Networking Insight

What are Your Networking Goals for 2008?

It is the time of the year when we think about the goals that we want to accomplish in the following year. For some of us, we want to exercise more regularly, eat healthier, or quit smoking.  Whatever your goal is, we have a sense of motivation with each coming new year. Sadly, many people have a hard time commiting to their personal goals.  With business goals, there seems to be more of a drive for people. Probably because we spend most of our time working and we want to continually grow and take our businesses to the next level.

With that said, you need to make sure that you think about your networking goals for 2008.  These goals are just as important, if not more important, than some of your other professional goals. Relationships generally drive many of our other professional goals.

Ask yourself the following questions to guide and focus you on your networking goals.  While you don't have to commit to all of these, you need to make sure that you take these questions serious. Pick the ones that are the most reasonable and achievable for you.

1. How much do I want to grow my business?

2. How many new events do I want to attend each month?

3. What types of people do I need to meet to help me achieve my professioanl goals?

4. Which organizations do I want to take an active leadership role with?

5. What new techniques do I want to try for keeping in touch with people?

6. How many seminars do I want to host or speak at?

7. How many people do I want to have on my email distribution list?

8. What image do I want to portray?

9. What subject matter expertise do I want to brand myself around?

10. Do I want to change jobs?

11. Do I want to start my own business?

12. Do I want to start a blog?

13. Do I want to become a published author?

14. Do I need to find new service providers?

15. Do I want to start using social networking sites?

The above list is just a start for you and to get you to think about what you want to accomplish in 2008. I suggest that you write your goals down as well as the steps that you need to take to achieve these goals. This is important so you can stay focused and measure your success. You can call this your "personal business plan."

What are some of your networking goals for 2008? 

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The Best of Networking Insight for 2007

At the end of each year, many bloggers typically recap their best stuff for the year. So, I am doing the same. Below are my most popular posts based on comments for the year.

January 07

Offer to Help Others First

Remembering Names of the Forgotten

Entrepreneurs Helping Entrepreneurs

February 07

Get to Know Event Speakers

Start a Conversation with Someone New Every Day

Keep an Open Mind...Even at Jury Duty

March 07

WorldWIT Shutting Down!

Own Your Own Domain

Good Business Card Management

April 07

Practice Your Manners

Define Your Personal Brand

Finding Job Candidates Through Networks?

May 07

Pay Attention to Your Email Signature

Your Personal Brand Statement

The Story Behind the WorldWIT / ChicWIT Closing

June 07

Your Networking Demeanor Can Make a Lasting Impression

How to Enhance Your Personal Brand

Leverage Your Friend's Network for Referrals

July 07

The Secret to Building Great Relationships

How Having a Baby Helps with Relationship Building

Enhance Your Relationship Building Through Power of Blogs

August 07

What is N-E-T-W-O-R-K-I-N-G?

What Kind of Networker are You?

What is Wrong with this Picture?

September 07

If you Don't Build Relationships Now, You'll Hate Yourself Later

Are you Convinced that Seniors Will Use Social Networking Sites?

What do You Think About Yahoo's Latest Social Networking Idea?

October 07

7 Ways that Halloween Parties are Similar to Networking

How to Become Memorable When Business Networking

Here is a Method That is Helping Wallflowers Connect Better

November 07

26.2 Reasons to Say Thank You

What We Can Learn About Not Networking with Ivanka Trump

15 Questions to Evaluate Your Networking Comittment

December 07

1 Year Annivesary of Networking Insight Blog

10 Laws of Personal Branding

15 Ways to Be a Good Citizen and Help Others During the Winter

Thank you for your interest in this blog and for your comments. Here is to a great 2008!

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Why Should You Join a Business Networking Site?

The question, “Am I paying enough attention in meeting new people?”, was recently answered in the advice section of CIO magazine. The entire Q&A can be found at Why You Should Join a Business Networking Site?

This is something that I think about all of the time. While the traditional ways to meet people are still very important, it is also important to try new techniques and integrate social networking into your fabric. After all, more and more professionals are using these sites.

Here are some of takeaways from the article:

• Safer way to meet people online
• Ability to meet people with same or similar interests
• Ability to share information about yourself and your firm
• Can choose from a variety of diverse sites to use
• Can tap into diverse networks
• Most are free to use

What are some other good reasons to use social networking sites for business?

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25 More “Do You Knows” About Networking

Because of the popularity of my post, 25 “Do You Knows” About Networking, I have decided to share with you 25 more to think about.

26.  Do you know that you should focus on giving a good firm handshake, which shows confidence?

27.  Do you know you should put your cards in a nice business card holder and take it to events and meetings?

28. Do you know that you should get your shoes polished regularly so you look professional?

29.  Do you know that you should inspect your clothing every day to make sure that you don’t have stains or holes before you leave the house?

30.  Do you know that you should keep an extra shirt, tie, or piece of clothing at your office in case you get a stain?

31. Do you know that you should wear professional attire to events if you don’t know ahead of time what to wear?

32. Do you know that you should act as a host at events and introduce people to each other?

33.  Do you know at least 80% of jobs are found through networking, not through job postings?

34.  Do you know that people judge you in the first few seconds of meeting you?

35.  Do you know that you should prepare a personal introduction so you can properly and effectively introduce yourself to others?

36.  Do you know that you should find commonalities with others during conversations?

37.  Do you know that taking on a leadership role with a business association or non-profit is a great way to build relationships?

38. Do you know that to build strong relationships and influence people, you need to close your own eyes and try to see things through their eyes? (courtesy of Robert of Reason-4-Smile Weblog)

39. Do you know that you should try to build relationships with a few influencers who are well connected?

40.  Do you know that you should not try to collect as many business cards as you can at an event?

41.  Do you know that you should often send articles of interest to people in your network?

42.  Do you know that you should stand, not sit, in a waiting room when waiting for the person you came to see so you are ready to meet?

43.  Do you know that you should take notes on the back of business cards so you can remember conversations?

44.  Do you know that you should not accept invitations from people who you don’t know from social networking services such as LinkedIn?

45. Do you know you should not stop networking during the holidays?

46. Do you know that you should smile when you enter a room to show that you are approachable?

47. Do you know that you need to be proactive and follow up with people because most people will never follow up with you?

48.  Do you know that you should host your own event to stay in touch with your network and to demonstrate your expertise?

49. Do you know that you shouldn’t write people off if there is not an immediate professional fit because they may be able to introduce you to an appropriate fit?

50. Do you know that you should attend events out of your industry to meet people who you probably never would have met?

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12 Networking Tips for Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone. For those that celebrate, I hope that you had a wonderful time with your family. I came across this interesting article, 12 tips for Christmas networking, which mentions some of the soft skills such as your demeanor, topics of conversations, and posture. Below is a summary of the key points, however, I recommend that you read the entire article:

1. Practice small talk and think about what others may be interested in discussing.

2. Talk about more positive subjects rather than how bad the weather is outside.

3. Think about what makes you interesting to others.

4. Don't try to collect as many business cards as you can.

5. Look around to appreciate and understand the people around you.

6. Be proactive and approach someone for a conversation.

7. Don't interrupt people who are already in deep conversations.

8. Portray good body language by using good eye contact and smiling.

9. Be a good listener.

10. Use people's first names throughout the conversation.

11. Stand an appropriate distance from people.

12. Show that you are paying attention to conversations by nodding your head and interjecting with comments.

These are all great tips that should be taken serious throughout the entire year. Soft skills such as these are so important for making a good first impression.  In addition to the above tips, take a look at my recent post, 7 Sure-Fire Ways to Network During the Holidays.

What other suggestions do you have for networking during the holidays?

10 Niche Social Networking Sites for Professionals

While we generally hear about the larger social networking sites such as Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook, many more niche sites exist. In fact, there is probably a niche social networking site for every profession.  Below are 10 niche sites that I came across:

eDentalSpace.com

Designed exclusively for dentists, dental students, hygienists, assistants, practice managers, dental schools and state & local associations.

NurseConnect.com

Designed exclusively for nursing professionals and nursing students seeking to connect and network with their peers.

JewelStruck.com

Place where all jewelers can connect with each other and promote their business.

Lawyrs.net

Social network for the legal profession, allowing lawyers to setup profiles, make connections, and join groups.

MarcomProfessional.com

Dedicated social professional network designed specifically for the marketing communications industry.

Sermo.com

Online community where physicians around the nation exchange the latest medical insights with each other and improve patient outcomes - 24/7.

ActiveRain.com

Site for real estate agents, loan officers, staggers, and others have a place to talk about the industry, network, and share ideas on how to better serve our clients.

TeachAde.com

Social networking website designed specifically for educators.

BevConnect.com

Social networking website for professionals in the beer, wine and spirits industry.

TheUpDown.com

Destination for investors to collaborate and compete using virtual portfolios and real-life brokerage. simulations.

What other niche professional social networking sites do you know about?

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Study These Techniques to Become a Relationship Building Expert

To become a top networker, you need to know how to become a great relationship builder. While it takes time to master this skill, it is well worth the commitment.  Without strong and sustainable relationships, you will not be able to grow your network and most importantly, you won’t have the quality relationships that make a valuable network.  Therefore, study the below techniques, which will help you to become a relationship building expert:

Portray Good Demeanor

When meeting people for the first time, you need to be on your best networking behavior.  What this means is that you need to come across as sincere and professional throughout your entire conversation.  During your conversation, maintain good eye contact, listen to the other person speak, and have good posture. Basically, you need to show the other person that you are paying attention and care about the conversation.

Find out how you can help people by asking good questions and then finding ways to help.  By following through on what you said, you will show that you are the real deal and want to maintain the relationship.  Many people promise things are never follow through so put yourself ahead of the pack.

With good demeanor, you will make a good first impression and give yourself the opportunity to further build a relationship.

Nurture Your Relationships

In order to build relationships, you need to nurture them.   By taking the time to get to know people, you will deepen your bonds.  Make sure that you are always thinking about ways to connect with your network. One easy and effective way is to set up an email newsletter. By sending this out regularly, you will stay in front of your network.

Also, invite people to coffee, lunch, dinner, or drinks from time to time.   Face-to-face interaction is very important.  In addition, send out articles or other news items that you think are valuable to your network.

It is crucial that you work on nurturing individual relationships as well.  Quality is far better than quantity when it comes to building relationships. 

Become a Subject Matter Expert

One of the best ways to build a sizable and quality network is to become a subject matter expert.  By demonstrating your expertise, people will see you as an authority and gravitate towards you.

Pick a topic that you are passionate about and make sure that you study it and truly become an expert.  Showcase your knowledge by creating a Website, publishing a blog, or writing articles.

Once you are an established authority in your space, it will become easy to build relationships.  People will remember you and will want to become a part of your network.  So, you won’t have to work as hard finding people to connect with.  However, you still need to be careful and not just connect with everyone.

You want to establish yourself as the go to person around a particular topic.  Once people see you as an expert, you will be a valuable component of anyone’s network.

Click Here to find out how to become an expert in any niche in 30 days or less

How Networking is a Key to Growing a Business

Building relationships is a necessary key for any entrepreneur to grow a business.  Without having established relationships and the desire to build new ones, entrepreneurs can be dead in the water.

I recently came across this great article, Networking key to growing a new business, which provides some great real world examples of how networking has helped some entrepreneurs launch their businesses. 

Below are some of the networking best practices that were shared in the article:

- Don't expect leads will be derived soon after joining a networking group. Getting business is about building relationships. This takes time.

- Successful networkers look for ways to refer business to their fellow group members. The more you give, the more you get in return.

- Develop relationships outside of the weekly networking group meeting. An occasional lunch or social activity helps.

- Don't miss networking meetings unless necessary; and if you do, get a substitute to take your spot. Just like with advertising, repetition is a key.

- Always be prepared to give your 10-30 second "elevator pitch" that gives fellow networkers a quick idea of your business and the value it provides. Most groups begin every meeting by having members give a concise statement about their businesses.

Make sure to read the entire article at Networking key to growing a new business. 

How have you leveraged networking to grow a new business?

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25 “Do You Knows” About Networking

Many of us network and don’t even realize it because it comes naturally. While for others, it is something that takes us out of our comfort zone and needs to be integrated into our lives.

Below are set of questions to ask yourself to test your knowledge of networking:

1. Do you know that you should follow-up with new contacts 1-2 days after meeting them?

2. Do you know that you should let people talk about themselves before you take over the conversation?

3. Do you know that you need to make yourself memorable by branding yourself around an expertise, signature look, etc.?

4. Do you know that you should stay in contact with people through techniques such as a newsletter, email list, etc.?

5. Do you know that you should maintain good posture at all times when talking with people?

6. Do you know that you should always wear your nametag high and on the right side of your body?

7. Do you know that you should find ways to help others before you ask for help?

8. Do you know that you should build and maintain relationships long before you need to leverage them?

9. Do you know that you should treat every situation as a possibility to expand your network?

10. Do you know that you should invite 1-3 people each week out for breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner, or drinks?

11. Do you know that if you build credibility and trust with people that they will help you whenever they can?

12. Do you know that hosting your own party is a great way to build your existing relationships and to expand your network?

13. Do you know that you should never burn any bridges with anyone because you could end up doing business with these people in the future?

14. Do you know that you should carry business cards in your left pocket?

15. Do you know that you should put business cards in all your bags, purses, coats, etc. so you always have them available?

16. Do you know that you should have some networking goals so you can be strategic in how you build relationships?

17. Do you know that it takes awhile to build good solid relationships?

18. Do you know that you should not try to sell people when you first meet them?

19. Do you know that you shouldn’t drink too much at business holiday parties?

20. Do you know that you should pay for meals if you do the inviting?

21. Do you know that you should use first names whenever possible in conversations, emails, and letters?

22. Do you know that you should send handwritten notes to thank people?

23. Do you know that you should carry a nice pen with you to networking events and meetings?

24. Do you know that you should constantly be thinking of ways to reach out to people?

25. Do you know that you should learn from other people what does and doesn’t work for them when it comes to networking?

The above list could go on and on. What other “Do you knows” would you add?  Can you answer “yes” to many of these questions?

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7 Sure-Fire Ways to Network During the Holidays

The holidays are an important time to continue building relationships. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Below are 7 ways to maximize your time during the holidays:

1.      Regularly attend holiday parties because people are more relaxed

2.      Set up meetings with people because they will have more time and less distractions

3.      Host your own holiday party so you can invite your network

4.      Send holiday cards to people within your network so you can stay in front of them

5.      If you are looking for a job, then don’t stop networking during this time. See #2 above.

6.      Accept hospitality from people such as sweets and other nice gestures to show your respect

7.      Don’t always talk about business because the holidays are a great time to get to know people on a more personal level

What other ways techniques have you used during the holidays?