{"id":4047,"date":"2023-06-16T01:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T17:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047"},"modified":"2023-04-07T07:22:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T23:22:19","slug":"you-should-start-networking-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047","title":{"rendered":"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At its core business development is all about relationships. Building these relationships and connecting with others in your industry is an essential part of any successful work winning strategy. To do this properly takes purposeful networking. As an entrepreneur, business developer, technical professional or a business owner, networking helps you reach new customers, find new business opportunities, and gain valuable insights into your market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below I explore five key reasons why you should start networking now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Get purposeful with your business development:<\/strong> Grab Your Guide<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Building relationships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Networking is all about building relationships. Connecting with others in your industry, you build valuable relationships that help you achieve your business goals. These can lead to referrals, partnerships, and other business opportunities that you may not have been able to otherwise access. How else will you get to know the movers and shakers in your industry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding your network<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Networking allows you to expand your ecosystem of relationships beyond your current circle of contacts. By attending events and conferences, joining professional organizations, and reaching out to new contacts, you expand your reach and connect with a wider range of people. This is especially valuable if you’re looking to enter a new market or expand your business into new areas.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Get those light bulb moments by networking both inside and outside your industry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Gaining insights and knowledge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Regularly connecting with others helps you gain valuable insights into your market and industry. By meeting those who have more experience or knowledge in your field, you can learn about trends, best practices, and other key information that can help you make better business decisions. These insights often come from perspectives that are not present within your own organisation, giving the information additional depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can also be valuable to network outside of your normal industry. For example, leadership and management groups can give amazing insights into multiple industries. Finding insights from other perspectives can yield real gold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncovering new opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Networking opens up new doors and opportunities for your business. Linking with others, often provides information about new business ventures, partnerships, or other opportunities that you may not have been aware of otherwise. These opportunities can help you grow your business faster and give you an edge on the competition who are not seeking these out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building your personal brand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purposeful networking also helps build your brand and reputation within your industry. Proactively connecting with others and building relationships, lets you establish yourself as a thought leader and expert in your field. This helps you gain credibility, attracting new customers and clients. It also allows you to access influencers and other high level stakeholders in your industry sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having go this far it should be obvious that networking is an essential part of business development. By building relationships, expanding your network, gaining insights and knowledge, finding new opportunities, and building your personal brand, you can achieve your business goals more effectively. Why not make networking a priority in your business development strategy and watch it help you grow and succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you waiting for? Start networking now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start networking now<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are looking to begin your Business Development journey but are not quite sure where to start? Download my quick start guide to business development. This gives a series of simple activities to quickly set you on the right path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

For a definition of business development you can check out my take in this post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are getting value out of my weekly free content I’d ask that you consider buying my new book. It’s a simple yet comprehensive framework to base your business development activity around and full of practical application to get you started now. It is available to order on Amazon<\/a> now.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Order your copy now!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

N<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want a more proactive and personal approach to your business development I am available to help. My personalized coaching program is designed to give you the skills to achieve work winning success. I’ll help you be purposeful in your customer interactions and hold you accountable to taking action. To learn more click the button below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Business Development Coaching<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At its core business development is all about relationships. Building these relationships and connecting with others in your industry is … <\/p>\n

MORE +<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,49,3,70],"class_list":["post-4047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-action","tag-action-phase","tag-business-development","tag-networking","featured-image-below","featured-image-size-"],"yoast_head":"\nFive Reasons You Should Start Networking Now<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Business development is all about building relationships. I explore the five key you should start networking now.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Business development is all about building relationships. I explore the five key you should start networking now.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tom Watkin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-15T17:10:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"626\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"418\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tom\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a\"},\"headline\":\"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-15T17:10:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047\"},\"wordCount\":700,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Action\",\"Action Phase\",\"Business Development\",\"Networking\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047\",\"name\":\"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-15T17:10:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a\"},\"description\":\"Business development is all about building relationships. I explore the five key you should start networking now.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1\",\"width\":626,\"height\":418},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?p=4047#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tom Watkin\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a\",\"name\":\"Tom\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tom\"},\"description\":\"Tom is an author and business development leader with a passion to help professionals be more purposeful in their BD efforts.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/tomwatkin\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomwatkin.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now","description":"Business development is all about building relationships. I explore the five key you should start networking now.","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:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now","og_description":"Business development is all about building relationships. I explore the five key you should start networking now.","og_url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047","og_site_name":"Tom Watkin","article_published_time":"2023-06-15T17:10:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":626,"height":418,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047"},"author":{"name":"Tom","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a"},"headline":"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now","datePublished":"2023-06-15T17:10:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047"},"wordCount":700,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1","keywords":["Action","Action Phase","Business Development","Networking"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047","url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047","name":"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1","datePublished":"2023-06-15T17:10:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a"},"description":"Business development is all about building relationships. I explore the five key you should start networking now.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1","width":626,"height":418},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?p=4047#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Five Reasons You Should Start Networking Now"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/","name":"Tom Watkin","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7e1c58bd748e7906ab3c3f7258d6b9a","name":"Tom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c22fcff7c29a8e6f407f211b77652405c1cd5f1179f50500b3f5c470df8e0fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tom"},"description":"Tom is an author and business development leader with a passion to help professionals be more purposeful in their BD efforts.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tomwatkin\/"],"url":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomwatkin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/antenna-ZDN-G1xBWHY-unsplash.jpg?fit=626%2C418&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4047"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4120,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047\/revisions\/4120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomwatkin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}