If you’ve been following Tubblog lately, you’ll know that Richard recently published Business Networking for Geeks – a fantastic guide to expanding your MSP through the power of connecting with others. It’s the book to read for networking tips!
I’m a huge fan of networking – I honestly think it’s one of the best ways to get your business and brand out there, and even if you’re not making sales right away, you’re connecting with like-minded people. That means you’re a step or two away from setting up some fantastic working relationships for years to come.
In fact, pursuing networking helped me find my way to Team Tubb – I’m writing for the blog today largely thanks to connections made along the way!
What’s more, the people you meet always know other people – meaning there’s unlimited networking out there for you to tap into if you know how to conduct yourself!
The MSP owners I’ve talked to, too, often feel they’re more the background tech geeks – never really the face of a business. I’ve been there, too! It’s easy to fall into your work without realising you can really be your brand and get out and about connecting with others.
Alongside his book, Richard’s written up a fantastic introduction to networking recently that’s well worth diving into. As such, I thought I’d write up a quick list of networking tips and tricks that really work for me as a business owner and self-confessed geek – which I think translate amazingly well to MSP owners, too.
So – let’s quickly explore what networking is, what some of the challenges are, and what some of my favourite tips (including a sneak peek at Richard’s book) are.
What is networking, and why should you do it?
Networking is all about meeting people! Think of it as a social event where business owners get together to find common ground and interests, and learn more about their journeys so far.
For MSPs, this can be a fantastic opportunity to share advice and stories with people from elsewhere in the industry. What’s more, it can be an excellent chance to find talented people who might be able to support your MSP and connect you to further professionals and opportunities.
And, of course, you should never enter into networking just to make quick sales or wins! You should always make time for networking to touch base with your wider community – to genuinely find out more about the people around you, and to see if there are any ways you can help others.
One of the best pieces of advice I received about networking – as a small business owner – over the years is to focus more on what you can do for others, rather than what you get in return. Much like how Christmas should be more about giving rather than getting, networking should be an altruistic exercise!
That said, I’ve talked to MSP owners over the years who have struggled to make networking work – and hopefully, Business Networking for Geeks goes a long way to help people remedy these problems.
Networking challenges for MSP owners
Networking can be tricky – hence why Richard’s produced a how-to guide to help geeks like me get around the basics and make it really work for us.
Common challenges for MSP owners might simply be that they don’t see themselves as the face of their businesses – which, again, is something that you can break out of if you really want to!
To overcome networking challenges, you need to be willing to face them head-on. Let’s take a brief look at some of the common problem areas MSP owners have explored with me personally.
There’s not enough time
Ok – we’ve all heard or even used this line before! The answer isn’t simply “well, make more time,” but rather, to think carefully about the ROI of networking for your business.
How much time are you actively putting into marketing and promoting your business? Could you re-evaluate your marketing budget if certain campaigns haven’t been converting for a while?
Beyond financial investments, start treating yourself like a client. This is one of the best steps I took when first growing my own business – to put time aside for my own development and personal projects, I decided to label myself an important customer.
That encouraged me to carve out time in my schedule for areas such as networking, just an hour or so here and there.
If you don’t have time to attend physical networking due to travel, consider finding groups that offer online meetings and chats. Since 2020, online networking has really exploded – you’d be surprised at how many distanced groups there are.
You’re meeting the wrong people
This can get frustrating – but it’s often simply a case of you needing to expand your circles a little. Or, perhaps you simply need to register with and attend highly specific networking groups for your niche.
You don’t even have to look locally for some groups. Some national networking groups offer online meetings that you can get set up with from afar – and you might only need to attend one or two meetings in person per year.
Don’t be afraid to niche down your networking. You won’t always find the right people right away at events, and some will offer different connections to others. It’s a process that takes time and effort – so, be ready to give it patience and an open mind.
You’re just not converting on networking
Again, this is all to do with keeping patient and ensuring you have an open mind. If you’ve been to four or five meetings with the same group but are yet to make strong connections, it’s likely time to try another group, or to change your approach.
Otherwise, keep making time for networking. Richard’s book goes into further detail on how to adapt your mindset and start getting more out of what you pay into the process – and below, I’ll share with you some of my personal favourite tips.
Top Networking Tips You Can Put Into Action NOW
OK – we’ve addressed why networking is important, and how some of the major challenges you might be facing could be handled more easily. Now, it’s time for me to get stuck into a few networking tips I’ve personally used to improve my experience and find more satisfying connections.
Some of the tips below cross over with advice from Business Networking for Geeks, so to avoid treading on Richard’s toes, I’ll be giving my own quick spin and preview – and suggest you dive deeper into the book for more ideas on how to put them into practice.
With that out of the way, here are some super-fast networking tips you can start getting to grips with right now!
1. Choose the right networking group
I’ve covered this in a little detail above, and Richard certainly explores it in more detail in Networking for Geeks – but if general networking groups aren’t working out for you, be sure to niche down and find groups that are tailored more to your areas of expertise, interests, or local areas.
In fact, I greatly recommend Gudrun’s guide to embracing different types of networking groups as a starting point, too. Keep your mind open, and if one group doesn’t work out for you, try others!
2. Check the guest list and make yourself known
Yes – you can check who’s attending networking events before you attend, and one of the best ways to do this is to see who’s responded to events online, such as through LinkedIn or Facebook.
It’s not a cheat to get ahead of the pack and see who’s showing up! If there are people you’d like to make connections with or start supporting via your MSP, they might be attending networking near you – so, snoop at the list.
And, make yourself known! If you’re active on LinkedIn, share that you’re heading to an event and that people can catch you there. There’s a chance activity on your post might reach others in your extended network.
These, again, are a great couple of tips that Richard dives into more through his book, and there’s extra guidance on pre-networking tips via the blog.
3. Become a matchmaker
What I really enjoy about Business Networking for Geeks is how energised it is about the sheer power of bringing people together! And, at networking events, you have some superb opportunities to link people up (in a purely professional capacity, of course!).
Even if your MSP doesn’t stand to benefit from connections there and then, you could kickstart conversations between others who might benefit from knowing each other.
Again, think about being altruistic – if you can’t help yourself, help others. You might even have a few connections or clients of your own who attend networking events – it’s a great opportunity for you to tap into your knowledge of what they do and find opportunities.
4. Listen actively to others
The power of active listening is your friend when it comes to regular networking. Don’t attend events feeling desperate for opportunities to speak! Listen to what others have to say, and really listen – ask follow up questions, and show genuine interest in your fellow attendees.
This not only helps us to get to know each other better and feel more at ease with each other, but also helps you dig deeper into what makes others tick – and whether or not there could be working opportunities in store.
5. Always follow up fast
I’ll keep this step nice and short, but here’s an example of my own – after online networking, I always make sure to send LinkedIn requests and offer to meet up with people one on one.
Following up quickly after events shows others that you genuinely care about what they do, and opportunities that you might be able to find, mutually, though extended conversations.
I’ve met long-time clients and colleagues through following up after networking – if it can work for me, it’ll work for you, too!
6. Don’t just seek out people who benefit you
Again, this is a personal favourite of mine – networking should be about expanding your networking and meeting new people, much less about seeking sale after sale.
Some people do tackle networking this way, and it’s a surefire way to end up disappointed, at least to an extent. If you go into every networking session expecting to find someone who wants to partner with or invest in an MSP, you might be sorely disappointed.
Instead, look at networking as an exercise to meet and connect with as many people as possible. Remember the equation I mentioned earlier – other people know other people – meaning there’s a virtually infinite well of opportunities out there, down the line.
Want to partner with a cybersecurity vendor, but end up building a rapport with a graphic designer? They might know someone in their network who can help you – and if not, they might be a fantastic addition to your professional network all the same.
Conclusion
It really isn’t easy to condense networking 101 into a simple article – and I’m sure many have tried it!
Business Networking for Geeks, however, is a brilliant all-in-one guide to helping networking newbies and skeptical MSP owners get to grips with the finer points of professional connection-building.
Even if you’re completely new to the idea of building your own brand – you never know what fantastic connections you might make from event to event!
I highly recommend taking a look at Richard’s book! And let us know what you think of these tips. What would you add?
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I’m a small business owner and writer with over a decade’s experience in producing help guides and social content for a variety of industries. I’m genuinely interested in helping fellow business owners find more convenient ways to run their operations and support their teams.
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