MODERN NETWORKING
you with this person….do you both
share a goal, an experience, an
interest, a personality trait. If you
can find the common ground, the
connection will be more memorable
and more comfortable for both
parties as we humans tend to find
comfort in the familiar and it gives
you a ‘connection topic’ with which
to develop the relationship.
7
Seek to serve: The key to
networking is what you can GIVE,
not what you can GET. How you can
help, do you know someone useful
that you can connect them with,
or do you have some materials,
resources, knowledge or expertise
that may be of benefit to them. The
amount you are prepared to give
must be judged on the perceived
value of the connection now and for
your future success.
8
Swap business cards: Tell them
you can help them and ask for
their card so you can follow up. “I
have the perfect book for you at
home, I have finished with it and
would love to pass it on, let’s swap
business cards and I’ll drop it in”
9
Develop a contact plan: Keep
records of who you have
met, what skills, experience,
knowledge, connections and
interests they have. Categorise
which connections you wish to
develop and for what purpose (e.g.
business development opportunity,
professional services). Whilst you
may connect with everyone you
meet via LinkedIn, only focus on
actively developing a manageable
number of connections at any one
time. Spread yourself too thinly and
you won’t serve any of them well.
Consider the best contact plan for
those you wish to develop.
10
Follow up: Firstly, you
must follow through on any
commitments you made, so make
sure you do drop that book in.
Then, depending on how you have
assessed and categorised the
connection, execute your contact
plan, e.g. connect via linkedIn with
48 hours, send then an article I
think they will be interested in (or
on our connection topic) within 2
weeks, invite to another event next
month and so on.
Finally, be patient…if you serve
a manageable network well,
your network will reward you
exponentially
Caroline is a consultant and coach for
developing professionals, executives
and small businesses, using her years
of corporate, small business and not for
profit experience to help others achieve
professional success they want and
deserve.
Ivan Misner conducted a study recently* with 100 respondents from his own network to gain insights on “why so many business owners
were still not sold on networking as a way to grow their business, given that marketing and advertising is so cost-prohibitive, whereas
networking provides a great return for a much smaller monetary investment”. He found four major reasons that business owners resist the
benefits of networking:
1.Lack of confidence: “For some, the thought of interacting with strangers is paralyzing, while for others a mix of low self-confidence,
shyness and under-estimation of what they can contribute were cited as reasons to avoid networking. Some respondents mentioned a fear
of rejection as the reason”
2. Lack of time: “People either don’t think it’s worth giving up something else to network, find it causes stress on top of their other
obligations or simply believe they don’t have time.”
3. Lack of quick results: ” Often people don’t network because they expect immediate results. They deny the fact that networking works
because they personally don’t follow up with the people they connect with and get no results. They are impatient and don’t understand the
value of taking the time to build fruitful relationships.”
4. They think networking is selling: “People often resist networking because they are frightened about being sold to or don’t want to pitch
their sale in a room full of competition.”
*http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226359
March 2016
ModernBusiness
23