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Building a large business network can help both employers and employees. Some tips to build an effective business network are:
1. Join many business networking groups in which you are interested, not all may result in increased sales, but the contacts you develop could be useful in future.
2. Volunteer for positions in relevant trade associations, you will meet many people who will be useful in future .
3. Be genuine in your relationships and build trust, if people have faith in you, they are more likely to refer others to you.
4. Act quickly and efficiently on the referrals your contacts make to you, the referrals are a measure of the trust others have in you.
5. Be known as an expert in your field of specialisation, so people will contact you if they need any clarifications, suggestions or second opinions.
6. While meeting people, do not ask questions which can be answered with a yes or no, ask open ended questions. These could lead to interesting discussions, which may spark new business ideas.