Networking is the most cost-effective way to market your business. Whenever you talk to anyone about what you do you are effectively networking, but formal networking involves pre-arranged meetings of business people where they get a chance to know each other.
The objective of networking is NOT to close a sale but rather to foster relationships. When a new business associate IS in the market for your business, he will then preferably choose you, because people prefer to do business with people they know. However, the true power of networking is in the exponential multiplication of your target market. If I know 300 people and you know 300 people, together we now know 600 people. If I meet a third person with 400 contacts and build a relationship, I now have a potential market of 900 contacts!
You can see however that a single encounter with someone does not constitute a relationship. It is necessary to target other business individuals who are not competitors but have similar markets and make an appointment to see them separately. You will then need to keep in touch regularly.
Even this in itself isn't really enough - you need to keep networking continually to keep you in people's minds. Network frequently enough and even those who you have not met separately will remember you and refer you.
For all these reasons I network as often as I can, so that people start to remember "Gary Blonder the hypnotherapist - the guy who helps people with their issues". This means that anyone who has this memory of me will instantly think of me when either having issues or when someone they know is confiding an issue.
