Co-working office spaces can be great place for networking. You can meet new like minded people. You can understand how other people are working and building business. You can spread awareness about your business. But you need to be respectful towards other people. Yes, it is possible to get new or may be your first client. But you need to be authentic. You need to be good listener too.
Here are 5 tips for authentic networking in co-working office space:
You can start a simple talk by “hello”. It is important to break the ice. Be authentic. Smile will cost you nothing. Don’t start with sales conversation. Start with general talk. You can ask how is day going? How is your business going? You can ask about lunch? Networking can be done by building relationships. Your coworkers can be your friends for lifetime.
Generally all co-working office spaces have cafeteria. Such places can be good place to meeting new people. You can always start with informal chat. Also networking events at weekends can be good place to build new connections. Mentor ship or Funding events attract members of community. In such events everyone is looking for networking. Don’t hesitate. People are open in such events. You can understand other people’s business or explain your offerings too. You can exchange your contact details and build connections.
Co-working office spaces is a great platform for referral exchange. You can help other people by giving them reference for their service. Once you start helping others, you will also get referral. You can become hero of your office space.
You can decorate or put some branding on your workstation. When people will cross your station surely, they will notice. People will surely be curious your business. This way they will come to you for networking.
Business is all about continuous learning. If you are useful to people working in office space, they will come to you.You don’t have to share your trade secrets, but sharing your knowledge can not only help a fellow co-worker, but also lead to future gains. It’s highly likely that at some point you’ll be on the receiving end of useful knowledge. For example you can share which professional software you are using which is helping in business accounting. You can share contact details of your vendors like CA or legal services.
You can create promotional material useful for coworkers. For example pen or notepad. People are always in need of them. So you need not to push out your material. But people will find a way to get things.
You can arouse curiosity among people with your work.You can invite people to come and attend your event.
A co-work office space has mix of people. Its not only workspace but also great place to connect.