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October 29, 2019

Stan Bril Identifies the Importance of Networking and Growing Your Business



When entrepreneurs consider the best strategies to grow their business, secure new clients, and land lucrative business opportunities, they all seem to agree that networking is, ultimately, the best path to follow. The more connections a business owner builds, the better their business profile gets and the more leads they grow for a robust and sustainable business. 



Entrepreneur Stan Bril, the founder and leader of the private commercial lending firm MCG, is of the opinion that the best way to accelerate business growth is through actively engaging in networking with other businesses. “Without networking,” he says, “you can’t expect business leads to come rolling through the door on their own. You need to start building meaningful connections from day one. Even when your company is still a plan on paper, you need to get a sense of the market, meet new people and make yourself known.” Every new social contact and acquaintance becomes an asset for your business. In the future that new friend may become a potential opportunity, a client, or even a business partner. So, what is networking and how can it be positioned to help a business grow?

The True Meaning of Networking

Some entrepreneurs believe that networking means taking advantage of every person they meet for their own business interests. But as author Stan Bril points out, that’s a huge mistake that can backfire in a spectacular way. “At its essence,” he continues, “networking is about building relationships with people that bring mutual benefits for everyone involved in the deal.”

If the definition of business is conducting a commercial activity that leads to a profitable conclusion, then the purpose of networking should be to increase the chances of reaching that goal. It is not about taking advantage of other businesses, rather, it’s about helping each other grow and facilitate the process of doing business. Along the way, brands grow, leads materialize, and opportunities come knocking.

Keep up with Business Trends

With markets always changing, technologies evolving, and business trends always shifting, a successful entrepreneur is the one who stays well informed and ahead of the pack. According to Stan Bril, for the business owner to make it in this economy, they have to keep their proverbial finger on the pulse of the market.

To get an advantage in a competitive market, networking provides information from reliable sources that needs to be sorted out and processed to reach indicative conclusions. It’s the best way to stay ahead of the competition. This is how visionaries turn small start-ups into multi-billion-dollar businesses. It’s all about keeping track of the shifting winds and making informed decisions based on data and knowledge collected from business contacts.

Get Business Leads

In recent years terms like ‘business lunch’ and ‘business get-together’ have become commonplace for small owners and top executives alike. It’s an opportunity to meet with other like-minded people who may, or may not, be in the same business. “That’s how partnerships and alliances are formed,” says Stan Bril, “and that’s also how you get your hands on a business lead. You don’t accidentally stumble into it. You proactively seek it, develop it, and turn it into a promising opportunity.”

Through networking, joint ventures come into existence. In fact, it’s easier for an idea to evolve into a concrete plan when a few entrepreneurs are playing a round of golf or attending a social event than if each was trapped in the office watching the market activities or getting real-time quotes from Nasdaq. While not every new opportunity is necessarily the right opportunity to grow the business and expand the company’s reach in the market, a new business idea is always better than no idea at all.

Grow Personal Profile

Another usually overlooked advantage of networking is for the newcomer to the business world to be noticed. According to entrepreneur Stan Bril, this kind of exposure is a prerequisite for success. This is where the hand shaking and rubbing of shoulders with business leaders in the community come into play.

Business meetings, as well as social events, are important settings for the business owner to make themselves known and grow their own brand. Since reputation still accounts for a great deal in the business world, cultivating a shining reputation is of paramount importance for getting those opportunities that every company needs to grow and prosper.

Build Connections

With networking comes meaningful connections. In fact, the whole point of attending all those social engagements is to build new connections. Sometimes the connections might seem irrelevant at first, they could go on for years without yielding anything of value. Sooner or later, an old connection will turn out to be crucial for facilitating a new business deal.

“In the past,” author Stan Bril reminisces, “a big fat Rolodex was the pride and joy of every businessperson worth their salt.” That card index usually contained every connection and contact in the executive’s circle. While the Rolodex has gone extinct and contacts are saved on the smartphone now, the power of making face-to-face contacts and building in-person connections is still as important as ever.

Increase Confidence

One of the most striking characteristics of every trendsetter and leader in the business world is their seemingly endless reserve of self-confidence. They enter the room and all eyes turn to them. In the words of lending specialist Stan Bril, “People gravitate towards those larger-than-life figures who exude charisma and charm.” So, where does this confidence come from?

It all comes down to how well an entrepreneur carries themselves. At heart, networking involves getting to know new people and interacting with them. This is in itself not the most pleasant thing to do and most people are averse to that. However, the more the business owner engages in this activity, the more confident they become in themselves and their own skills.

This confidence can make or break an important business deal later on. So, what might seem like a frivolous act of shaking the hands of people one hardly knows, might turn out to be a crucial factor in the survival and growth of the business a few years down the line.



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