From your network come the coolest connections, both business and personal. But then of course you have to actively start networking yourself first. In this business blog, René Smit, owner of KIX 360 and Fuse IT (and an intensive networker for 25 years) explains what networking still brings him and how he approaches it.

Think beyond turnover

The main advantage of networking is of course that more people know who you are and what you do. You can benefit from that in several ways. For example, because your new network can refer potential customers to you.

However, in all his experience, René immediately comes up with a strong statement: “Networking is not about turnover. It is about building long-term relationships and knowledge transfer. Of course, I have also been to clubs where scoring sales is the most important thing, and it does work, but that is often for a short time. After that, it very quickly becomes an obligation and feels like a must. Once it has to, then it’s not fun anymore. What I have found is that for the long term it is especially useful that you can expand your network and fall back on it from time to time.”

Gaining and sharing knowledge

In addition to expanding your network for possible later acquisition or sales, knowledge sharing is an important benefit. In fact, that is the most important thing for René: “I don’t need to make any sales from my membership, so that’s not what it’s about for me. What I do like to do is share insights and acquire new knowledge. A lot of knowledge. It doesn’t matter whether my discussion partner has a mega-size company or is self-employed. As long as you know your stuff, I like to learn from you. I prefer to share knowledge with people I click with. And you automatically have that in the MetalBC, of course!”

Remote networking as well

There is a difference between offline networking and online networking. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The way René prefers to network corresponds well with the way the MetalBC facilitates it, as he explains: “With the app and the forum you can easily make connections remotely and help each other out. I live in a remote corner of Groningen, which limits my time for meetings in the west or south of the country. As a result, I don’t go to all the networking meetings across the country, which costs me a lot of time. Because I can network online as well as at MetalBC meetings at festivals where I am anyway.”

Avoid wasting time

Once you’ve met people at a meeting, they know who you are and you know exactly what you can turn to them for. That is enough for René to expand his network further: “I don’t like wasting time. That is why it works very well for me that I can easily approach people after we have gotten to know each other. I really don’t have to meet somewhere every Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. for that. It’s just nice that thanks to the MetalBC you can meet people in a different way for once, without all the obligations around it. It doesn’t take much time.”

Clusters for efficient networking

René also definitely sees the advantages of a regional cluster, but in the most efficient way possible: “It is nice that the MetalBC has already fully prepared how such a regional meeting should run, including the agenda you use. That makes such a meeting effective and also easy to transfer if the chairman is unable to attend for instance. I also like the fact that I am not obliged to join a cluster in my own region. After all, my work is not region-specific. So I’m still going to see how I’m going to fill that in.”

New insights and opportunities

Finally, another important benefit of networking is that you gain new insights and opportunities that you would never have had without your network. For example, René is already working with Erik Hermeler of eRocket, purely because they met through the MetalBC and saw opportunities in their complementary knowledge and services.

In short: you became an entrepreneur because you saw an opportunity and wanted to seize it. By networking you can discover many more opportunities and then do something with them.

The tips René has for us when it comes to networking:

  • Don’t just think about sales, but go for personal development that can be used again for business purposes.
  • Through a good network you will reach the right contact person faster.
  • Share knowledge and benefit from the knowledge of others in your network.
  • You present yourself to the outside world which allows you to get feedback and sell yourself better.
  • Network online to save time, but especially choose regional physical networking if it will benefit you more.
  • Be open to new insights and opportunities that you can capture together.
  • Think of a network as a group you can learn from and always fall back on. A group that you yourself can also enrich with your knowledge and experience.

Want to know more? Get in touch with René!