Business Networking Basics - Local and Online

What is Business Networking?  Business Networking is the gathering of groups of like-minded business professionals who recognize, create and act upon business opportunities

Many of these professionals connect on an online business network (like www.SmartGuy.com). These business networks  allow professionals the ability to build new business relationships and generate business opportunities all at the same time.

Advanced business networks have technology integrated to streamline the process of working with each other. This provides businesses a more cost-effective method of generating new business than advertising or public relations efforts.

While some business networks may agree to meet weekly or monthly with the purpose of exchanging business leads and referrals with fellow members, the trend is to go online and to go local. By being online (and in the cloud), businesses professionals can connect with each other remotely, even sending leads with full accountability.

Business networking can be conducted in a local business community, or on a larger scale via the Internet. New kid on the block SmartGuy.com is one of the fastest growing business networks and although online, has over 500 city business networks already. This allows it to not only allow local businesses to network with one another, but international countries looking to connect with local US businesses can interact with them as well.

Service and business professionals are increasingly using social networks to steer other local business professionals into their networks. This serves as a means of growing their circle of business contacts and promoting themselves online, allowing professionals to build up their circle of business partners they trust and can interact with. By connecting these business partners through networking tools, individuals can search for certain people within their network and get in contact with new prospective business partners. Since businesses are expanding globally, business networks and social networks make it easier to keep in touch with other contacts around the world.
 
Some business networking professionals prefer face-to-face business networking, to leverage their presentation skills with the urgency of physically being present. They regularly attend general and exclusive events; howeverm the trend seems to be a hybrid.  Connect with professionals online and then meet with them online. This allows members to meet up and find commonality, and then meet in person to further the relationship and the benefits it can bring to each party.