One of the simplest tools in your Power Networking Tool Kit is the name tag you wear at networking events. Everyone uses them, but few people do so strategically that can add to a positive first impression and enhance your networking process. Really … I’m not making this up.
The purpose of your name tag is obvious and simple – it tells strangers your name and where you work. It also helps remind people who’ve met you before who you are. No brainer stuff here, indeed.
With most businesses, failing to plan is planning to fail. It’s the same simple paradigm for networking like a pro instead of like an amateur. And it all starts with the reason(s) why you are networking. Whether you want to learn things to help you do your job better/faster/cheaper/smarter, look for a different job or grow your business, network with a Strategic Plan. Here’s how:
You just returned from a networking event, having delivered a concise, engaging and listener-centric Elevator Speech to Tony. You continued that brief conversation, began a potentially new business relationship and learned more about what Tony does. You exchanged cards, shook hands and moved on to meet someone else. Now … what do you do?
Here are a few follow up and relationship maintenance Best Practices learned from those people on the Varsity Networking Team. They can reinforce the positive first impression you made on Tony and help you establish a mutually beneficial networking relationship with him.
How often does this happen to you? The day after you attend a business networking event, you get a few generic email requests to Link In with people you chatted with for two minutes. They say ‘I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn’. Or, even worse, ‘Because you’re a friend … or … someone I trust … ‘.
I get several of these unsolicited requests a week from 2nd level connections I don’t know, people I met very briefly or who were in the audience for one of my presentations.
When you’re networking, begin making the very best first impression you can on the strangers you meet with a winning smile and good eye contact. Then, continue that positive image with a comfortable handshake.
‘Where are some good places to network?’ As the COSE MindSpring ‘Networking Strategies’ Expert, I get that question a lot. It’s very difficult to answer, especially briefly. The long answer involves a lot of work answering several other questions first.
Networking is simply a process for ‘sharing information, ideas and resources’, as John Naisbitt defined it in ‘Megatrends’ back in 1982. Networking is all about information you need to find or can share with others. So, to those other questions:
The last two months, we’ve discussed strategies for maximizing the impact of your ‘No Budget Marketing’ campaign – harnessing the ‘Power of the Pen’ and the ‘Power of the Platform’. Now, let’s turn our attention to a third – and much less obvious – set of strategies: Harnessing the ‘Power of the Pro Bono’. Said another way – Strategic Volunteering.
Why Volunteer at all?
Whether you’re marketing the products or services of your employer or your own business or just simply enhancing your image and value to the people you work for and with, the Power of the Pro Bono can be a simple, quick and no-cost self-marketing strategy. Effectively done, it can help accomplish several important goals for you:
Has this ever happened to you? You’re networking at a COSE or other professional association event and you’ve just delivered a concise, engaging and listener-centric Elevator Speech to Maria. Good for you! Now, what do you do?
You have several options to continue the conversation, enhance a potentially beneficial new business relationship and learn more about Maria. Here are a few Best Practices I’ve learned from some colleagues or clients who are on the Varsity Networking Team:
Grandma was right. You do only get one chance to make a good first impression. When you’re networking, one goal should always be to make the very best first impression you can on the strangers you meet. “Uncommon courtesy” is a key strategy throughout all your networking relationships. Often that relationship begins at a networking or professional association event by interacting with a winning smile.
Many entrepreneurs and small business leaders I work with face the frustrating and bewildering ‘Marketing Paradox’ … they recognize the critical need to do more and better marketing of their products or services to survive and thrive. But, while few may have the knowledge and skills to effectively do it themselves, they hesitate to – or can’t – invest the money to have other people do it for them. The result is that they often do nothing. Bad idea.
If you have more money than time, find a pro – or several – who can help you figure out your plan and carry it out. Several of my colleagues, who are excellent marketing pros, are ready to help you – let me know if you want any referrals.
If you have more time than money, consider some ‘No-Budget Marketing’ strategies that need little if any financial investment. One that I have found very useful for sustaining my business over the last 22 years is harnessing the Power of the Pen … and getting free ink.