If you sat down and accurately calculated how much your business networking strategy was really costing you, it might radically change the way you approach networking. That’s according to leading expert Andy Lopata, giving business networking advice in a new business TV show on yourBusinessChannel.
Most businesspeople greatly underestimate the amount that they are spending on networking, says Lopata. They might think of the annual membership fee of their business networking group, and maybe even add in the weekly fees for breakfast referral meetings, but there are many other costs associated with a typical business networking strategy, says Lopata in his business networking advice on the show.
For example, anyone working a successful business networking strategy will meet regularly with their contacts outside the regular group meetings, in order to build their relationships. Immediately, this adds other costs, for example travel and other expenses.
In his business networking advice on the show, Lopata explains that the other major cost that people often overlook is the opportunity cost of their networking activity: what else could they be doing with the time and money they spend on their business networking strategy?
All of these costs need to be factored in when you look at your overall approach to networking, says Lopata.
If, at present, you consider making back your membership fees in business referrals is a good result, perhaps you need to think again. It is critical to understand what your total investment in your business networking strategy is, before you can really assess what your return is.
Lopata rounds out his
business networking advice by saying that many businesspeople, if they really understood the total cost of their networking, would dramatically change the way they worked their business networking strategy. If they realised that their costs are higher than they think, they would start putting a lot more effort in to getting value back from their networking activity.
