sucked in to spending a lot of time doing something without knowing why you are doing it. Planning is the key to success here.

2. Ask yourself what the purpose of your networking is. Where will you network? How often will you be there? Who will you speak with? What is your motive in speaking with them? What do you want to achieve by reaching out to each individual person you speak with? You want to have a clear motive for each person you speak with – add them to your audience, nurture them as a prospect or as a strategic partner, get a consultation with them, convert them to a client … there can be many reasons to connect with people. Make sure you know what your reasons are.

3. What are your results of each of your networking activities? Once you are out there, you want to follow up on what you are doing – to be sure it’s working for you. If you are attending a regular live networking event, chart your progress so you can be sure that you are making headway with your relationships. If not, change your approach. Sometimes you will find that some activities aren’t working for you. Don’t waste time on something that’s not working. Measuring results regularly is key to making sure what you are spending your time doing is working.

4. Find your balance. Many virtual assistants spend all their time ‘networking’ with their colleagues. They keep asking advice and sharing their strategies, but the truth is many of them are just networking in the wrong place. While it’s important to network with colleagues, it’s far more important to spend the time networking with potential clients. Be sure to find your balance of colleagues, clients, potential clients/prospects and your general target market. You will find more clients by spending your time around them!

5. Schedule your time. Make sure you put your networking time in your calendar every week. Schedule a decent amount of time (could be 15 minutes every day or 30 or more a couple of times a week, depending on how your calendar looks) and make sure to hold yourself to that. It can be easy to get lost in meetings and events and online social networking. Do what you came to do, and then move along to something else. Keep your business and personal socializing separate so you can be sure that you are maximizing your time (and it will help with your analysis of your results too!)

By having a plan and sticking to it – as well as keeping an eye on what’s working and what’s not working – you will have better results from your networking efforts. You will naturally have more conversations with people that you could potentially work with. You will definitely acquire more new clients. It’s a formula for success. It just takes a bit of planning.

Are you having difficulty finding potential clients? Analyze your activities to see what you might be doing wrong – and fix it!

For more tips on networking, watch this free video Tips for Better Networking on my Youtube channel. There are over 50 free videos for Virtual Assistants there, and we are adding more each week!