Networking Insight

11 Reasons to Be Nice to People

In order to build quality relationships, you need people to like you. So, make sure you are nice to others at all times. The impressions people have of you are very important for your personal brand. Below are some reasons why you should be nice to people:

1. You will feel good about yourself
2. You will gain the respect of others
3. You will build some long lasting relationships
4. You will grow your network
5. You will get referrals
6. You will  improve your personal brand
7. People will want to be in your network
8. People will want to do business with you
9. You will be able to talk to almost anyone
10. You will have a positive attitude
11. You will make people feel good about themselves

What other reasons can you think of?

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.

Connecting Outside Your Circle by Keith Ferrazzi

Keith Ferrazzi just shared the below information in a recent email.

Many of us have no trouble making connections in a room of people who are just like us - we feel comfortable, we feel confident, we know what to say. We're reasonably sure that many of the people we meet could become friends.

But what about when it's time to meet and connect with people who you think aren't like you at all? This came up in my mind this week while thinking about what it's like to transition a virtual relationship into the real world.

When you're meeting people outside of your stomping ground - whether it's Internet friends, folks at a regional conference, or even locals at networking event - here's a list of tips. They aren't geared toward helping you get more business cards, although they may well do that. Their purpose is to help you truly connect in a way that will bring a genuine smile to your face and warmth to your heart for hours or days after.

1. Project the positive before you enter the room. If you tell yourself - twenty times if need be - that you are entering a room full of friends, you'll feel more relaxed and create that reality.

2. Before you meet, get yourself ready to dig in and be authentic. Don't put on airs - just be your generous, caring self. Drop the acts. Drop your barriers. If you talk about what you are really passionate about - and then tell stories about those passions that bring them to life - you'll immediately find common ground. Your dreams may not resemble each other in the least, but what's the same is how they make you both feel - happy, engaged, and excited.

3. Don't be afraid to talk about your struggles, too. Don't go negative; instead talk about how you're not letting those challenges hold you back.

4. Listen, and listen generously. This one is tough for some. Ask lots of questions. The interest you show in them will make you more memorable than trying to impress them with your life story.

5. Make a proactive choice to connect. We can always find ways to connect, if we make that our goal. Remember, it truly is a choice - your choice. So go for it!

Here are a few other suggestions to add to this great list:

6. Keep an open mind to meeting new people. You never know who you will meet.

7. Realize that you need to grow your network.  You should consistently be meeting new people. It is not a good idea to only interact with your closed network.

8. Give to others. When meeting other people, have the mindset that you will try to help them. So, actively listen for how you can help them. At the same time, go ahead and ask how you can help. This will ease the conversation to be about them and not you.

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.

How Did Social Networking Help Obama Win the Nomination?

Barack Obama leveraged social networking tools to organize his supporters. It is amazing to learn how much technology was a core focus of his campaign.

"Throughout the campaign, Obama and his staff relied on a social-networking site, www.my.barackobama.com, to help supporters find one another and to disperse the campaign’s messages to a broad audience."

"Technology is only one component of a successful project; how that technology is positioned and how appropriate it is for the target demographic are often more important. Striking that balance is where the Obama campaign excelled, according to Technology Review."

The time has come that all future campaigns will rely on these technologies to manage and gain supporters.

To read more about Obama's use of technology, go to The Secret Behind Obama’s Nomination: Social Networking.

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.

How to Build a Sizable and Quality Network

Your social capital (the people you know) is extremely important in today’s fast paced world.  Relationships are everything when it comes to business. That is a big reason why I spend so much of time and effort interacting with people. 

Keep in mind that it is not the size of your network that is most important but rather the quality of individuals that you associate yourself with. 

Be Seen in the Community

It is of utmost importance that you show yourself in your community. Attend events and interact with people. Do this on a regular basis so you get to know people better and are constantly meeting new people. Over time, you will have built a large network based on this activity alone.

Reach Out to Your Network

A quality network doesn’t happen overnight so you need to find ways to reach out to people. Create a newsletter or blog so you are constantly sharing valuable information to people. Invite people out for coffee or lunch so you can see them in person from time to time. Send articles of interest in various individuals.  The point is that you need to always be in front of people.

Brand Yourself as an Expert

Focus on branding yourself as an expert on a particular topic. Once you decide on the expertise you want to be known for, let people know as much as you can by speaking at events, writing articles, publishing a blog, etc.  The more consistently you let people know your expertise, the more you will brand yourself as an expert.

Display Good Character

You want people to see you as a trustworthy and dependable person so make sure that you adhere to this standard at all times.  When you say you will do something, you better follow through. Always act in an honorable way and treat people how you want to be treated.  People will want to be associated with you if you act in this way, thus, allowing you to grow your network.

Build a Database

As you meet people, you need to decide on which ones you would like to integrate into your network. It is impossible to maintain a quality relationship with everyone you meet. My goal is to meet 1-2 quality folks at an event that I can add to my network. You need to make sure that you are organized so put contact information in an electronic format so you can search and pull up names. Categorize people by industry or function so you can quickly pull up information. Take good notes from meetings and discussions with people and add to each person’s profile. This will be helpful for future conversations.

What other techniques do you use?

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.

What Professional Information Should You Share on LinkedIn?

Lilly Garcia of the Washington Post answers a reader's question: "How much professional information should you share on a site like LinkedIn?" 

To view Lilly's answer, go to Tips for Using Professional Networking Sites.

The main take-away is that you should only include information that you want to use to build your professional profile. Volunteer experience is good to include but political and religious views may not be good. Use your best judgment.

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.

11 Networking Principles by Anup Manchanda

In the word of a great man "networking is about exchange, great networkers offer a gift first, because small effort can create lots of value of others" (said about Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn).
Over the years, I have gleaned some principles of networking learnt from classes, talks etc. and some of my own learning. Hope this helps those who are going through the challenge of looking for the next
opportunity either in their job search or business opportunity.

1. Before going to a networking event, research on the people attending and the companies they represent. Research on the person hosting the event and is doing all the work to make that event happen.

2. Target to talk to at least 10 new people that day. Target to meet with 5 new people that day as a follow-up within the week for a cup of coffee. If possible email them information that they seek before you meet with them.

3. Connect them with 2 new people or 2 new companies or 2 new opportunities that they did not know about before, after you meet with them.

4. Engage a brand ambassador who can talk about you at other events.

5. Stay in touch by sending them tidbits of information that will bring value to them.

6. When asking for help, be specific. When offering to help be specific and follow through.

7. Be enthusiastic to be there and let it show.

8. Don't Rant and Rave in Forums or meetings. No one cares. They all have their own problems.

9. Challenge the known and Embrace the Unknown.

10. Make yourself worth knowing.

11. Reconnect with new friends every few months.

Don't know if this is going to work for everyone. All I know is it has worked for me. 85-90% of my new opportunities have come through networking.

Anup has successfully led teams in migration and implementations of premise based VoIP IP-PBX’s for clients in the SMB environment. With successful implementations done not only in the US, but also internationally, Anup brings a unique worldwide knowledge about customers to the table.  A frequent speaker, panelist, moderator and Chair on VoIP Seminars and Conferences; and as a member of the PAC(Project Advisory Council) at IIT, he has sponsored various studies with the VoIP lab at IIT on VoIP services and VoIP equipment on their reliability and interoperability. For the last few years has been instrumental in developing programs, new products and services, and ideas and setting up alliances with industry leaders in VoIP: such as IIT, Epygi, Cbeyond,Cisco and others.  He is also certified and trained to sell next generation IP solutions for the SMB space from Cisco, Micro Soft, snom, Polycom, Aastra and others.
 
He is also an active member of various local business chambers (MEF, MITEF, TIE) and networking groups (BNC, LinkedIn Chicago) and has served on the Tech 101 Committee at the Greater-O’hare Association of Industry and Commerce.  Active in social and community causes, he co-led a project in building the first community center and  Indian temple in Lake County, IL.

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.

Traditional vs. Creative Ways to Meet People

Many different types of events exist for you to meet people.  Some are more traditional and some are more out of the box. You need to try both ways because you never know who you are going to meet. Below is a comparison between traditional ways and creative ways to meet other people.

Traditional Ways to Meet People

Most people focus their efforts on meeting others in the traditional ways. Nothing is wrong with this at all.  Below is a list of some of the traditional ways to meet people:

    * Speaking events hosted by an industry association
    * Networking events hosted by a business organization
    * Tradeshows
    * Religious events
    * Alumni events
    * Holiday parties
    * Sporting events

Creative Ways to Meet People

It is important that you think beyond what you are already doing to meet people.  Be creative and try new ways to meet people. Below is a list of some of the creative ways to meet people:

    * Structured networking events such as SpeedNetworking
    * Business leads groups such as BNI or LeTip
    * Online networking such as LinkedIn or Facebook
    * Cooking parties
    * Golf outings
    * Boat cruises
    * Charity events
    * Daycares and kids activities

What other ways/locations do you meet people?

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.

Should You Accept Every Event Invitation?

In the below video, Andy Lopata of Connecting People, discusses why it is not necessary to say "yes" to every event invitation. What do you think? Do you agree with Andy?

Business TV show: Andy Lopata tells why yes men lose out @ Yahoo! Video

Scott Bradley's 15 Networking Principles

Scott Bradley of Networking Effectively shares his 15 top networking principles in the below video. I have been very impressed with Scott's expertise and insight into relationship building at such a young age. I don't meet too many people who get it this early in their careers. Here are a few of his principles:

1. Be real and transparent
2. Be yourself
3. Look to help people before asking for help

Online Networking Community Helps Make Arrest

Below is an interesting story that I found regarding Craigslist and a prostitution ring. The article mentions that Craigslist is an online networking community. I don't necessarily agree but nonetheless it shows how online activities are still connected to the physical world.

Belleville Police get info from online network before making arrest in prostitution case
BY MARIA BARAN
News-Democrat

BELLEVILLE --
Two people have been charged after police set up a sting operation to investigate a possible prostitution ring.

Sherrie M. Denton, 22, and Michael S. Weinberg, 25, both of 800 S. Virginia St. were charged today.

Denton was charged with prostitution and unauthorized possession of cannabis sativa. Weinberg was charged with possession of cannabis sativa.

On July 31, police received an anonymous tip and began investigating a possible prostitution ring was operating out of the city using the online networking community Craigslist.com, according to Capt. Don Sax.

Police found more than one posting with the same phone number, so they subpoenaed the phone records.

Thursday night, an undercover police officer set up a sting: "They called the number, set up a meeting, the solicitation took place and they made the arrests," Sax said.

Craigslist offers online classifieds, including jobs, housing, personal, erotic services and more.

Two of the "erotic service" ads listed on the site for Belleville, boast a 22-year-old woman with long black hair. It said, "Ask for the 'SPECIAL' and I'll take 25 off the donation!!!" Prices ranged from $150 to $300 for various services.

If you like this blog post, then subscribe to RSS feed or via email.