Develop your professional network: 10 effective techniques in 2024.

Expand your professional network: 10 effective techniques

According to an Ipsos - HEC Au féminin - BCG study (1), 66% of executives consider it essential to maintain their network, but only 15% of them say they are working on a strategy to improve it. Why expand your professional network? Whether it's to build partnerships, acquire new customers or find a new job, networking on a regular basis opens up a wealth of opportunities for the individual.

Here's an overview of the actions our experts have approved for developing your professional network and making the most of those connections.

Technique 1: Set specific goals

To successfully expand your professional network, we recommend that you first define your objectives. How many new people do you want to meet each month or quarter? When you think about these new contacts, in what sector do you imagine they work? What functions do they perform?

Now list the means you could use to reach your goal. If you're having trouble visualizing them, the rest of this article will help you.

Technique 2: Join a peer club to develop your professional network

By deciding to join a group made up of personalities committed to their success at work, you'll not only develop your skills or keep up to date with market news, but you'll certainly grow alongside them. This could be a local collective or a business club. Contact the Chambers of Commerce to find out about them, or ask peers to introduce you at future meetings.

A large number of groups are designed to promote exchanges between managers and entrepreneurs, such as the Cercle Wine Business, founded by Alain Marty in 1991, who is also behind the Networking Premium Group. In his book Réseaux d'influence: le guide du networking en France, the French networking specialist explains that it's advisable to “get involved in three types of network: your school's alumni association, a club geared towards the art of living, and a third of an intellectual, reflective nature”.

Technique 3: Find former colleagues or classmates

You may find yourself reminiscing about the challenges you faced with your first colleagues, or nostalgically remembering a classmate from your student days. Why not check in with them? You could even go one step further and organize a reunion dinner for all the members of your graduating class.

Technique 4: Use your personal network to network

Your network of professional contacts can also be enhanced by the people around you. These are what we call the “first circle”: friends, family or neighbors. These caring people know your qualities and will be delighted to recommend you. If you're looking for a new professional opportunity, tell them about your project in detail so they know how to help you.

Technique 5: Build a solid presence on LinkedIn

For our generation of ultra-connected workers, a professional online presence is highly recommended. Neglected digital visibility can even lead to missed opportunities.

With over 30 million users in France in 2024, LinkedIn is the ideal social network for making contact with potential clients or recruiters from a distance. By adding your CV-like experience and a good-quality photograph to your profile page, you make your professional identity card accessible to other users.

How to develop your network on LinkedIn? Connect frequently to share behind-the-scenes information and comment on your contacts' publications. The platform also lets you join groups dedicated to specific sectors or themes, such as responsible marketing or the integration of artificial intelligence into organizations.

Technique 6: Use a hybrid strategy, combining distance and face-to-face attendance at events

Distance learning proved its worth during the Covid-19 crisis. Webinars or online workshops, these formats can enable you to get to know experts far from your geographical area.

Despite its practicality, we still recommend you take part in physical events such as trade fairs, conferences and training courses. These formats will enable you to forge more lasting links.

Technique 7: Adopt a posture of generosity and openness

Being a good networker is also about attitude. Before thinking about the results you want to achieve, don't be stingy with advice and make yourself available when you're asked. Also, take advantage of your membership of clubs to propose exchanges in your field of expertise.

You may have complementary profiles in your address book. Play professional matchmaker when your intuition tells you that two acquaintances could collaborate or help each other. The people you help will no doubt want to return the favor when the opportunity arises.

Technique 8: Prepare your speeches for networking

Your agenda is starting to fill up. It's time to plan a real training session to present yourself with impact and clarity.

Indeed, it's often said that first impressions are important. Do you know how to clearly express the strong points of your career? What do you want your audience to remember about you? As with many disciplines, the more you practice, the more comfortable you become. A sharp pitch will give you confidence when it's your turn to speak. Don't hesitate to start by recording yourself on your smartphone.

We invite you to consult the guest lists of the events you are attending, so that you can adapt your speech to the people present.

Technique 9: Active listening

You've met a lot of people in your professional sphere. Have you ever had that unpleasant feeling that the person you're talking to waits for the first silence before selling themselves, without really listening to you? That's not the memory you want to leave behind. By giving others time to express themselves, you'll be able to identify their needs concretely and come back to them at the right moment. Follow up, ask open-ended questions and invite the more reserved ones to have a chat with you.

Technique 10: Get coaching from expert networkers

Whether you're a member of a Management Committee, a member of an Executive Committee or a senior executive, getting support from a coach is the surest way to develop your professional network. You'll be able to move forward with confidence and consistency, without putting off the actions you need to take to grow your interactions.

As you will have understood from the presentation of these different techniques, evolving in the right ecosystem or meeting the right people is not a matter of luck, but of prolonged effort that can well and truly transform your career.

Want to make networking the key skill in your career development? Visit our dedicated page to find out more about our training courses.

(1) Étude Les réseaux professionnels comme facteur de réussite : paradoxes et divergences - Ipsos - HEC Au féminin - Boston Consulting Group - 2015