Fundamental networking strategies to sign clients

At every phase of developing your business, networking is crucial. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer, or managing a SME, nurturing strong relationships is essential to discovering new clients. By applying a few tips, building a professional network is within everyone's reach. In this article, we explore different ways to create a strong professional network and boost your business’ strategic growth.

Networking allows you to build your brand and get recommended. By developing your network, you meet people who may be interested in your products or services, or who can help you find new collaboration opportunities. Beyond these business interests, networking also allows you to exchange information and stay informed about the latest news and trends in your industry.

Before getting started, you need to take stock and set your expectations. Clearly defining your goals will make it easier to hone-in on appropriate networking events and implement specific strategies.

Networking is not limited to creating new relationships. Before seeking out new contacts, you should already start strengthening, cultivating, and getting good mileage out of your existing network. Eric Chaffanel, CEO of Feazer (a startup providing teams of specialized graphic designers to companies needing to accelerate production), testifies: "As soon as I launched my company, I turned to my personal network. Too often we ignore them. Personal networks are an undervalued source of information, contacts, and prospects."

Start by focusing on people who can help you create value for your business:

• your family, friends, and acquaintances;
• your former work colleagues;
• your classmates;
• people with whom you share a passion, sport, or hobby;
• neighbors and business owners in your local community.

At best, these people may turn out to be future clients. At worst, they could talk about you to the right contacts. But they’ll need to have clearly understood your value proposition. In networking, everything relies on good communication. Talk about your activity, your company. Explain what you do, what problem you solve, and the mission you’ve set for yourself.

When we talk about networking, we instinctively think of swapping business cards at professional events, trade shows, or conferences. While these events can be super relevant for your business, you can’t be everywhere at once. It’s crucial to be aware of where you’ll meet people from your industry who really need your services or products. You need to identify which events could most likely turn into business opportunities.

Once you’ve identified the event you’re going to attend, target your prospects before arriving on site. Find out about who’s registered (those who liked or commented on the organizer's post on social networks, for example) and the speakers. A short, well-intentioned message on LinkedIn (or by email) lets people know you’ll be there — plus that you’d like to meet — which can be super impactful.

Most importantly, be sure to meticulously prepare your pitch. You’ll have very little time to convince your audience. Don't hesitate to approach them simply by explaining why you’re talking to them. This can help you stand out and often makes a huge difference. Be direct and efficient in your approach: it saves time for everyone.

An excellent networking strategy is to organize your own event to mix current and potential clients. Getting in touch with former clients allows you to reactivate business relationships, develop loyalty, and create additional opportunities to sell products or services. After all, these people have already built a solid, trusting relationship with your company. They know your products/services, and are therefore more likely to recommend your company to any prospects at your event.

Networking also relies on your ability to leverage your most powerful ambassadors — your clients. Don't be shy! Ask them to recommend your services to other departments of their company (if it’s a large group) or to other people in their professional network. If your clients are satisfied, they won’t even hesitate.

Setting up a sponsorship program can often be a great way to reach new clients. Try developing a program with professionals who share your target market, but not your product/service vertical. This way, each party talks about the other's services to their clients, and everyone wins. In order to frame the sponsorship system and scale it, you could set up a compensation scheme for new referrals / new business acquisitions.

Social networks are an excellent way to develop your network and find clients. But explore which platforms your industry use most. Focus there. Some examples by sector could be:

1. Professionals and B2B companies: For professionals seeking to forge business relationships, secure partnerships, and engage B2B customers, LinkedIn is a hotbed of opportunities.
2. Visual arts and design: As the visual platform par excellence, Instagram is ideal for arts and design professionals. It allows you to share your work and attract the attention of potential clients. Think of it as an additional online portfolio.
3. Retail and products: Facebook and Instagram offer significant visibility for retail businesses. Targeted advertising on Facebook, and visual sharing on Instagram can boost both engagement, and sales.
4. Technology and startups: X is where the latest tech news and trends lands first, whilst LinkedIn offers a solid platform for finding clients in the tech sector.
5. Health and wellness: Instagram and Pinterest are ideal for sharing health tips, nutritious recipes, and wellness inspiration.
6. Consultants and freelancers: LinkedIn is essential for professional consultants, while X can be used to share ideas, advice, and establish a presence as an expert in your field.
7. Tourism and Hospitality: Instagram and Facebook allow you to share travel experiences, special promotions, and interact directly with customers. Reviews and recommendations play a key role here.
8. Education and Training: LinkedIn offers opportunities to establish professional connections in the education field, while YouTube can be used to share educational videos and testimonials directly.

To take advantage of LinkedIn and land potential clients, you need to have the right approach. "Regular posts on LinkedIn are a reassuring element for clients," analyzes Eric Chaffanel, CEO of Feazer, who claims to have generated about ten client meetings in one year thanks to his LinkedIn publications.

1) Optimize your profile for prospecting (put a professional and smiling profile picture, add a cover photo reflecting your added value, write a striking headline, fill in the "Info" field by integrating keywords and ending with a simple sentence to get in touch with you).

2) Define your editorial line and share content at least once a week.

3) Identify contacts who like, comment, and share your publications and contact the most qualified ones.

4) Send your contact request, without necessarily personalizing it.

5) Establish the business relationship (thank your new contact, then define their level of maturity in their purchasing reflection).

6) Nurture your audience’s buying intent. For Aurélien Couloumy, CEO of Novaa Tech (a deeptech startup at the forefront of data analysis innovation), the vast majority of clients found on LinkedIn are not ready to buy. "I quickly understood that it was useless to immediately set up a sales meeting with a contact made on LinkedIn. To achieve my goals and help them understand the interest of my solution, I have a Lead Nurturing sequence." This involves sending them the right messages to move them to the next stage: from the problem to the solution, then from the solution to the purchase.

You need to stay ahead of the curve and find other ways to be visible, appreciated, and recognized as an expert in what you do. Build your network through other initiatives:

• Volunteering with nonprofits linked to your sector can help strengthen your professional network. If, for example, you’re a Tech entrepreneur, you could donate time to the Emmaüs Connect association, which fights against the digital divide and illiteracy. By combining your professional expertise with a social commitment, you create a positive impact on society and differentiate yourself. This can be a decisive factor for clients who value socially responsible companies.
• Offering mentoring sessions is a good strategy to strengthen your professional network. By becoming a mentor, you establish strong relationships with other professionals that can lead to recommendations and business opportunities. Mentoring positions you as an expert in your field. It enhances your reputation and attracts the attention of potential clients. Not to mention the fact that you get visibility from your mentee’s own network. This automatically expands your own circle of influence. Finally, mentoring introduces you to a wide range of professionals, helping you to fins new clients across multiple sectors.
• Being a jury member for startup pitch competitions can be a winning strategy to strengthen your professional network and attract new clients. You establish relationships with promising entrepreneurs and strengthen your presence within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. By participating in pitch competitions, you can interact with other jury members who are often leaders in their field. This can significantly expand your network of influence. Finally, the opportunities to speak publicly at pitch competitions when you introduce yourself, for example, contribute to increasing your visibility and strengthening your positioning as an expert.
• Speak, teaching and mentoring at local universities offers a multitude of advantages to strengthen your professional network. You establish links with emerging talents who may one day be your clients. But above all, you enhance your visibility, meet other experts in your field, and develop your personal brand, which reinforces your credibility and can attract the attention of potential clients who are looking for recognized experts.
• Speaking at conferences or round tables not only allows you to share your expertise, but also offers you additional visibility. It combines showcasing your expertise, creating direct connections, and accessing target audiences, thus creating a set of favorable opportunities for your business development.

Ever heard of "slow networking?" In contrast to the effervescence often associated with social networks, slow networking encourages a more measured and qualitative approach. It prizes the quality of the connections made over the sheer number of quantity networking. Slow networking means taking the time to understand the needs, skills, and aspirations of each contact. Consequentially, practitioners foster more authentic and lasting bonds.

By opting for this approach, individuals can cultivate deeper and more engaged connections, promoting a solid client base and mutually beneficial long-term collaboration opportunities. Slow networking embodies the belief that building lasting relationships can be more fruitful in the long run than rapidly pursuing more and more new contacts. For Aurélien Couloumy, CEO of Novaa Tech, his most effective method to build a strong network can easily be attributed to fostering win-win relationships.

Developing an effective networking strategy is essential to finding new clients. Maximize your company's chances of success by clearly identifying your goals, participating in relevant events, using social media strategically, creating a compelling pitch, and nurturing your existing relationships.