Every book, speaker, tape and website will tell you that the basis of networking is to "Give First!" If you think of networking as selling, "give first" means give them a brochure, product sample, or invitation to a sales presentation. That is a self-serving gift. Give first means to genuinely give of yourself, your time, or something else of value to the other person. It's something that they need, or appreciate, or can use for themselves.
What you give does not have to be expensive, valuable or even tangible. And sometimes even when you don't realize you are giving, someone else will take away something of value from what you did or said.
If you feel frustrated at the results of your networking, check your basic beliefs. If you think it's selling, you're going to feel like you require equal value for what you've given. Because selling is the exchange of goods and services for something else of value, right?
You'll leave events feeling taken advantage of or that the event was not worthwhile. And the people you meet will feel as if they were expected to take what you were selling when they didn't expect to be sold. Not a very satisfying feeling for anyone.
Networking tips and the best way to network ... by Networking on Purpose! Professional business networking strategies from Beth Bridges, speaker, and author.
It's a People Thing
If you're having trouble getting started with Social Networking, it could be the technology getting in the way. Don't think of it as a "computer thing." It's a networking tool that happens to be online. Networking is a funny word - we use it to describe the physical world of computers connecting as well as the "soft" world of relationships.
Don't have a 14 year old in the house who can show you how it works? Take this as a great opportunity to strengthen a relationship by asking for help with getting started. Asking for help, advice and suggestions are an excellent way to grow a friendship. People are flattered to be asked. And if they get you started with something, they feel some ownership in keeping you involved.
Don't have a 14 year old in the house who can show you how it works? Take this as a great opportunity to strengthen a relationship by asking for help with getting started. Asking for help, advice and suggestions are an excellent way to grow a friendship. People are flattered to be asked. And if they get you started with something, they feel some ownership in keeping you involved.
What Do You Talk About?
You want to stay in touch with your business network, but the days of leisurely correspondences are over. You don't want to send letters or emails or leave messages that say, "How are you? I am fine. Do you want to do business yet?" But you still want to keep the lines of communication open and remind them that you are alive and thinking about them. If you're looking for something to talk or email or write to them about, you need to know more about them.
An unexpected result of one email is that I am having lunch with a potential new friend next week. Who knows what kind of interesting experiences, ideas, and thoughts she might have?
- What are their hobbies?
- What are their interests?
- What's happening in their industry?
An unexpected result of one email is that I am having lunch with a potential new friend next week. Who knows what kind of interesting experiences, ideas, and thoughts she might have?
Social Networking Benefit I Hadn't Considered
I took part in a www.BlitzTime.com social networking event today. Most of the participants are from the Northeast, so it's fun being one of the few Californians. The point of the event is to share insights and information about social networking. It was worth my while, just for this one very important aspect that I hadn't thought of yet.
Try searching for yourself in Google. For example, when I search for Beth Bridges, results from FaceBook and LinkedIn are near the top of the list. This blog is in the first page of results - pretty good. I link to this blog from LinkedIn which probably helps my blog's relevancy.
At the BlitzTime event, I met Justin Levy who is the owner of Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse among several other entrepreneurial endeavors. He has over 3,000 inbound links to his site and attributes the majority of these to his social networking activity.
This valuable lesson was worth every minute I spent:
- Google crawls social networking sites.
Try searching for yourself in Google. For example, when I search for Beth Bridges, results from FaceBook and LinkedIn are near the top of the list. This blog is in the first page of results - pretty good. I link to this blog from LinkedIn which probably helps my blog's relevancy.
At the BlitzTime event, I met Justin Levy who is the owner of Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse among several other entrepreneurial endeavors. He has over 3,000 inbound links to his site and attributes the majority of these to his social networking activity.
This valuable lesson was worth every minute I spent:
- Get on Social Networking sites and link them to your blog or website to increase ranking, relevancy, and traffic.
Meeting People No Matter Where You Go
It was 7:10 a.m. on Sunday morning when I got on the bus at the Trail of Two Cities. I and 63 other people were heading out to mile 19 where we would wait for our relay teammates. Personally, I was energized from seeing nearly 3,000 people at the starting line (and a Venti Americano). Everyone else seemed half asleep.
I sat next to a woman about my age (Tiffany) and struck up a conversation. In networking, talk about a wide variety of subjects. That way you're more likely to find out what you have in common. I mentioned my interest in a half-marathon in Visalia, but wasn't sure I could go because my company put on a major event the same day. She asked where I worked, showing good networking skills herself by asking for details.
Turns out her mom is Cindy Breuer, who worked for the Fresno Chamber in membership, is on our Ribbon Cutting team and who is a good friend of Ellie Huston. I've known Cindy for 5 years.
Small world. Only 2 degrees of separation from a total stranger I sat next to on the marathon bus.
Even better part of the story: Tiffany whips out her iPhone, searches for me on Facebook and sends a Friend invitation that was waiting for me when I got home. One of the many ways that technology actually makes for more and for better relationships.
I sat next to a woman about my age (Tiffany) and struck up a conversation. In networking, talk about a wide variety of subjects. That way you're more likely to find out what you have in common. I mentioned my interest in a half-marathon in Visalia, but wasn't sure I could go because my company put on a major event the same day. She asked where I worked, showing good networking skills herself by asking for details.
Turns out her mom is Cindy Breuer, who worked for the Fresno Chamber in membership, is on our Ribbon Cutting team and who is a good friend of Ellie Huston. I've known Cindy for 5 years.
Small world. Only 2 degrees of separation from a total stranger I sat next to on the marathon bus.
Even better part of the story: Tiffany whips out her iPhone, searches for me on Facebook and sends a Friend invitation that was waiting for me when I got home. One of the many ways that technology actually makes for more and for better relationships.
How Business Becomes Friendship
There is a fine line between networking and friendship, but once you cross that line there's no going back - and there's no more satisfying business relationship.
How do you cross that line? One way is bonding through shared experience. And I have shared an experience with Rachel Greaves, Pat Birkle, and Eldon Marks.
It began at 7 a.m. this morning when my very good and brave friend Rachel Greaves took off for 7.5 miles - along with 1,500 other people - to be the first leg in our relay team in the Trail of Two Cities Inaugural Marathon. We had it all planned out; we could finish the course in the 7 hours allotted. Instead, we smashed our expectations and crossed the line in 5 hours 47 minutes.
Rachel set the tone by finishing her segment 18 minutes faster than she thought she could. Pat (relay leg #2) pushed herself to her top pace. When Eldon (relay leg #3) came around the corner toward my relay point, it was the first moment in our lives we'd seen each other. I'll probably never be happier to see him again - the wait was interminable!
I finished the 7.2 miles of my leg in 1 hour 24 minutes - an average of 12 minutes a mile. It was the fastest I've moved over a distance in 20 years. (The Annual 0.025K Race was faster, but a bit shorter.)
Team Access Bar in Action! was sponsored by Pat who represents Melaleuca which produces the very fine and wonderful Access Bar. The Access Bar is the reason I'm sitting here with no pain. I feel great. If you have any athletic endeavors in your future, I highly recommend this fabulous product.
There's more to this story; much more of course. I'll complete it over the next few days. Don't worry - there's networking in it. It includes old friends, never-met family of friends, never-met friends of family and even a few new friends.
How do you cross that line? One way is bonding through shared experience. And I have shared an experience with Rachel Greaves, Pat Birkle, and Eldon Marks.
It began at 7 a.m. this morning when my very good and brave friend Rachel Greaves took off for 7.5 miles - along with 1,500 other people - to be the first leg in our relay team in the Trail of Two Cities Inaugural Marathon. We had it all planned out; we could finish the course in the 7 hours allotted. Instead, we smashed our expectations and crossed the line in 5 hours 47 minutes.
Rachel set the tone by finishing her segment 18 minutes faster than she thought she could. Pat (relay leg #2) pushed herself to her top pace. When Eldon (relay leg #3) came around the corner toward my relay point, it was the first moment in our lives we'd seen each other. I'll probably never be happier to see him again - the wait was interminable!
I finished the 7.2 miles of my leg in 1 hour 24 minutes - an average of 12 minutes a mile. It was the fastest I've moved over a distance in 20 years. (The Annual 0.025K Race was faster, but a bit shorter.)
Team Access Bar in Action! was sponsored by Pat who represents Melaleuca which produces the very fine and wonderful Access Bar. The Access Bar is the reason I'm sitting here with no pain. I feel great. If you have any athletic endeavors in your future, I highly recommend this fabulous product.
There's more to this story; much more of course. I'll complete it over the next few days. Don't worry - there's networking in it. It includes old friends, never-met family of friends, never-met friends of family and even a few new friends.
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