TRY THIS
1. PROJECT A WINNING ATTITUDE. WHEN IT COMES TO NETWORKING, ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHIN! IF YOU'RE POSITIVE AND ENTHUSIASTIC, PEOPLE WILL WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU. THEY'LL WANT TO HELP YOU. IF YOU'RE GLOOMY AND NEGATIVE, PEOPLE WILL AVOID YOU, AND THEY'LL HESITATE TO REFER YOU TO THEIR TO THEIR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES.
2. PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY IN GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS. EFFECTIVE NETWORKING AND RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING TAKES MORE THAN PAYING DUES, PUTTING YOUR NAME IN A DIRECTORY AND SHOWING UP FOR MEETINGS. YOU MUST DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU'LL TAKE THE TIME AND MAKE THE EFFORT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROUP.
WHAT KINDS OF THINGS CAN YOU DO?FOR STARTERS, YOU CAN VOLUNTEER FOR COMMITTEES OR SERVE AS AN OFFICER OR MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE OTHER MEMBERS WILL RESPECT YOU WHEN THEY SEE YOU ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND DO SOME WORK. THEY'LL ALSO LEARN ABOUT YOUR PEOPLE SKILLS, YOUR CHARACTER, YOUR VALUES AND LAST, BUT NO LEAST, YOUR ATTITUDE!
LET'S GET BACK TO STU KARMEN FOR A MOMENT. HE WANTED TO BUILD CONTACTS WITHIN ADVERTISING AGENCIES, SO HE JOINED THE LONG ISLAND ADVERTISING CLUB IN 1994. STU IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO ATTEND THE GROUP'S MEETINGS. WHEN THEY ASKED FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR VARIOUS PROJECTS, STU RAISED HIS HAND. HE GOT ACTIVELY INVOLVED!
WITHIN SIX MONTHS AFTER JOINING, SOMEBODY APPROACHED HIM AND SAID, WE HEAR GOOD THINGS ABOUT YOU. YOU'RE A HARD WORKER AND VERY ENERGETIC. WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS? AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, STU GLADLY ACCEPTED. AND WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, HE BEGAN TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HIS BUSINESS. IN EARLY 1999, STY TOLD ME THAT WELL OVER 50 PERCENT OF HIS CURRENT BUSINESS CAN BE TRACED TO PEOPLE HE MET THROUGH THE LONG ISLAND ADVERTISING CLUB - PROVING THAT PEOPLE CAN GET BIG RESULTS IN A SHORT TIME BY NETWORKING EFFECTIVELY.
3. SERVE OTHERS IN YOUR NETWORK. SERVING OTHERS IS CRUCIAL TO BUILDING AND BENEFITING FROM YOUR NETWORK! YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE THINKING, HOW CAN I SERVE OTHERS? IF YOU COME ACROSS AS DESPERATE OR AS A TAKER, RATHAN THAN A GIVER, YOU WON'T FIND PEOPLE WILLING TO HELP YOU. GOING THE EXTRA MILE FOR OTHERS IS THE BEST WAY TO GET THE FLOW OF GOOD THINGS COMING BACK TO YOU.
HOW CAN YOU SERVE OTHERS IN YOUR NETWORK? START BY REFERING BUSINESS LEADS OR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. IN ADDITION, WHENEVER YOU SEE AN ARTICLE OR OTHER INFORMATION THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO SOMEONE IN YOUR NETWORK, FORWARD THE MATERIAL TO THAT PERSON.
WHEN I THINK OF EFFECTIVE NETWORKERS, THE FIRST NAME THAT COMES TO MIND IS MARK LEBLAC. MARK GIVES PRESENTATIONS TO BUSINESS OWNERS WHO WANT TO GROW THEIR BUSINES AND TO SALESPEOPLE WHO WANT TO SEE MORE OF THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, I'VE REFERED MANY PEOPLE TO MARK. WHY? HE'S A TALENTED. SERVICE-ORIENTED PERSON WHO HAS GONE OUT OF HIS WAY TO ENCOURAGE ME ... AND TO HELP ME BUILD MY BUSINESS.
MARK HAS PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE IN HIS OWN NETWORK WHO ARE IN A POSITION TO HELP ME. HE DISTRIBUTES MY MATERIALS AT HIS PRESENTATIONS. MARK IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO JUST KEEPS GIVING.. AND GIVING... THA'S WHY PEOPLE WANT TO HELP MARK- AND THAT'S ONE REASON WHY HIS OWN BUSINESS IS GROWING!
AS THE BIBLE SAYS, GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU. THAT'S THE TRUTH!
REFERRALS
4. IF YOU REFER SOMEONE, MAKE SURE THAT THE PERSON MENTIONS YOUR NAME AS THE SOURCE OF THE REFERRAL. BE EXPLICIT. LET'S ASSUME YOU'RE ABOUT TO REFER JOHN SMITH TO YOUR GRAPHIC DESIGNER. JAN JONES. YOU MIGHT SAY TO JOHN GIVE JANE A CALL, AND PLEASE TEEL HER THAT I REFERRED YOU, IN SOME INSTANCE, YOU MAY EVEN CALL JANE AND LET KNWO THAT JOHN SMITH WILL BE CONTACTING HER.
THEN, THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE OR SPEAK TO JANE, REMEMBER TO ASK IF JOHN CALLED AND HOW IT TURNED OUT. YOU WANT TO REINFORCE IN JANE'S MIND THAT YOU'RE LOOKING OUT FOR HER AND HELPING HER TO GROW HER BUSINESS.
5. BE SELECTIVE. DON'T REFER EVERY PERSON YOU MEET. RESPECT THE TIME OF THOSE IN YOUR NETWORK. REFERRING 'UNQUALIFIED' LEADS WILL REFLECT POORLY ON YOU. ASK YOURSELF WHETHER OR NOT A PARTICULAR REFERRAL IS REALLY GOING TO BE OF VALUE OF YOUR NETWORK PARTNER. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE KEY IS THE QUALITY, NOT QUALITY, OF THE LEADS YOU SUPPLY.
COMMUNICATION
6. BE A GOOD LISTENER. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SPEAKING TO SOMEONE WHO GOES ON AND ON ABOUT HIMSELF AND HIS BUSINESS - AND NEVER TAKES A MOMENT TO ASK ABOUT YOU? WE'VE ALL RUN INTO THE ME, ME, ME, TYPES - AND THEY'RE THE LAST PEOPLE YOU WANT TO HELP.
7. CALL PEOPLE FROM TIME TO TIME JUST BECAUSE YOU CARE. HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN SOMEONE CALLS YOU ON THE PHONE AND SAYS, HEY, I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU AND WAS WONDERING HOW YOU'RE DOING? I'LL BET YOU FEEL LIKE A MILLION BUCKS! IF THAT'S THE CASE, WHY DON'T WE MAKE THESE CALLS MORE OFTEN?
EVERY NOW AND THEN, MAKE IT A POINT TO CALL PEOPLE IN YOUR NETWORK SIMPLY TO ASK HOW THEY'RE DOING AND TO OFFER YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT. THAT'S RIGHT. CALL JUST BECAUSE YOU CARE- AND BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY YOU'D LIKE TO BE TREATED.
EVERY DECEMBER, I PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL CERTAIN CLIENTS I HAVEN'T SPOKEN WITH FOR A LONG TIME. MANY OF THESE PEOPLE HAVEN'T ORDERED ANYTHING FROM MY COMPANY IN YEARS. MY CALL IS UPBEAT AND MY ONLY AGENDA IS TO BE FRIENDLY. I DON'T TRY TO SELL THEM ANYTHING. I APPRECIATE THE BUSINESS THEY'VE GIVEN ME IN THE PAST, AND I JUST WANT TO HEAR HOW THEY'RE DOING, PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY.
IF BUSINESS COMES FROM THESE CALLS, THAT'S GREAT.
IF BUSINESS DOESN'T COME FROM THESE CALLS, THAT'S GREAT.
YEAR AFTER YEARS, I DO GET BUSINESS AS A RESULT OF MAKING THESE CALLS. SOMEONE WILL SAY, I NEED TO ORDER MORE OF THOSE ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING LAPEL PINS, OR OUR COMPANY IS HAVING A SALES MEETING IN SIX MONTHS, AND THEY MAY WANT TO DO A PRESENTATION.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS ISN'T MANIPULATION OR A SALES TACTIC ON MY PART. I'M NOT EXPECTING THESE PEOPLE TO GIVE ME BUSINESS. I REALLY CARE ABOUT HOW THEY'RE DOING. BUSINESS IS SIMPLY A BY-PRODUCT OF RECONNECTING WITH THEM.
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