Most people realize that networking plays a critical role in building a successful business.

If you do it well, it will be one of the most valuable uses of your time in terms of return.

Some of the most obvious benefits of networking are:

1.  Connections: People often say, “It’s not WHAT you know, but WHO you know.”

That’s true. However, it goes both ways.

Yes, to build a successful business, you need to have an adequate source of relevant connections in your network that you can call on when you need them. But, when you look at the bottom line, it’s not about whom you know, but rather who knows you. In either case, increasing your connections is a win for all parties.

2. Advice and Knowledge: Google is phenomenal, but let’s face it–there are some things you just can’t get from the internet. Networking is an excellent way to get advice and expand your knowledge base with expertise that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to tap into.

3. Opportunities: The more you network, the more opportunities you’ll be exposed to. Opportunities like client leads, referrals, joint ventures, partnerships, speaking and writing gigs, bartering arrangements and mastermind groups.

4. Friends: It’s a huge benefit to have other business owners as friends. You can’t put a price on knowing that you have people who are there for you and who will have your back when you need it.

5. Confidence: By regularly networking, and pushing yourself to talk to people you don’t know, your one-on-one people skills will slowly develop into expert status. Over time, building great relationships will become effortless.

A side benefit is that as your people and communication skills increase, you will see more positive results from other forms of communication, including telephone and email.

If you Google “the benefits of networking,” you’ll likely find a lot of information about the perks I just listed plus a whole slew of others.

For instance, networking also allows you to tell others about your business, get new clients and learn from the success of others.

But what may not be quite so obvious is…

The most important thing to look for

If you’re a business owner, it’s clear that you should associate with other people. No successful business person is self-made—no matter how intelligent, tenacious, or hard working they may be.

However, if you really want to make things happen…

You must network with the right people.

You see, the power of networking doesn’t just lie in getting the word out to people about your business. The real beauty of it is in surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded individuals.

This is key because you become who you associate with.

That’s why parents are concerned about who their kids’ friends are. They know that hanging out with the right crowd will have a positive impact on their children.

Likewise, if you surround yourself with the right people, then their attitudes, habits, world view, and associations will rub off on you.

I have seen it happen countless times in my own life. I grew up in a place where success and wealth were nonexistent. So, I surrounded myself with some shady characters and, consequently, I wasn’t a great kid.

When I started to study Think and Grow Rich, I gravitated towards people with a more positive mindset. And, over the years, I’ve come to owe a great deal of my success to my new friends, contacts and extended network.

I’ve learned the hard way that networking with negative people leads to a lack of opportunity and can damage your ability to attract the best opportunities.

The icing on the cake

So your number one priority with networking should be to surround yourself with energetic, success-oriented people that can help you to grow and thrive as a business owner.

However, I also encourage you to do the following to help you build momentum quickly:

• Seek out people who are doing better than you.
• Go to at least three of them and ask for suggestions to help you build momentum.
• Act on what they tell you until you find out they’re lying or don’t know what they’re talking about.

If you do that, you’re going to draw on a potential that you didn’t even know existed. You’ll shock yourself with what you’re able to do.

Modeling successful people is a proven way to improve your own performance. It doesn’t get any better than being able to model them up close and personal.

The compound effects are significant and long lasting

Before I close, I want to be clear about a few things.

First, don’t go into this with a “what can I get?” frame of mind.

That doesn’t work. In fact, that kind of attitude is going to sink your efforts before you begin.

Like all things, effective networking works in harmony with universal laws. It’s a give-and-take relationship.

While we rely on our networks for advice and to keep us on track, for the relationship to work, we must give back in return. If you give freely and steadily of your time, knowledge and support, you will build a healthy balance in the bank for when you need to make a withdrawal.

Second, grow your network, but be selective. The tribe you select will have a profound impact on your work and life, so choose well. If you’re networking with the right people, every single new friend or contact you make will pay dividends over the long haul.

And that brings me to my final point.

The rewards of networking are seldom immediate. Just like anything else that is worthwhile, you must keep at it. I promise if you keep making your deposits, the compound effects will be significant and long lasting.

To your success,

Bob Proctor