The Power of Networking – Part II: Your Strategy
December 30th, 2009 by David Utts
Consider a typical day in most executive’s lives. You walk into the office with grand plans and while nothing goes according to plans you do feel you accomplished some key outcomes for the day. As the afternoon wares on you look at the clock and realize you have a 5:30 networking event you had committed to attending. You close down for the day, grab a stack of business cards and let your executive assistant know you are off to the event and will see him or her in the morning.
You pull into the parking lot of the hotel where the event is to be held and prepare to enter the fray. You walk into the room full of buzzing conversations and at some level you are wondering how to navigate the event. You may be one to stand around and wait for someone to approach you or you look for a familiar face or you move right in to talk to a key person you were hoping to meet. By the end of the event, you may feel you had some good dialogue, got to share a bit about your business with some key prospects and collected a bunch of business cards in your pocket. Yet, before you know it – it is the next day and you are off tackling the key issues in your office – the networking event you attended is fading in the background. Sound somewhat familiar? If it does read on because I promise if you do – you will approach networking in a totally different way!
First, if your experience of networking even comes close to what I just described – you are NOT power networking! I suggest you either shift your approach or don’t waste your time. Exchanging pleasantries, giving your elevator speech, and having some great conversations are nice but this approach will rarely lead to more business. In order to do networking right you need a strategy the includes not just grabbing your business cards and nonchalantly entering an event with out a plan!
Here are the Five Steps to “Power Networking”:
- If you have not already done so – clarify your ideal client and understand your true value to them (not you).
- Find the places and organizations where your clients and prospects are most naturally going to show up
- Take time prior to any networking event to set an intention for the event and make sure that intention is big!
- Yes, be prepared to share about your business in a compelling way but more importantly be prepared to ask questions, listen and give away valuable insights and resources – FOR FREE!
- Have a follow up plan in place for what you are going to do to maximize your connections after the event.
Let’s take each of these steps one at a time:
I. Clarifying Your Ideal Client
Yes, these days we can appreciate any opportunity that comes our way – after all the economy is still not in great shape. Yet, in my experience and that of those I have personally coached – those opportunities come to you more frequently when you are focused on the ideal. In order to develop the ideal client profile ask yourself the following questions:
- What are the top qualities of those clients I have had the greatest success with?
- If I were to ask them (and you might consider doing so) – what did they find most valuable in hiring me?
- What trends do I see in business type, size, revenues, stage of growth, etc. that would allow me to categorize my ideal client/prospect?
- Where do these kinds of business people hang out or where do compatible but non-competitive business leaders hang out who also serve this business population?
You get the idea – if these questions don’t work for you develop ones you are comfortable with. The key to consider in developing these questions is what will engage the person most in their top of mind concerns and that can be asked in a genuine and caring way?
II. Find the Places Where Your Ideal Clients/Prospects Hang Out and Get Involved!
Once you have answered these questions and clarifying potential places or networking organizations – sign up as a non-member and check them out. You will know after some trial and error where are the places to best spend your time. When you find one or two – do not rely on the after work mixers to give you access. I will talk about a general approach below that will help you here but to magnify your power in the organization you must volunteer on a committee that leverages your strengths. Through your work to support the networking organization – you will form strong relationships that over time will bare fruit – that is if you follow the rest of these suggestions.
And remember this is but the second step in your strategy!
III. Engage Intentionality
Whether you are attending a mixer, a conference or a committee meeting you must both set an intention for the outcome you want as well as be prepared to show the value you can bring. Let’s look at the issue of intentionality first. Intentionality is defined as “having to do with intention or purpose” leadership, quantum physics, biology and medicine have powerfully shown that when we hold a clear and personally compelling intention that the world around us will begin to conform to our desire. If that is too much to swallow then consider the power of purpose. When you are purposeful in any endeavor your mind and nervous system will tend to focus your efforts in the right direction. Bottom line, walking into any conversation – networking or not – without a purpose only wastes your time. So make sure you create a clear intention for what you want to achieve prior to any networking opportunity.
IV. Give It Away – Become a Valued Resource!
Now for the central principle that makes networking work. In Part I of this series, I mentioned how all senior executives walk around with open issues they are trying to resolve. Not only that – when they are in an atmosphere they feel comfortable in and are talking to someone they feel a rapport with they are very likely to share what is keeping them up at night. Therefore your primary approach to networking must be to ask and listen! Now this is a challenge whether you are an extrovert or an introvert. The extrovert’s challenge is talking too much and about themselves and the introvert’s challenge is to engaging at all. The strategy of asking and listening solves both problems! For the extrovert, they must realize that speaking is a Privilege granted once we understand the person’s concerns we are speaking to. If we don’t seek to understand another person’s point of view and merely excitedly share ours – we are dead in the water in most networking conversations. For introverts, I have found the ask and listen strategy a relief because they are natural listeners all ready and really need to do some internal processing in order to share more openly. Here are some questions that can get you started in an interaction:
- So tell me a bit more about your business?
- Are you a member of this organization and what is most valuable for you being a part of it?
- How has the current economic environment affecting you?
- What are your biggest challenges right now?
- What concerns are top of mind for you right now?
- What are you finding to be your client’s biggest concerns at this time?
Asking these questions is not meant to be a way just to find out how you can be a paid resource. They are, however, a way for you to become a resource to help the person you are speaking to in any way you can. A key law of influence states that when you give of yourself genuinely without any expectation – the other person will feel an obligation to assist you 2. In addition, I find that people who go to networking events with this mindset often find they enjoy the entire experience much more. The whole key to this as I said in Part I is to be seen as a valued resource. As you build your reputation in this way – you may have less business cards in your pocket but far more qualified leads!
V. What is Your Follow Up?
If you are exiting a networking opportunity make sure you have a follow up plan. You might have had a very compelling conversation with someone who could be a great client but it is one conversation. Relationships are built on a number of conversations and experiences. You must make sure you link each of these with some type of next step. The next step might be to put a tickler in your to-do list to follow up to set up a lunch or you may have a resource you promised to share that you you need to take action on, or you may be working on a committee and you need to take some action to move forward the committee’s agenda. The key is to make sure there is a good reason to follow up and then to make sure you do so.
In conclusion, it is important to remember while “Power Networking” is not an exact science yet it does bare fruit if you work it consistently. Remember a key goal is to build a network of great resources that you can share with others. This is the other reason for actively networking. The more you do – the more resources you know – the more you can help. Finally, if you find yourself a member of an organization that is not giving you what you want – quit and find another. Yet, in my experience if you do your research up front you won’t have to make such a decision.
In the mean time, happy networking and feel free to write or call me if you want to talk about a specific question or concern!
Tags: Business Development, Influence, Interpersonal Engagement, networking, sales
