From an entrepreneur’s perspective, everyone you meet can be useful to you in three ways 1) they could be a potential customer, 2) they could be a potential business partner and 3) they could know someone you need to know to take your business to the next level.
I recently got a job offer in Management Consulting at Atkins and this was due to a referral and support from an old friend I reconnected with at another friend’s birthday brunch. I asked her what she was doing with her life to start the conversation and the rest is history.
What
is networking? Networking is simply building a relationship I
personally think of networking as the same way of dating. Usually the
more time you invest in your relationship the stronger the relationship
and the longer it will be. Below are steps to becoming an effective
networker.
Step 1: Be confident and
be prepared, always have two or three open ended question to ask “What
key skills have you developed working in your role in the last 2 years”.
The beauty of networking is that you meet someone new, someone who
doesn’t know you therefore you can be who ever you want to be, who you
were or what you did before doesn’t matter (TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS).
Step
2: Listen, Nod and Smile. Always take an interest in what the other
person is saying. This is not only important to hold the conversation
but it is also very important because you need the information you speak
about to use as a follow up in the communication via email.
Step
3: This brings me nicely to my next point, Connect. Ask for a business
card and follow up. This is an area where most people fail (even
myself). I suggest follow up should be within three days in order to
ensure the relationship built initially, doesn’t get cold.
Step
4: Your personal brand (second impression is as important as first
impression). When I go to events and meet people I always Google or
LinkedIn them to get a better understanding and to verify who they are.
Ensure your Facebook is on private if there are inappropriate pictures
of you there. Ensure your achievements are updated on LinkedIn and you
have a suitable picture that reflects your profession.
Step
5: Make a constant effort to keep in touch with your new contact. It is
very easy to contact your new contact when you need help however a true
networker will always touch base every now and again. This is very hard
to do especially when your new contact is a senior executive, from my
experience always do research on what your contact is interested in.
Nowadays most senior executive would have written or blogged about an
issue in their industry of expertise (Google is your friend) this could
be a good way to spark up conversation with your contact for example, “I
read the article you wrote yesterday I found it very interesting but
how about the issue of XYZ, how those affect your industry”.
Networking
skill is like a muscle the more you work on it the stronger it becomes
and the more confident you are at using it. Finally never underestimate
anyone you meet, I have met some destiny connector at the most random
places.
