How To Build A Strong Business Network

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new business owner is choosing to operate in silo. You can roll out an MVP that takes the market by storm, get the largest funding, and start off strong like no other brand.

But none of these high-achieving stats guarantee long-term success if you miss out on market opportunities, collaborative relationships, and reputation that you could have gained from networking with other businesses, professionals, and leaders in the space.

So, it's a two-way thing. You either confine the extent of your business reach by working in a silo or enjoy the benefits of networking by building good relationships with others. We bet you’d go for the second option. 

Let’s quickly discuss 5 proven methods to build a healthy and strong business network in 2024.

5 Steps To Build A Strong Business Network In 2024

There are about 582 million entrepreneurs and over 334 million companies globally. That’s good news since it shows you have a large pool of people you can network with. But it also means you could end up with a bunch of people who add no value to your network if you do it wrong. 

To avoid that, follow these steps.

Identify Your Networking Goals

There are many reasons to network with industry professionals and organizations. For instance, it could be to seek out growth opportunities, join the ranks of market leaders, share and gain ideas, and enjoy support either via collaborative funding or referrals.

Whichever one it is, identifying your goal helps to shape the strategies you’ll engage, which platforms to visit when sourcing for valuable contacts, and how much you invest into building your network.

Here’s a way to dig out your goals:

• Assess your current business needs or deficiencies. For new startups, this deficiency usually involves practical experience tackling market problems, lack of tools or operational resources, or funding. Older businesses might have issues growing their customer base or appealing to their audiences.
• Turn your deficiencies into achievable goals within a time period and identify key individuals or organizations that have tackled similar issues successfully in your industry.
• Create an action plan to achieve your goals. We’ll discuss this in the next sections.

Most importantly, ensure your goals are measurable, after all, that’s the only way to know if your networking strategy is working. This could include quantifying the number of converted referrals you get from your business network in 6 months or a year.

Build An Online Presence

No one wants to network with an unnamable business. Or, it’s best to say no one wants a freeloader. So, you have to demonstrate the ability to offer equal value in any way possible. And the first way to do that is by building an online presence. 

Get out there, and let people see and know your business. Start with your website, redesign it to reflect professionalism, and optimize your business profiles for easy contact. 

Afterward, create an account on social media platforms. This is extremely important as 91% of small businesses use social media, and many business leaders like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman have strong presences on these platforms, too. That makes it the best place to strike up a conversation with industry leaders, professionals, and established businesses.

The social platform you build on fully depends on your target market and product. For instance, B2B brand owners will benefit more from a professional-saturated platform like LinkedIn, whereas B2Cs will find it easier on Facebook and Instagram. But there’s no harm in creating profiles on all platforms so long as you can manage them appropriately.

As you’re building your online presence, it’s also crucial to manage your reputation. The internet is a place where it takes barely an hour for a customer’s negative comment or review to destroy your business. And almost no valuable contact would love to network with a business with a poor reputation.

Attend Networking Events

Over 95% of professionals say face-to-face meetings are necessary for business discussions and agreements since they offer a more accurate first impression. Moreover, most business leaders, professionals, and top brands see networking events as an effective approach to capturing valuable opportunities. 

Take the recent World AI conference in Shanghai, China, as an example. Tesla and other valuable AI businesses, from tech hegemons to ambitious startups, met to showcase their brand power. Most importantly, each attendee got significant value from the high-end discussions that took place, while others had the opportunity to strike new deals or general partnerships.

So, add events to your to-do list this year. You can follow up on sites, such as AllConferenceAlert, for updated events, times, and locations. Most seminars are also announced on social media platforms, but it’s a matter of who you connect to. 

Alternatively, you can just search for events taking place on social media with keywords like “[Industry type] conference 2024”. See what we did with the “Sales conference 2024” keyword on LinkedIn below. 

In cases where you’re unable to attend physical events all the time, there are virtual ones too. Note that you don’t need to be the one attending always.

You can launch conferences, seminars, and podcasts where you invite other leaders, both those on your existing contact list and those who are not.

Join Professional Organizations

There are thousands of professional organizations on the internet, particularly social media platforms like LinkedIn and communication channels like Slack. You can ask your contacts if they know of one that you can join, request on your social & Linkedin feed on website, or simply search for available ones on the internet.

Slack created a small business community for small business owners and startups. Since it’s a diverse and non-specific group, once you join, request an audience with those in your industry and ask if they’re in any other professional organizations that are suitable for you.

Connect with other leaders by sharing your digital business card, strike up a polite conversation, and don’t be pushy. Instead of appearing desperate to network, showcase your value from the first sentence and create a good impression. 

More importantly, create a professional email signature with a QR code to enhance your branding efforts. Add links to your social media pages and website to drive traffic. 

Master The Art Of Follow-Up

It is one thing to strike up a conversation and build that foundation; it is another to sustain the relationship. Sadly, businesses hit their break in the latter part.

While this might not matter much for B2C companies whose sales cycle is short and have more voluminous market players, it is a different ballgame for B2B businesses, who have just the exact opposite.

Following up requires consistency and appropriate timing. You have to commit to showing up every day, dedicating time to engaging your networks online, and striking valuable discussions.

Sometimes, it could be as simple as responding to your network’s posts on social media or reaching into their DM to discuss an article they just published. 

If you have their phone contact, you could also employ direct SMS marketing to wish them a happy birthday or send congratulatory messages on their wins. This approach feels much more personal and portrays you as someone who values quality business relationships.

However, it’s important not to overdo following up. They’re business owners like you, not your family members or friends. Also, only engage with value, not out of necessity, and read the room to ensure you’re doing it right.

Conclusion

While the results of building a strong business network might not be evident immediately, it’s no doubt a profitable and low-cost approach to supercharge your business. A single contact might be all it takes to gain that high-value lifetime client via referral, and your contact might even end up becoming your customer in the long run. It happens all the time.

For a start, identify your networking goals and design an action plan to meet them. Then, build an online presence with a robust reputation, especially on platforms your target networks are likely to use.

Lastly, attend networking events and share your digital business card remotely or in-person, join professional organizations, and follow up to nurture long-term relationships.