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Building Business
立业之道(1/3)
Building Business
How do you make your business grow? Experts tackle two tough questions
Creating a Network
Questions: I’m interested in building a network and gathering referrals. I’m finding this is the most ethical and satisfying way to market my financial consulting business. How is this done?
Answer: Effective networking is more than just showing up at business mixers. Business owners who are outstanding networkers are systematic about the process. They create databases of people they know and their contact information, areas of interest and expertise and more. Then they establish ways to keep in touch.
Usually, they don’t try to make immediate sales but seek to provide help. Many top networkers say they listen for problems their networking partners are experiencing. That’s when people are ready to pay for help that they might not seek when things are going well.
Networks aren’t built in a day
Building relationships takes time. You’re not going to become a trusted friend, adviser and go-to guy overnight. So commit to the long haul.
Actually write time into your schedule to make calls to people in your network. Personal calls and e-mails are better for building relationships than bulk e-mails and newsletters.
Some networkers believe in having huge numbers—thousands—of contacts. Others continually cull their network to keep the highest-quality people they are most likely to help and receive help from.
Try to maintain friendly relations with former colleagues, clients, suppliers and non-business friends. Don’t overlook the secretaries and security guards at companies where you worked. They can be gatekeepers for future contacts and contracts.
Of course, the best way to maintain relationships is to do quality work and sell quality products. Few people will do business with nice people who are slipshod.
Specialized Terms
Mixer (n) 联谊聚会 a gathering organized so that people in a group can get to know each other
Go-to guy (n slang) 最佳帮手 a person to whom one turns for help or support
Bulk (adj) 大量的 large in amount
Vocabulary Focus
Referral (n) the act of directing someone to another person for information or help
Cull (v) to remove things that are no longer wanted
Slipshod (adj) showing lack of care, effort and attention
Discussion Question
“Usually, they don’t try to make immediate sales but seek to provide help.” Doesn’t it sound like those ambitious networkers provide help because they know they can take advantage of the people they’ve helped?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘Many top networkers say they listen for problems their networking partners are experiencing. That’s when people are ready to pay for help that they might not seek when things are going well.’
2. According to the recording, what’s the difference between ‘marriage counseling’ and ‘marriage consulting’?
