Can one really develop professional relationships online? For many outside the internet generation, this will seem quite odd and impossible, but to the generation of iPhone, Facebook and Meetup this is life as usual.
Mirroring the explosion in utilization of online dating, chat rooms and blogging to forge personal relationships, today’s professionals are just beginning to harness the power of online technologies to develop professional relationships. Online networking resources have emerged to enable busy people to pursue new connections on their own schedules and outside the confines of a traditional networking event or group.
For today’s busy professional time is our most precious resource. Integrating online networking into your overall strategy is critical to a balanced approach. There are several avenues to develop relationships online, which we shall mention. Never forget that in order to forge a true relationship and foster trust, you must transfer an online connection into an offline world relationship. Relationships form through a mutual sentiment of like and trust. The same rules apply of cultivating relationship through ongoing interactions.
Here are some proven methods to developing networking skills, relationships and trust in an online environment.
1. ENGAGE: Join an online networking community. There are numerous online networking resources that have emerged in the past few years to enable professionals to utilize the web to build new relationships. To name a few: Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Plaxo, Ning, Myspace and various alumni and professional online communities as well.
Regardless of which tool you choose the key is to actively engage yourself by pursuing new relationships and utilizing the resources at your disposal. Simply joining and having a profile is not enough. Invest the time and energy to make a sincere effort to connect with new people and develop relationships. This will be a new concept to some; others of you will realize quickly that you can develop real and valuable relationships with others in cyber space.
2. COMMUNICATE: Create an e-mail newsletter. First organize your contacts by creating an e-mail database of clients, customers and friends. Send content on a regular basis (I recommend starting with a monthly cycle) which offers insight about your industry, emerging trends, problems you have helped clients solve and other information that would be of interest to the reader. Keep articles succinct and relevant. Try profiling clients and offering tips, advice and ideas. The intent of the newsletter is to expand awareness and direct readers to your website. Ask and encourage clients, partners and even prospects to contribute to your content. A simple gesture offers a powerful opportunity to build stronger relationships and generates positive exposure for your best advocates. I recommend you either use an email service or at the minimum develop a customized and professional looking template to use for all your newsletters. Remember your newsletter is a reflection of you and your company’s image.
3. BLOG: Start blogging or writing for a website or e-newsletter. We all possess expertise or information within a certain arena related to our industry, hobbies, volunteer involvement etc. Begin building your personal “online brand” by sharing your thoughts, ideas, opinions and information with others. Start a blog of your own within one of the larger blogger sites or online communities. As people read your content and learn from your comments they will glean insight into you as a person. Reading another person’s thoughts and communication style engenders a sense of “knowing you” which is integral to the networking process. Try to post a minimum of once per month and more as you become comfortable.
Demonstrating knowledge in an area, willingness to share and writing regularly about it will truly help create a brand and offer a forum to build relationships with others who share similar interests or seek knowledge. Keep your comments professional and try to convey your interest in helping others. Respond to others’ postings and share an opinion. Posting within relevant groups/communities is a great way to gain visibility, which creates credibility and eventually new relationship opportunities. The more you are visible: read, interacted with and talked about; the more visibility you’ll gain within any given online community. Carefully select which online blog networks or communities / groups to join and keep the number manageable, otherwise you won’t have time to be effective.
4. TRUST: Maintain online integrity. Even when making professional connections online, the same rules apply. You must focus on cultivating sincere and honest relationships with others. This is the only avenue to foster a sense of mutual trust and a reciprocal liking. People do business with those they like and trust. Even online you can begin to build this foundation by being honest and sincere in who you are, what you write and how you respect others.
Although technology streamlines and accelerates the capacity to establish new connections, in order to transform an online connection into a real relationship one must ultimately find time and opportunity to engage others thru multiple mediums and ideally strive to meet in person. Email, phone conversations, handwritten notes and in person meetings should be integrated as you build a stronger relationship. Nothing will ever replace the live human interaction.
Slowly seek to progress the relationship thru these additional contact outlets which enable you to portray a more 3D view of yourself. Once you’ve established that foundation of trust, you’ll start feeling more comfortable referring your contacts and vice versa. Remember that writing inherently possesses many limitations on communicating who you are as a person. The person on the other end someone cannot look you in the eyes, hear inflections in your tone or watch your body language, so expect that trust may develop slower solely thru online communication. Prepare for misunderstandings to occur and deal with them appropriately.
5. INTEGRATE: Online rules are unique. With the protection of a keyboard, people online often behave differently than in person. Introverts can be much less inhibited and others exaggerate their abilities and influence. People are often very short and concise in their statements, different from how they may speak. This is not intended to be rude, but simply the standard operating procedure for online communication. With online networking, experience shows that people feel at ease being direct; short, sweet and to the point. Very often coming across as aggressive and biting. Most importantly people are often more bold and blunt online since they don’t have to interact in person or deal with a live reaction. They will ask for and say things that in the offline world one would likely never address towards a total stranger. You will learn simply by doing and making mistakes. When in doubt, ask someone to clarify a statement that you are unsure of or may misinterpret.
Be cautious and careful with sharing personal information. Approach every contact with healthy skepticism and remember there are evil people out there in cyber space, masquerading as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Progress a relationship slowly and be cautious of those who are demanding, asking inappropriate questions or persistent for obtaining personal information. Invest time upfront and only share when you feel comfortable.
Harnessing technology to build relationships is a powerful resource that in today’s world every professional must utilize to enhance their network. Now you can engage in true networking opportunities from the comfort of your desk or couch 24 hours a day. Utilize online networking to complement your live tactics and to provide a targeted avenue to pursue relationships locally or across the globe.
Contact me @ adam@sbncorp.com with any questions or comments.
It’s time to say a personal “thanks” to those who helped you in 2009 and take the opportunity to make some new connections to set the stage for the year ahead. Whether your office holiday party, a friend’s open house, or a trade association membership meeting – you need to keep networking.
Remember, every time you meet someone new – you have the opportunity to network. Networking is a lifelong endeavor as you continue to forge new relationships and cultivate those connections you have made over time. Networking is never about an immediate need or desire, but more so to help others and better prepare yourself for success in the years ahead.
Our tips for an effective season of networking:
1. RELAX AND ENJOY YOURSELF!! – First and foremost, this time is stressful enough, so remove your game face, your zealous handshake and put your sales pitch on vacation – just immerse yourself in having some fun and camaraderie. Really get to know the people you meet; it’s time to share some stories or even a few jokes. People are happy this time of year so enjoy their company and if you have to… commiserate on the pathetic performance of your favorite football team.
2. Say “Thanks.” – For those in your network who referred you a potential client, introduced you to a new contact or helped you in any fashion, send them an email, a handwritten note or holiday card – telling them how much you appreciate their support and look forward to the coming year. Demonstrate that you truly value their contribution to your success and their role in your network. Reinforce that you will and want to help them in any way you can. Everyone loves to feel appreciated!
3. Attend holiday mixers and parties – Take advantage of the season and attend those parties you want as well as those where you feel obligated. Each offers a unique opportunity to meet new people and begin to establish some new contacts to pursue in the year ahead. If you are party hopping, first and foremost – be safe and responsible! WE want to see you networking next year as well!! Attend for an hour – mingle and catch up with some familiar faces then make a point to talk to two new people at each party. Before your exit, make sure to thank the host/hostess and congratulate them on a wonderful event.
4. Play the gracious host – Whether you are tied directly to an event or not, always strive to maintain the demeanor of a host. Greet people as they enter, offer to get refreshments or food for others. Make a special effort to talk to those who appear more introverted and casually invite them into your conversation or connect them with others. You will be remembered for your kindness and playing the host sends a clear message of your confidence.
5. Connect people – Scroll through your rolodex and identify which of your contacts would benefit from meeting one another. Invite them to join you at mixers or holiday parties and make the introductions. Your contacts will certainly be happy they met some new people and you will benefit from being the point of connection. Your efforts here demonstrate your desire to help them succeed and that you are thinking about them.
6. Personal Invitations – Make a special effort to personally call or email some of your contacts and invite them as your guest to a holiday mixer or suggest you will meet them there as an opportunity to catch up. Often people are more likely to attend such social functions if they know that others whom they know will be there. They will remember the fact you personally invited them. For those whom are more introverted, ask someone to go with you and share a car then you can arrive together and more comfortably immerse yourself in the festivities.
7. Pace Thyself – There are more holiday gatherings that one can imagine, so if you are fortunate to be invited to many such events, make sure to pace yourself and not overindulge. Certainly your focus should be enjoying yourself, but make sure to know your limits on alcohol and make an effort to drink a glass of water and try those tasty hors d’oeuvres. After all you don’t want to be remembered for the wrong reasons!! Nor be the one they talk about as the “incident” from the last holiday party!
8. Maintain a positive outlook – No matter what is going on in your professional or personal worlds, smile and be positive!! Express your excitement for the coming year. No one likes a party pooper or negativity during this time of year. SCROOGES STAY AT HOME!!
9. Get to know thy office mates - Often in larger companies people barely know those working next to them or even on a different floor. If your firm has an office party – make an effort to meet and begin to build a rapport with others in your company. These folks can be one of your most powerful allies and referral sources if they just know what you do and create a face rather than merely the “Sales” department.
10. Mistletoe Manners! – The ultimate holiday dilemma! What is appropriate? Nearly every party has someone running amuck with mistletoe or strategic placed this amorous item in concealed locations. Either way; appearing at an inopportune moment. Our recommendation: A hug is a man’s best friend! Dare you be more risqué – a quick peck on the cheek. Beyond that – you have transitioned from networking to romance and you should ask Dr. Phil for his advice.
Fast food, fast computers and fast cars, is it any wonder speed-networking emerged? In a click thru, on-demand, no patience world, Speed Networking helps professionals focus their networking efforts and accelerate the process of making new contacts.
Believe it or not, speed-networking is just what it sounds like – quick, focused opportunities to meet those who can propel your career and business. And, YES, it does really work! We all desire to accelerate our careers and get on the fast track to success, with speed-networking, you can accelerate your networking. You can meet more quality contacts and actually have meaningful conversations in just one event than any other method!
Speed-networking is FUN and EFFECTIVE. Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, young in your career or experienced – you will enjoy meeting people in this type of format. Strategic Business Network is a firm believer in putting people face-to-face to facilitate direct conversation. QuikConnect™ (SBN’s speed networking format) is set up as a series of one-on-one mini-meetings. Half the participants stay seated, while the other half rotate in a sequential process to a new professional after each 4-5 minute exchange.
A few other different styles of speed-networking include:
Roundtable – Typically 7 people sit down at a table and each person has 1-2 minutes to share their elevator pitch. After all have spoken, each participant moves to a new table.
Triad – three people per table with one remaining seated throughout the rotations. After 6 minutes, the other two move in opposite directions around the room.
But, how does it work to help you achieve success?
First, Without a doubt you will meet more people in a short timeframe than ever before.
Second,All those who participate are like you in that they have invested their time and energy to build their network. Third, Listen and Listen. There is no time for selling, simply have a conversation and learn about what each new connection as both an individual and professional – ie, who they are, what they do. Fourth and most important – Follow Up is the key. Speed-networking delivers high volume and quality connections, but you must follow up and begin to cultivate the relationships. The initial interaction is only the starting point for each of your new potential relationships.
Consider all the new people you can now help by knowing what they do and in turn who can help you! Imagine attending even one speed-networking event per month, you will more than likely meet over 400 new people throughout the year. And, if you do it right, you can leave a lasting impression making sure those 400 people in your community REMEMBER you.
After nearly 5 years of executing speed networking events and creating over 500,000 new connections, the testimonials from participants who gained new clients, projects, jobs and friendships continues to amaze me. I confidently will place a properly run speed networking session against any other networking event format and feel assured the outcomes will be far greater.
If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it. In today’s world, networking is critical from the receptionist to the CEO. Speed-networking offers an efficient and effective tool to propel your career and expand your influence! Never has networking been this fun and this rewarding.
Visit www.strategicbusinessnetwork.com for events and opportunities near you!
The WORK of networking begins the day after your initial conversation. 80% of building and maintaining a relationship is simply staying in touch.
PINGing is the persistent art of remaining connected and in touch with your contacts. A proactive approach to cultivating relationships, making the effort to maintain lines of communication and most importantly staying on someone’s radar screen. A phone call, a short email or morning coffee – each of these offers an opportunity to deliver interaction with your network.
In order to cultivate a relationship people must see/hear your name a minimum of three times and ideally in more than one mode of communication (email, phone & face to face) before any meaningful recall/recognition occurs. Vary your methods of PINGing with each person to reach them in different ways.
Once you have gained some early recognition, nurture a developing relationship with a phone call or email at least every quarter if not more often. Early on, strive to offer resources during your PINGs – an article, a new contact, a business lead – anything that will reinforce your efforts to help. Over time you can reach out simply to touch base and say hello without a specific reason for the contact.
To pursue a deeper connection, such as transforming a contact into a friend, you need a minimum of two face to face meetings outside the work environment within the initial 3-4 month period. Consistent PINGing or dialogue via email/phone (once per month) will illustrate your sincere interest in them as a person and should accelerate the “trust” and “like” qualities that must emerge. Any more frequent contact early on may quickly get you labeled as a stalker or desperate.
Maintaining a secondary relationship requires two to three pings a year, simply to say hello and catch up. Calling while in an airport, during your daily commutes, waiting on a meeting or emailing late at night before going to bed, there is no prescribed best method nor time to PING, it’s simply the action and consistency of putting yourself out there as the relationship catalyst.
You must set aside the time and seize opportunities to PING. Harness the power of PINGing and you will experience a dramatic improvement not only in your ability to manage connection, but to transform a rolodex into a true network of relationships.
I am a LinkedIn aficionado and strong advocate. If you are not IN, you need to be. For those of you who are leery of dipping your toe in the LinkedIn pond or others who are just splashing around, here are some keys to success which will hopefully relieve online anxiety and accelerate your success.
LinkedIn grew steadily then reached a tipping point and in late 2007 began a sudden exponential growth trajectory, reaching over 30,000,0000 members. With this critical mass of users, you can truly achieve some amazing results.
1. Complete your Profile. Your profile is essentially your online brand of YOU. Your word choice and depth of your responses send a powerful signal to all your connections. By including your previous experience, interests, hobbies, volunteer activities, education etc.. you create more potential opportunities to connect with others who share something in common with you. You don’t want to have a half completed profile, misspellings or poor grammar – as such will signify to others that you don’t follow through, don’t pay attention to detail and even worse – don’t take pride in your accomplishments. This includes having a headshot. Your non glamour shot should be from this decade and not your high school yearbook photo. I can’t tell you how helpful this simple feature has been when going to meet someone for the first time at Starbucks and being able to have a visual of who I am looking for.
2. Recommend – Giver’s Gain and the same applies to your online network. One of LinkedIn’s core features is the ability recommend others. You can provide written endorsements to those whom you have worked with previously or know well. Recommendations serve as validations to others that people had a positive experience and think highly of them. After you have given several recommendations, hopefully some of those people will reciprocate, but there is nothing wrong with asking a few targeted connections for a recommendation. No mass email of “Recommend Me” .. it’s highly unprofessional and demonstrates that you don’t value your network.
3. Join Groups – LinkedIn has a group for nearly every purpose. Networking, school alumni, industry focused, entrepreneurial, corporate groups.. you name it, you can find it. I recommend you join at least 1 networking group in your local area and 1 within your industry. Next, select 2 0r more that are simply of interest to you – where you went to school, hobbies etc. Groups offer a quick and easy platform to expand your network and connect with other like-minded individuals whom you share a common interest. Groups offer a unique/secret capability to contact people whom you don’t know directly, but you can send a message because you share a group relationship.
4. Engage – Similar to any organization, once you join you then you actually must participate to derive any meaningful value. Simply sitting on the sidelines and waiting for others to contact you is not a successful strategy. The rules of the online world are no different. You must dedicate the time and engage yourself to truly realize the benefit. To engage in LinkedIn, a few core suggestions.
Upload your existing contacts and invite them to join your network. This will automatically help connect you with others that you already know.
Serve as a Resource – Post questions or needs out to your network and respond to discussions and questions which others submit with thoughtful and valuable commentary. You want to position yourself as a resource and expert whom others seek for guidance and insight. Share articles and make introductions to connect your contacts to one another.
Set your profile for full view and public. This will increase your likelihood of appearing in search results and improve your ranking on Google searches as well.
5. Form a LinkedIn Habit – Allocate time each week to utilize LinkedIn. 1-2 hours should be sufficient when just getting started. This should include adding new connections, replying to posts, sharing resources and other forms of engagement. Clearly, the more you engage and are active the greater the results. I highly recommend that you strive to incorporate LinkedIn as a follow up tool. When you make new contacts in the offline world, invite them to join your LinkedIn network, as this can be a quick and effective manner to re-connect and stay in touch. Once they are connected, you can view their network of contacts to glean if any may be people you would like to meet.
These are some simple tactics to get started and enhance your LinkedIn experience. Come on in.. the water is warm and the networking is quite refreshing.
Contact me with any questions. Always welcome to have new connections: http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhsmall
About Adam:
Adam is a dynamic entrepreneur and currently serves as CEO of Strategic Business Network, a recognized leader of professional networking opportunities, expertise and resources. SBN serves as a catalyst and champion in supporting people’s efforts to connect and cultivate relevant professional relationships. Learn more at www.strategicbusinessnetwork.com
Back in the day, when Myspace was cool I had my online profile. After too many issues with people being jealous, angry or hurt because they were not in my top 8 friends – I shut it down! Vowing never to resurrect that virtual world.
I must admit that I recently ate my words and glad to be back in the game. At the end of last year, I created a Facebook profile. In my defense, I only did so in order to manage our company’s Facebook group. I started getting invites from my family members, my friends and people from college, from Highschool and others whom I had lost touch with over the years. It was exciting and enjoyable to catch up and I truly feel blessed to have many of these people back in my life.
Facebook bar none is one of the most powerful re-connection tools that exists. The older you are, the more compelling the value of Facebook. The older you are the more people you have lost touch with as opposed to kids who aren’t even old enough to forget someone’s name. (Caveat: My grandfather who is 96 and outlived most of all his contemporaries, likely would not have a large pool of re-connections) If you are 96 and on Facebook, hats off… you are a superstar in my eyes.
Your friends from school, from your hometown, former colleagues, relatives you don’t see/hear from much. Imagine the possibilities of being able to re-kindle old relationships and catch up on people’s lives simply by logging in. Facebook will even suggest people you may know, based on those you already do. Others will find you. No “Its too much work” excuses are allowed.
Many of you are saying “Great I’ve re-connected, so what?” Here the opportunity: All these people that you now are re-connected with can possibly help you. I presume some of them even like you. Looking for a job? Trying to make new business contacts? Need to get acclimated in a new city? There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Telling people where you are in your life and asking for help is part of being human. Most people truly treasure helping others because of the way helping makes them feel and many others believe in the karma that help will come back around. Lest we not forget that all of us should Pay it Forward.
I get excited at the thought of all the people my dad has lost touch with in his life and where some of them might be now and what they are doing. I am going to make my dad one of the most re-connected people on Facebook… he just doesn’t know it yet. SHHHH
Eye contact (or lack thereof) provides a great deal of information about your demeanor and sends strong signals to your audience. Professionals rarely take a moment to consider their level of eye contact and the message they may be sending.
You’ve likely heard that eyes are the windows to the soul. One’s eyes are the first things people often notice when meeting one another. The amount of eye contact used when conversing sends a strong signal to others about you self-confidence. Too much eye contact can be seen as very aggressive, while too little eye contact is often viewed as as being shy, reserved or even worse – disinterested. Eye contact is critical to master for effective communication and networking.
Maintaining consistent eye contact by looking someone in the eyes during a conversation sends a subconcious signal that you are honest and interested in the other person. Being able to look someone in the eyes and maintain eye contact presents oneself as confident. Your audience will take you more seriously and view what you have to say as of importance. Eye contact lets people know our emotional connection and level of interest in the conversion.
Eye contact is the most important form of non-verbal communication and will often illustrate the attitudes one person may have towards another. For example, looking away while speaking implies weakness or insincerity. Maintaining eye contact when your head is slightly raised portrays superiority and staring is just plain scary. Most people avoid eye contact because of fear or pressure, when in reality maintaining eye contact actually reduce fear and anxiety by drawing your audience closer. Making good eye contact reflects self confidence and provides direction, authority and meaning to your conversation or message.
Eye Contact Exercise:
For one day, memorize the eye color of everyone whom you engage in a conversation. This will force you to look them in the eyes enough to make note of their eye color. That all it takes.. Practicing this simple exercise will build self-confidence, reduce conversational stress and improve your communication.
Credit Crunch. Bankruptcies. Layoffs. Bailouts. CNN constantly feeds a daily dose of negative economic news. With a volatile stock market still down 40% and interest rates at all time lows; seemingly there is no safe harbor for financial assets. Job losses surge everyday and even the employed live in fear of tomorrow. What a lovely picture.
In such challenging times there is no more valuable asset than your relationships. These connections can serve as beacons of light among the darkness and gloom. Each relationship can open a new path to that next job, that new solution, that new idea or that new positive perspective. Your relationships and how you elect to leverage them, differentiate you from anyone else.
Relationships are priceless resources. They are FREE, only requiring an investment of your time and energy. They are UNPREDICTABLE, as you never know where one new connection will lead. Most importantly, they must be NURTURED to be effective.
3 Quick Recommendations:
Strengthen Weak Ties – Allocate time in your schedule to reach out to those whom you have lost touch and re-kindle past relationships. Typically these people travel in much different circles, know different people and have a unique set of contacts. Ideal when searching for a new path and reaching beyond your traditional network core. Utilize online tools such as Reunion.com, Facebook, Classmates.com or College Alumni networking groups.
PING – Every day call three people whom you have not spoken with in at least 6 months. Simply to say hello and initiate a dialogue. Use standard down times, drive time traffic, waiting on an appointment, lunch break. The results will astound at how fast you can re-connect and strengthen a relationship.
Beyond the Comfort Zone – Do something new and different. Get outside your comfort zone. Try online networking. Attend an event you have never been to previously. Get involved with a new group. Venture outside your typical geographic area and interact with people in a new part of town. Volunteer your time for a new initiative. Push until you feel some butterflies. Reach out and connect to new people in a new environment.
Commit yourself to these 3 efforts for the month of February and you will be amazed at the results. You want things to happen, then make them happen. Shake your networking up a bit and create positive momentum for yourself. Do more, connect in new ways and listen less to CNN.
If I had a dollar for every time a professional mentioned to me that they were only interested in talking to and meeting with decision makers, I would be a wealthy man. In fact, there should be a mandatory fine each time someone makes such a comment.
EVERYONE is a decision maker. I will type it again slowly, EVERYONE is a Decision Maker! Each of us makes decisions every day regarding our lives, the services/goods we purchase, the company we work for and how we do or don’t play nice with others. Every secretary, sales rep, department manager, analyst, customer service agent, doctor, lawyer, flight attendant, housewife, and waitress is a decision maker. I will bet dollars to doughnuts, that each person knows at least one other person you should know. One of the most important decisions we all make as decision makers is whether to help YOU.
Value the person, not the title. Start treating everyone like a decision maker, because they are one. Value your time with them, show them the respect they deserve and appreciate the interaction. Don’t you want the same? Others to value your time and treat you as though you are important and a decision maker? Soooo, stop trying to figure out how to always get past, around, through or over everyone you come into contact with who don’t have stimulating titles like CEO, President, Owner as you search for this elusive holy grail of a decision maker.
Ask for help and assistance in getting in front of certain people. Doors will start to open up and decisions made.
