There are certain types of individuals in businesses who are not just good at closing deals or developing a business, but are really good at putting people together into a network. These people have the skill to create partnerships and make businesses prosper through them. They are able to find the right people to work on the right projects, and click those people into teams or relationships. As a result, you are able to make money.

Networking is often an underestimated skill. But companies that do realize the benefits of keeping a person with good networking skills pay them even more than their managers or sales supervisors. This is because they are aware how much profit and opportunities they could bring in for the company. They know that networking skills are even more critical than sales negotiation skills.

Let’s discuss some of the benefits of networking for a company.

Referrals

This is probably the most obvious reason most companies engage in networking groups and activities. Every company or individual is in the lookout for somebody at any point of time. You might be looking for a web developer for your startup firm; while your friend might be looking to have someone recommended for being his assistant.

Generally speaking, referrals that come through your personal networking efforts are of higher quality than any other source. Most of the people you get referred to by your network are even pre-qualified for the role. Some of them can be turned into employees, while others can be turned into clients. Either way, they can become a means to enhance your business.

Opportunities

If you are an individual looking for a job, networking can give you a real boost in getting interview calls. Companies like to get candidates referred to them for different job positions. Headhunters make money from the same concept – building relationships with professionals in different fields and connecting them with companies that have good job vacancies.

Connections

The number one factor that helps you expand your business, or get you better opportunities in the corporate world, is not what or how much you know, but rather who you know. Having a pool of relevant connections is one of the greatest strengths you can have as a professional or as a businessman. Networking opens doors for you to get in touch with highly influential people who are otherwise hard to reach.

Advice

Good connections can get you good advice. Like-minded business owners like to talk to each other and share ideas about future business development. Two people might end up clicking on a point that becomes a mutually profitable partnership opportunity.

Influence

A person who is recommended by or known by a lot of people has a lot more influence on the society than someone who always likes to be standalone. Having more connections many a times gives you the chance to be in the limelight. When you have a large network, people would see you as an uplifting person or as a great leader, and would want to stay connected to you and your business.

Profile

Last but not the least, a good set of people connected to you would enhance your public profile. You would appear to have many followers on your social network, which would enhance your overall credibility. This is not only good for you as an individual, but also for your work or business, whichever field you come from.

These are the reasons why it’s so important to keep nurturing and expanding your reaches. If you continuously expand the quantity of you network, you’ll get more and more people to connect with on social media. You will be able to grow your email database. You will be able to find opportunities to bring value to those connections by delivering to them engaging content (or sometimes even controversial content). This in turn will galvanize the people around you and open up more opportunities for all parties.

Whatever you do for a living, good networking will give you benefits beyond your expectation. Reinoud Schuijers, the owner of an advertising agency, talks about networking as a creative.

In another recent article, I explained how to be an expert in any business you do.