The Art of Networking (It's Not Who You Know, It's Who Knows You)
By Ryan Fuss
The importance of networking in business is communicated to us long before we formally enter our professional careers. The old adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is constantly repeated to the point where it’s ingrained in our heads. There’s a reason for that – because networking can be one of the most powerful tools to help progress our careers.
Knowing that networking is a quintessential part of our ongoing career progress, are we really making the most of our networking opportunities, or just allowing them to happen as they may? We’ll show you how to take charge of your networking efforts and grow your contact list (and pool from which opportunities may arise) to new levels.
Give Before You Get
In order to build your network effectively, you have to engage others and develop relationships based on a premise of reciprocal value. If one side feels as though they’re simply a resource, and are unlikely to ever receive any benefit from the relationship, the chances of them going out of their way to help you can decrease dramatically. While the purpose of networking is obviously to increase the number of sources from which opportunities can arise, remember that it’s a two-way street – helping others makes others WANT to help you back!
Instead of approaching new connections with the attitude of “what can I gain from this person?”, instead ask yourself “what value can I provide this person with?” By doing this, you instantly position yourself as a person of worth and a valuable contact to have - a person that people want to get to know better and further develop a relationship with.
In addition, this also helps to put people at ease early on and takes them off the defensive. When someone starts asking self-serving questions right off the bat, peoples’ guards go up because they feel like they’re being used. Show what value you bring, and in doing so they’ll share their value. Collaboratively it’s a win-win. By providing this value to others before you reach out for any back in return, you’ll build social capital for yourself, and be seen as a premium contact that people will want to return the favour to in the future.
Follow Up
The difference between meeting a new person and that person becoming a legitimate contact of yours often depends not on that sole initial meeting, but what happens after the fact. All too often we meet new people, discover some points of common interest, exchange business cards, and then…..nothing. As time goes by, the strength of that initial connection gets lost and deteriorates if nothing is done to maintain and foster the relationship.
When you meet someone you feel could add value to your network, drop them a follow-up email the next day to let them know it was nice to meet them and that they should feel free to reach out to. They’ll most likely reply extending the same offer back to you.
Also be sure to fully utilize the power of social networking – invite them to your network on LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, or whatever else you may use to stay in-touch, current, and connected online. Continue to send quick little notes and emails from time to time to maintain the connection. It’s amazing to see how these little efforts come back two-fold later on.
Also remember to go above and beyond a simple “hello” to break through the clutter. If you see it’s someone’s birthday on Facebook, send them an actual email or e-card instead of just wishing them Happy Birthday on Facebook – like 99% of people do. It’s a small thing, but it adds a human element to the gesture and differentiates you from the masses.
Set Goals
If you approach networking opportunities without any specific goals or objectives, you’re likely to walk away at the end with results you’re less than satisfied with, or feeling like you could have done more.
If you set goals, you’re much more likely to make a point of taking whatever actions are required to meet them. A goal could be to meet five new business leads, to get the contact information of ten new people in your industry, or it could even be as simple as getting one-on-one face time with a certain person that you know will also be attending. Whatever the objective, goal setting is an effective networking tool that helps keep you on-track and on-schedule.
Strength in Numbers
When it comes down to it, we’re all connected in one way or another, and often times it’s much more closely than we realize. Many new hires and business opportunities are the result of knowing the right people - networking gives us the opportunity to build our network of personal resources, and in turn, take advantage of a much bigger number of connections and potential opportunities.
Networking is simply strength in numbers.
-
As a Consultant, Ryan Fuss works in partnership with some of the brightest minds in the sales, media, and entertainment industries.
[Full bio]
|
IQ
Insight is published by IQ
PARTNERS Inc.
IQ
PARTNERS helps intelligent companies hire better,
hire less and retain more. Our services include
Executive Search & Recruitment, Qualification
& Assessment, Employee Retention, Career
Management and Contract HR Services. We specialize
in Marketing, Communications, Media, Technology,
and Financial Services, and operate at
the mid-to-senior management level. IQ PARTNERS' head office is in Toronto with partner offices across Canada, and internationally
via the Aravati
Global Search Network.
|
