36
JUMPSTART
JUMPSTART
NETWORKING
TIPS FROM
AROUND THE
WORLD
“Give away as much as you can without expecting anything in return. I
often write business articles and mentor blogs for business publications
and find this turns out to be a great networking opportunity, as many
people contact me via LinkedIn after reading my blogs and articles. I
have found some great networking opportunity this way, and it only
happened after I first gave away free advice.”
Dean Ramler,
milandirect.com.au
“Every time you collect
someone’s business card, take
a photo of the card with your
phone, and then send the
photo to a notes program, like
Evernote or Google Keep. Edit
the note to include details of
when and where you met and
what you discussed. Keeping
these details in the app gives
you a central place to track
interactions with new contacts,
and you can use the app to set
a reminder for following up to
keep the conversation going.”
Jason Berek-Lewis
healthystartups.com
“Always eat before you go—
you are there to network, not
to spend all night with food
in one hand and a drink in the
other. Makes it awkward for
meeting people, if your hands
are full and you are chewing
through a conversation.”
“Wear your name badge on your
right side. This allows people to
see your name as they shake
your hand. Approach people in
groups of three. You’re much
more likely to be able to strike
up a conversation with one
person than try and interrupt a
conversation with two people.”
Rhys Furner
reloadmedia.com.au
“Pick up the phone. If the
phone sounds old-school, just
think of it as ‘real-time voice
communications.’ A quick phone
conversation is a great way to
strengthen the connection to
anyone in your network. Keep
office hours. Set a regular time
for face-to-face meetings with
anyone who would like to meet.
I do this at 8:00 AM three days
a week, and I’ve meet hundreds
of interesting people this way.
I use ohours.org to manage
scheduling. In-person meetings
are the highest quality
interactions.”
Andy Crestodina
www.orbitmedia.com
Stacey Copas
StaceyCopas.com
“Set a quota of new people to meet to force yourself to do it, don’t
get hammered, don’t act like a goose, don’t get caught with greasy
chicken-wing fingers when you might be about to meet someone
important. Be ‘on’ the whole time, always present your best self, ’cause
you never know who you might meet. And who they might know.”
Sputnik, swashbucklersclub.com
Networking requires you to be
memorable. Think of the last
event you attended as a scale
from 1 to 5:
1.
You may have been in the
same room as potential
clients or investors, but who
knows?
2. You were standing in the
same circle, perhaps were
even introduced.
3. You made a few comments.
4. You introduced new
thinking, new perspective,
new information.
5. People are still thinking
about you and what you
said days later.
“Instead of thinking about ‘What you can get out of it?’ approach the
event with ‘How can I help others?’ Forget about trying to hand out your
business cards— simply enjoy meeting as many people as possible, asking
them about their businesses and passions, and be sure to be genuine
about your interest. When you focus on ‘how you can serve others’ and
take an interest in them, you naturally form a connection. Then, you will
find others take an interest in you too.
I remind myself to do this before every event—I always meet several new
friends, have requests for my business card, and generate