The following is not necessary to all readers.
I allow myself to name this era, "the era of networking technologies & tactics" in growth and development of business.
It's obvious to me that even a small outlet in a 50,000 sqft mall needs networking inorder to sell properly. It's all about who refers you more than anything else these days.
What if you've been referred straight to the direct person -whom you spent over a year to schedule an appointment with- through an online [XING, LinkedIn], a face-2-face [exhibition, conference, restaurant, bar, or even a sheesha place] or an ICT domain [ERP, Soft-Leeds] and take the shortcut that spares you time, money and worries?
On the SME level of business, networking is so important but not sufficient to accelerate or energize sales engine; while it's quite essential on corporate level, where investments burst from networking, mainly networking.
The question remaining is: ''How to be efficient in Networking ?''
In those four (4) specific right-s:
The right target - The right tool - The right time - The right skills
And after you hunt, you must know how to cook.
Still, as the 1st decade of 21st Century is about to decay, some business entities aren't yet familiar with the REAL Networking.
They're still:
''Not-NetWorking''
Keep Smiling!
