Interview: Lillian D. Bjorseth, Author, Breakthrough Networking

Lillian D. Bjorseth, founder of Duforce Enterprises, Inc., helps people build a new kind of wealth – social capital – by improving networking and communication skills.

Called a networking authority by the Chicago Tribune, she has helped tens of thousands of people build high-value business relationships through her speaking, training, coaching and numerous products in print/electronic format.

Also, Lillian is my partner in the Great Chicago Netwokring Extravaganza, which we are hosting again on May 8. Check out my reviews of her products: Breakthrough Networking and 52 Ways to Break the Ice and Target Your Market.

1. How do you define "business networking?"

I define business networking as an active, dynamic process that links people into mutually beneficial relationships.

2. How did you brand yourself as a “networking authority?”

I began branding myself as a networking authority when I started Better Business Contacts, a business leads organization in the Chicago area in 1991. I owned it for 10 years before I sold it to BNI.  Simultaneously, I also started speaking and training on relationship building and communication skills. Then I wrote Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last, which I plan to revise and print the third edition in 2008.  Further, I’ve had a website on the above topics since 1995.  Interestingly, only 3 percent of businesses had websites back then.  Lastly, the event we co-host, the Great Chicago Networking Extravaganza, continues to brand us as networking aficionados.
 
3. Why did you write Breakthrough Networking?

One of the reasons that I wrote it is that one of my workshop participants asked why I didn’t have a book he could take with him; he wanted to learn more. I’ve always been responsive to my clients’ needs.  That’s how my audiotape/workbook series (now CDs) was born. Also, speakers are judged by what they have between the covers. Therefore, I knew early on that it would greatly boost my speaking career. Thirdly, I have a journalism degree and writing is easy for me.  English and composition were my favorite subjects throughout college.

4. When did you realize that networking was important for your business success?

I realized early in my corporate career that “who” you know is often as important, or more so at the initial stages, than what you know. In fact, I got two jobs, one at Nicor Gas and one at AT&T as the result of one phone call to the right person each time. When I started my own speaking and training business in 1990, I wanted to help others benefit from networking like I already had. And, in the beginning of my entrepreneurial career, it was vital that I networked because I didn’t have local contacts in the Chicago area. My AT&T contacts were on the East and West Coast, and they knew me as a public relations expert, not someone who spoke and trained others.

5. How have you benefited personally from networking?

Networking helped me find jobs in my corporate career and has been the vehicle for me to make a good living since I struck out on my own. Plus, the idea of helping others build a new kind of wealth - social capital – is what makes me want to rise early and work late.  I’m passionate about it.

6. What are lesser-known secrets to effective networking?

Most people do not know that to be effective you have to network strategically, i.e. they don’t take time to create a relationship-building plan. They often attend events that don’t focus on their target markets, hence, my program “To Catch Trout, Don’t Fish in a Catfish Pond.” Secondly, I know that large companies have yet to embrace the relationship-building concepts that small businesses have long used successfully. Colleges and universities need to teach these skills so that people are prepared and have the knowledge to build relationships after they graduate.  I feel so strongly about it that I am writing a five-part online series of courses on relationship building that will be marketed to community colleges, among others, by the company with which I am working.  I also plan to target chambers and corporations.  My goal is to help more and more people build a network of “knob turners”!

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Comments

[Lillian D. Bjorseth]

Thanks, Jason, for the great interview! I look forward to others in your series.Very interesting to know how the well-known names in networking got their start.

Cordially,
Lillian

[Jason Jacobsohn]

Thank you for the interview as well. Yes, it is interesting to hear the stories of networking authorities.