Successful networking in business: 3 X 4 Tips for good business relations

In many cases, proper networking is key Career. The American psychologist Stanley Milgram already put forward the thesis in the 1960s that “everyone knows everyone around six corners”. A number of studies have confirmed this over the years.

Everyone knows everyone around 6 corners

It is not for nothing that it is also called “The Welt is small”. For example, a 2013 survey by Microsoft Research found that the average individual is connected to any given person by 6,6 contacts.

After all, a whopping 30 billion individual compounds were examined to support this result. Reason enough to pay enough attention to networking, especially from a professional point of view - because the right contacts at the right time can be real door openers for your career or important ones customers win and hold.

Of vitamin B and the contact through the contact

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During Term Vitamin B used to have a rather negative aftertaste, but nowadays it is used much more liberally. And that's hardly surprising, since surveys and studies continue to confirm its value.

An ILO study found that managers in particular make heavy use of vitamin B to accelerate their careers. Accordingly, even 70 percent of all leading position in Germany occupied by relationships.

Working life can be made much easier and more pleasant, and friends at work even extend life. At least that's what scientists at Tel Aviv want University have proven - according to their study, those who do not have positive social contacts at work have a 2,4-fold increase Risks rather die.

4 Tips: How to build the contact best?

So important contacts in the Business also are, they usually arise only through sufficient Commitment and ongoing care. But what does it actually take to inspire partners, major customers and other interesting business giants and to find a common denominator?

1. Quality not quantity:  Because building a network can be time-consuming, connecting with just anyone is far from efficient. In general, no one can develop and maintain intensive relationships with more than 150 people. Accordingly, it makes sense to consider certain criteria in advance, based on which a network is slowly but steadily built up. This also includes rejecting a contact request on XING and other business platforms. Because in the end it is the quality of the contacts that decides and not the sheer quantity.
2. Simply drauflos contacts? Better not. Establishing relationships is not easy to realize offhand. It's not for nothing that the term Business Relation Management has been coined in recent years - it already suggests that there is certainly work in a successful business network. So before starting to contact you, it should be analyzed which organizations and individuals are worthwhile for establishing a relationship. If they could become lucrative clients, they might even have an extensive network to offer, can serve as a referral, or have valuable industry know-how.
3. Communicate correctly. Networking does not only consist of phrases and fast-sending contact requests. Whoever wants to remain in the memory, should have genuine interest in the respective person. In conversation - be it by personal or mail - it should be signaled that the work, the know-how or the position of the other is respected and regarded as interesting. However, this is not to be equated with clumsy flatteries. Better is a conversation on the same level at which both conversation partners feel comfortable, can contribute something to the conversation and in the best case each have added value.
4. The right mood is important. The mood is not unimportant. The opposite is usually felt immediately when his conversation partner is in a bad mood or wants to get the small talk behind quickly. If it is a personal encounter, then good mood should prevail and this is also expressed by the corresponding body language.

4 Tips: How can existing contacts be maintained and maintained?

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But it is far from enough to establish contacts - you also have to cultivate them properly so that you can enjoy your businessNetwork hat.

1. Networking costs time - an aspect that should not be underestimated. Good networking takes time and needs to be worked out. Ideally, it should therefore be a small but fixed part of the working time. This can be, for example, 10 percent of the time during which the business contacts are developed and expanded. If, on the other hand, you assume that networking is simply happening by the way, you either surpass the value of good business contacts or not.
2. Do not forget the regular customers: Because time-consuming networking also applies to regular customers who should not only be contacted when it is necessary for business - on the contrary, a targeted approach is particularly important here, in which the focus should be on customer satisfaction and service quality. Depending on the size of a company, the use of comprehensive customer relationship management makes sense here and ensures that existing customers feel comfortable in the long term and that there is a constant connection to them.
3. A large network has not only positive sides. At some point, the network begins to develop a certain dynamics of dynamics, through which many new contacts are added via other contacts. Quickly the overview can be lost, especially since many of these contacts are not relevant at all. Here it can make sense to move away from time to time and make contacts fall asleep. Ultimately, a business partner, which is not relevant, costs only time and maintenance without delivering value.
4. Not only take but also give. Valuable contacts are nice and good, but these can rarely be ingratiated by a few charming words and convince. Especially in the long term, only the own added value on the market keeps such a relationship stable, because after all both sides want to profit. So if you want to use your business contacts for yourself, you should also be prepared to give something - for example in the form of knowledge, information and know-how.

As a career starter Connections and vitamin B use

Social capital - and this is nothing else but the vitamin B - is becoming more and more important as the career ladder goes up. Here, it is crucial to be in the right place at the right time, to snap up the latest developments and to use them as far as possible.

Pure specialist knowledge can usually no longer keep up. Because quite clear: Who are the influential people in Companys knows and is well known by colleagues or superiors, who are also more likely to be involved in projects and can face new challenges.

How do workers evaluate vitamin B and its use?

A representative survey by the Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research addressed this question and questioned a total of 563 employees. The result was that 41 percent of those surveyed Opinions are that existing connections should also be used. 39 percent were of the opinion that relationships are even indispensable in professional life.

At just 2 percent, very few are convinced that there is work life purely objective criteria. The situation is somewhat different for employers: They also share the view that relationships should be used when it is beneficial. Nevertheless, many consider it quite realistic to be successful on the job market even without vitamin B.

Networking in international comparison

It is also interesting that the value of vitamin B in other countries is quite different. In America in particular, contacts and relationships are very popular with career questions. This can be seen, for example, in the universities: those who have studied in Yale, Harvard or Stanford, as a rule, have lived long afterwards, despite immense study costs. Because the people who are trained there are considered as elite and are preferred by many job offers alone. In addition, they also come to the coveted job offers, which are not even publicly advertised.

In this country, however, it is still frowned upon to only get a job with the help of others. Because that would mean that there was no other option and your own Performance was not decisive. Nevertheless: If you have good relationships, you cannot and should not simply let them fall away, especially since they were basically worked out after all.

Networks in detail - 4 network types

As interesting as the theory of networking is, it only becomes really interesting in practice. After all, establishing contact is not that easy to implement and sometimes takes a lot Courage, self-confidence and overcoming. That also plays into it Behavior of the other person plays an important role and is usually very individual. However, there are some rough types that can be responded to as follows:

1. The strategist: - a network that has a lot of experience and is only interested in the best contacts. He is always thinking about who he wants to join his network, and therefore he has many high-quality connections, such as industry experts and highly qualified professionals. However, this also makes it difficult to arouse his interest, especially for those in employment. What really matters are the abilities. A recommendation by a joint contact can lead the stone into the roll, however, it needs a lot of own initiative. If he is convinced, he can, however, be a door opener when it comes to jobs and promotions.
2. The charmer: - he is in a good mood and easy-going, so he quickly attracts attention. It is hardly surprising that he is known and popular in his company. He is therefore often found in network events, and he is mainly used as an intermediary because he knows many people. In order to keep him in mind, however, his interlocutor should also be self-confident and have an anecdote, so that the charmer does not disappear directly to another familiar face.
3. The reticent: - even shy networkers can be exciting business contacts. However, they usually stay a little off the beaten track and get a picture of the situation before they become active. Often, however, this network simply keeps itself back, so it usually has a rather small network. This, however, he cares very carefully and can lure him his conversation partner out of the reserve, he often gives interesting expertise and is a reliable contact.
4. The collector: - He is present at many network events and also very active on online platforms. There he focuses on mass and secures as much contact data as possible. This gives him a very large network, but it is impossible to take care of any contact in the long term. So if the relationship is to last, then even the initiative must be taken.

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