International Business Networking
Business networking habits play an important role in international business. It’s how we discover international opportunities and avoid cultural blunders. Our business networking habits help us to learn how to do business in other cultures.
One of the important things about international business networking is that it needs to be done consistently. It needs to become a long term habit. You cannot jump in, network for a month or two, and then stop because you think you have all the answers you need to take action. The risk of making a cultural blunder is too great. Consistent networking ensures that we stay current and it’s how we verify our understanding of our international markets.
This explains why networking has become second nature. And why I’ve used this networking habit to build my international business network after first connecting online.
Daily Skype Calls To Connect With New People On Twitter
At the beginning of last year I decided to implement a new business networking habit by regularly speaking to interesting people I meet on Twitter. It was simple: I tried to Skype one person every day as often as I could.
This may seem a lot, especially when you consider calls almost always last more than 30 minutes and often a full hour. But I’m lucky, the time difference plays in my favor. You see, I try to schedule these calls late in the afternoon just before wrapping up and this happens to be mornings on the other side of the Atlantic. And I although I’m fairly flexible on the time, I always keep the calls limited to an hour. So I aimed to spend an hour every day whenever possible to connect to someone I had never spoken to before.
The first 6 months of last year I probably averaged about 3-4 calls to new people I met on Twitter each week. After a while this lead to regular Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews. And again I called first and got to know each person before the Twitter interview.
In the second half of the year I paid less attention to how many new people I connected with. This was partly because I started speaking to several people on a regular basis and did not keep track of how many new people I spoke to during the week. And after 6 months of consciously choosing to spend an hour to reach out and connecting with people on Skype it simply became a habit at the end of my day.
The results? To put it simply: this works. While networking on Skype I meet valuable people to add to my international business network. I don’t add everyone I speak to. But I now have a great list of valuable business contacts.
Weekly Guest Posts To Connect With A Broad Audience
As last year’s business networking tactic has now become a habit, I’d like to start using another business networking tactic on a regular basis. The habit I’d like to install this year is weekly guest posting. As you may know, I already write content on a regular basis for several different blogs:
- Social Media Examiner
- Top Sales Experts
- ClickInsights
- Bloggertone
- Sales Bloggers
But I’d like to add a bit more variety to this mix to fit some of my other online activities. Two things happened recently to make me take this decision.
Guest Posting. I read Chris Garrett’s ebook which explains how to guest post and why you should do it. It costs about $10 and yes, this is an affiliate link. After reading this ebook I was convinced of the value in adding more variety to my guest posting.
My Blog Guest. I discovered Ann Smarty’s online community where you can both ask for guest posts and also find blogs open to publishing your guest posts. It’s also a great place to share guest posting tips and experiences. Ann has set up a grading system for the blogs open to accepting guest posts. I have to say I’m impressed with how this is set up and the quality of members there. My Blog Guest makes it easy to find guest posting opportunities.
My Guest Posting Plan
So this year my business networking plan is to write at least 1 guest post a week in addition to my current activities. Why?
- To reach a wider audience
- To also write articles on 2 new web marketing activities: WishList membership sites on WordPress and product launch management
My core expertise is international marketing and sales strategy for international business development through social media. This involves several different domains of competence and I need to stay current to apply these skills online.
This is why I’ve decided to use guest posting to expand my international network within the areas of my different skills.
What about you?
- What tactics do you use to grow your international business network?
- Do you think guest posting would help your online business networking?
- Would you like me to write a guest post for you on membership site marketing or business networking for product launches?
More on International Business Networking:
- Networking With The Wrong Questions
- 2 Habits To Grow Your International Network
- The Biggest Mistake In International Networking
- Follow Up With Your First International Clients
- Online Business Networking When Cultural Communication Styles Clash
She is who I turn to when I have questions and you should too"
-- Chris Garrett, co-author of the "Problogger" book
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