Brooklyn's Progress
June/July 2007

BY HAROLD EGELN

If after a networking event your business cards collect more dust than contacts, there is an effective way of moving beyond that situation to get workable results. In a recent Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce seminar called “Networking 102: Moving Beyond Business Card Exchange to Business Development,” participants learned how to turn their business card exchanges into tools for business growth.

"The key to results is not what goes on at a networking event. It's what goes on after an event in developing your quality business relationships," said seminar leader Francisco J. Acosta, executive vice president and director of sales and marketing, Internal Business Consulting (http://www.ibcglobal.net/), a credit card processing business. "The key word in successful networking is work."

The morning seminar, which was held on Apr. 25 at the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center in cooperation with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce's Minority and Women Business Owners (MWBO) Committee, had a record-setting 66 attendees.

Mr. Acosta, who chairs the Chamber's Small Business Seminar Committee, said that he has learned much from networking sessions.

"While you are networking, strike up a real conversation,” said Mr. Acosta. “That's the foundation for business development. You need to really speak with no more than three to five people, rather than going around and saying to everybody, 'here's my card' and then moving on to everyone else."

Noting that the seminar was held by the MWBO Committee, Mr. Acosta said, "In 1867, 140 years ago, one percent of the national wealth was contributed by American Blacks. In 2007 the percentage remains the same," That, he said, was due, in part, to African Americans and women not having the "good old boy network” social structure.

"For successful networking, it's not about who you know. It's who knows you in developing business relationships," Mr. Acosta said. "It is a mistake to say that you are too 'busy,' which means you do not want to do business. The biggest networking fault is to say, 'give me" rather than what you have to give, as in, 'how can I help you?' You must change your mindset to make networking effective."

"Networking follow-up is about being responsible and responsive. That e-mail you didn't answer could have been beneficial to your business development," said Mr. Acosta. "Intellectual curiosity is a very important component in networking."

In follow-up meetings with a potential client, Mr. Acosta advised, "Learn all about someone's business first. If there's a synergy, you've got something." That way, alliances are created and contracts are signed, he said.

"People often dismiss their competition out-of-hand," Mr. Acosta added. "But your competitor can be your biggest ally. Don't run away from them. It's short-sighted. You may have mutual advantages to give one another which can benefit you both together."

He cited a recent example in which he closed the biggest business deal of his career with a competitor whom he knows from the Chamber. "Be honest with a competitor, for you may have a mutual business opportunity."

People should immediately put business card information into a database. "That way they are not gathering dust," Mr. Acosta said. "Up to 90 percent of failures occur if you do not follow-up with contacts in your database."

Rick Russo, director of the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center, said "Mr. Acosta has been in sales since 1984 and has developed innovative business training strategies, with vision and a commitment to excellence."

Mr. Acosta urged the seminar audience to attend the Chamber's monthly Business After Hours networking events and to use Chamber resources. "The Chamber has been instrumental in my own development," he said.

To learn more about the Chamber’s business seminars, contact Rick Russo, director of the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center, at 718-875-1000 ext. 118, or at rrusso@brooklynchamber.com.