Networking Insight

Networking Faux Pas by Ivan Misner

Ivan Misner, networking guru and founder of BNI, which is the world's largest networking organization, shares common networking etiquette blunders in his latest article: Networking Faux Pas. 

Dr. Misner mentions the following blunders:

1) Not responding quickly to referral partners

2) Confusing networking with direct selling

3) Abusing the relationship

I can't tell you how many times that I notice the above blunders while building relationships.  Bad etiquette can ruin it for the people who truly want to network but get turned off.  Please don't let a few bad people change your perspective on networking.

What other blunders have you witnessed?  Please share them.

Recommended Blog - Business Networking Advice by Josh Hinds

I want to share with you a great blog by Josh Hinds called Business Networking Advice. Josh interviews business executives about networking.  He keeps his interviews simple and asks the following 3 questions:

1) How do you define Business Networking and why do you feel it is important?
2) Can you share one or two ideas that someone could put into practice that would help them to improve their business networking skills?
3) Can you share some of the ways you use the internet for business networking?

It is very interesting to read each executive's response to Josh's questions. I encourage you to read his blog and learn from what people have to say. After all, learning from others is very important for the networking process.

Green Street Project

Recently, I have become more involved with the non-profit Green Street Project, which was started by a friend and entrepreneur, Todd McMeen.  Green Street Project "works with civic leaders to conceptualize and execute community development solutions that involve public/private sector partnerships, mass community involvement, and effective corporate support."

Todd is a social entrepreneur who after starting a couple of for-profit entities decided that he wanted to give back to the community.  In the four years since Todd has started the organization, I have been impressed with the 100+ volunteers that he has recruited.

Todd has done an excellent job of relationship building to get all of these people interested in his vision.  Today, I sat in one of the advisory meetings.  One of Todd's goals for bringing all of these people together is for relationships to be built.  I completely agree with Todd because one of the benefits of getting involved with a non-profit is meeting people.   

I look forward to my continued involvement to help the organization reach some of its goals as well as build relationships with some of Chicago's non-profit leaders.

Students and Networking

I came across this interesting article, Networking for Students: A Step-By-Step Guide, which was written by Priscilla March who is a career counselor in the Office of Career Services at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

The article talks about how students should move beyond the passive job search by focusing on the following 5 steps:

1) Define yourself and what you're looking for

2) Define your initial network

3) Start in your comfort zone

4) Expand your network beyond campus

5) Keep track and keep in touch

I have always been a big believe in proactive networking. Priscilla does a nice job of explaining how students can enhance their networking to find a job.  I wish that I was taught some of these techniques in college.  While I was an active networker in college, I know that I missed a few of these steps.

It would be great if colleges added a course on networking so students could understand the value of building relationships early on in their lives.  Do you know of any colleges that offer a networking course?

Show Your Support & Take a Chance

In a past post, Show Your Support Whenever You Can, I discuss how you should support the endeavors of people within your network.  This is important for relationship building.  At the same time, you need to show support by helping each other.  Help can come in the form of referring business, becoming a client, or provide good PR.

Today, at the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center's Future Founders program, I brought in an expert communication coach, Katherine Hart of Hartfelt Communications.  Katherine has been a client of my organization and she volunteered her time to help the high school kids with their vocal and physical communication skills.  Each student will be competing in a business plan competition so they need to work on their presentations as well.

I took a chance with Katherine because I had never seen her coach a group of people.  The reason that I asked for her help was because I felt a positive connection and sense of trust with her.  Plus, she did help me individually but I really never saw her in action.  Because I believe in what she stands for, I wanted to support her and give her a chance.

Well, it turned out great. The students and teachers all really enjoyed themselves and came away with a positive learning experience.  Call it intuition because I knew that she would be able to deliver.  Sometimes, you just need to go with your gut and take a chance.

Focus on Referrals to Build Your Business

Referrals are a great way to build a business.  Once you have established credibility with people, they will send you prospective clients.  This is why personal branding is so important.  You need to spend time demonstrating your expertise and nurturing your existing relationships.

Some industries are built largely around referrals such as real estate and insurance.  Relationship building is a key driver to the success of these professions.  If you work in an industry that is built on referrals, then you are probably spending much of your time out of the office and building your network.

At the same time, cold calling and other methods are still an important part of the process.  Over the long run, referrals will still probably generate the most amount of business.

Currently, I am trying to sell my home by myself without the aid of a real estate agent.  I have listed the property on several sites that are also searched by real estate agents.  Because I am selling "for sale by owner", I am getting many calls by agents from firms such as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Keller Williams.  They are all trying to convince me to list with them. 

While I give them credit for trying, why would I use an agent that I don't know?  Better yet, why would I use an agent that was not referred to me by a happy customer? 

WorldWIT Shutting Down!

Thanks to Mike Maddaloni of The Hot Iron for his recent post, Why are ChicWIT and WorldWIT Shutting Down?  I was not aware of this situation so I am glad that Mike informed his readers about this saddening news.

Liz Ryan founded WorldWIT in 1999 as a networking resource for women (and men too) around the world to connect online, through email, and at events.  She built the organization to connect people in 25 countries with multiple cities in each country.  So, she created a platform for many thousands of people to build relationships.  WorldWIT was one of the first truly global networks and it was before the collaborative Internet is what it is today (i.e. blogs, social networking, wikis, etc.)

The Chicago chapter, ChicWIT was one of the first listservs that I got involved in.  It has been a nice resource because I was able to get my message literally pushed to thousands of people at once.  Because of the amount of people involved, you were usually guaranteed to connect with someone.

I am sad to see that WorldWIT and ChicWIT are shutting down.  It is unfortunate because many people rely on this network to find jobs, find clients, sell items, etc.   According to the announcment on the WorldWIT site, Liz is ready to focus more effort on her career and doesn't have the capacity to run the organization anymore.   It is too bad that no one from the community stepped up to take it over from Liz.  At the same time, Liz may have decided that it was time to end the run.  After all, most good things come to an end.  Good luck Liz and thanks for your amazing efforts to connect people!

Kids & Networking

Having kids can definitely take time away from after work networking events.  Thus, you may think that your relationship building will be hurt.  Well, as a father of a little girl, I can tell you that it doesn't hamper my relationship building.  It just redirects some of my efforts.  If you make networking a priority, then you can still make it work regardless of having kids.

While I can't attend as many events as I used to, I focus more of my effort on building my current relationships.  To make your relationships last, you need to nurture them by reaching out to people on a regular basis.  Make an effort to see people for coffee or lunch, send them articles of interest, or inform them when you are attending an event.  These are just some techniques that you can use.

While I may not attend business events as much, I still attend other types of events such as classes for my daughter or birthday parties for my friends' children.  These are great opportunities to meet new people as well as see some of your friends who have kids.  As I have written before, finding commonalities is important for relationship building.  Kids are definitely a common thread when you are with other parents!

(yes, that is my daughter at one of the play gyms)

Attend Industry Conferences

Just about every industry has at least one conference per year.  Make sure that you attend these conferences for several reasons such as: 1) rent a booth to display your company, 2) learn about the latest trends and issues in your industry, and 3) network with clients, partners, competitors, etc.

Probably the most important reason for attending, at least in my mind, is to network.  It is worth the admittance fee to meet other people in your industry.  Where else will you be able to meet this many people with a similar interest in one environment?   One of the tenets of building relationships is about finding commonalities with others so this is the perfect place.

For the last couple of days, I attended a conference for my industry, which was hosted by the Illinois Entrepreneurship & Small Business Growth Association.  Not only did I learn about some of the new developments in the Illinois Small Business Development Center network, but also I interacted with some of my peers in the economic development world.

I always enjoy these conference, which happen a few times a year, so I can maintain my relationships with some of the people who work in other cities across the state of Illinois.  Without these meetings, I would not see some of these people.

So, seek out your industry conferences and become an active participant.  You should always be thinking of ways to get yourself in front of people.

The National Networker - Inspiring NetWorkers

The National Networker is a publication that brings together various networking professionals from across the U.S. to write about different topics.  One of the writers is Mark Sturgell who covers the Great Lakes region.  In his column, "Inspiring Networkers", he highlights and interviews people who have made a difference with relationship building. 

This month, he interviews Michael Richmond of Business Builders Forum about his insights on networking and his new book, Mission Critical.  For the entire article, click here.  It is worth a read.

Part of what makes networking successful is learning from others.  So, take every opportunity to learn from successful people and integrate some of their techniques into your relationship building.