How Much Time Should You Spend Networking for Your Business?

Do you know that people who say networking played a role in their success spent an average of 6.5 hours a week networking, and got half of their clients from their networking time? However, people who did not invest as much time networking also did not report as much reward. So, how much time should you spend networking for your business? I share more in this video.

The secret to getting more business through networking is spending more time doing it!  Well, it is a little more complicated than that because you have to spend time doing the right things. However, devoting the necessary time is the starting point. So how much networking time should you spend developing your personal network and what kind of results can you expect to see?

The Survey Results

Based on a survey that I helped to write and conduct of over 12,000 business professionals from every populated continent in the world, we have a definitive answer to those questions. The study found that people who said “networking played a role” in their success spent an average of 6.3 hours a week participating in networking activities. On the other hand, the majority of people who claimed that “networking did NOT play a role” in their success spent only 2 hours or less per week developing their network.  

Clearly, the people who spent very little time engaged in the process felt that networking was not an effective way to build their business. As with many other aspects of life, you definitely reap what you sow. It’s no wonder that the people who didn’t invest as much time also did not realize as much reward. This demonstrates the direct correlation between the amount of time you devote to the networking process and the degree of success that you will likely receive from it.

Building Relationships

An emphasis on relationships first was clearly and undeniably a key factor in determining whether people were going to identify networking as having played a role in their success. When we looked at the responses from all the survey participants who said that networking had played a role in their success and then compared them to those people who focus on relationships first, we discovered that the majority of respondents who felt they’ve achieved success through networking also felt that it was better to build the relationship first and then focus on the business. Consequently, business professionals who focused on the relationship first and the business second tended to do better than those who focused on the business transactions first.

People who skip the relationship building and attempt to establish an “all business” interaction often discover that trust and goodwill are more than just window dressing – they are part of the social capital that energizes a mutually rewarding business relationship. People who bypass relationship building are more likely to feel that networking has not contributed to their success, and they are probably right – because they’re doing it wrong or at least not doing it enough.

You may be reading this and thinking – OK, I now know that I need to be spending at least 6½ hours a week networking. Well… that’s true IF you want to be average (and what successful businessperson wants to be average?)! On the other hand, if you would like to be above average – you need to devote more time than that to the cause.

The optimum amount of business networking time is more likely to be 8-10 hours a week if you want to be one of those people that are generating well over half their business from referrals.

When you invest about 8-10 hours each week networking for your business, and you have a focus on building strong relationships, you’ll be on your way to networking success.

How much time do you spend networking each week?  More?  Less? What percentage of business do you get from your networking efforts? Share in the comments below.