So I’ve been working on my network skills for about a year now. I’ve had college classes in sales that focused on networking and I’ve built my own LinkedIn contacts to 250+ from nothing as of last spring. I’ve had a lot of time to ponder the psychology of working a room, testing techniques myself and I’ve received input from professionals on their own tips. Here I’ve complied what I think are the most important take-aways, and if you agree please share this article to spread the love and comment below if you’d like to add to the list. 

1) The Why. Why are you there? Why would someone want to talk with you? Are you trying to offer your services or knowledge to someone with the hopes of having a business arrangement? Answering those questions and believing in the answers in critical to success in networking. Just 2 nights ago I was at an event at OpenView, a Boston Venture Capitalist Firm, networking with people 2-3 times my age for TRA360 trying to find some common ground. On the surface, there I was a recent college grad, youngest person in the room and against the backdrop of CEO’s, CMO’s, CFO’s ect., I didn’t belong. For a moment, that cramped me up. There was a nervousness about me, and my confidence was like a boy on his first date. Had I bought into that creeping negativity, my time and energy would have been for waste. Negativity likes to strike at networking events, either before talking to people or in the midst of finding a flow maybe after a few unsuccessful tries. Knowing yourself, and truly accepting that you bring value is the key to understanding, regardless of the circumstances, that yes I belong, and yes everyone here is a real opportunity to get to know. That paradigm shift is tremendously effective.

2) Working the Room. Networking is about creating meaningful contacts. Just as running around throwing business cards at everyone is ineffective, so isn’t spending all your time with a small amount of people. Find that harmony that maximizes the effort of networking with the return of meaningful relationships. At the same time, be sure to learn from those you meet. I’ve increased my knowledge substantially just through small talk. It’s amazing how willing people are to share their knowledge, beliefs and theories. All you have to do is say hello!

3) Know where to go. All of the tips here are great on their own, but setting is a key element. Know where your target audience is going to be and meet them there. Two tools I’ve found that have been invaluable are Eventbrite and Greenhorn Connect, for those of us in the Boston Area. Those calenders of events are free, and so aren’t many of the ways of finding great events. Join emailing lists for networking groups that interest you so that you’re in the know. As the saying goes, fish where the fish are.

4) Fly solo. The worst thing to do at a networking event is to crowd with people you already know. Sure it’s always good to catch up, but make sure that familiarity doesn’t cloud the will to venture into the wilderness of meeting new people. I’ve been guilty of it myself, so if you find that you contacts are looking thin halfway into an event, this may be the culprit. Make a goal of meeting 5 new people every hour, or whatever metric you see fit. If you’re with someone who’s part of your team, split up strategically and cover twice the ground.

5) Follow up. As I mentioned earlier, networking is all about relationships. That goes for business as well. A million phone numbers does no good if you can’t recognize the face, with the same in return. You never know the outcome of a relationship 6 months, a year or even 10 years down the road. Make an effort to check in with old contacts and you’ll be glad you did.

Did I hit the nail on the head? Is there a good tip I left out? Let me know below!

 

 

 

 The week’s meeting of the Boston IEEE Entrepreneur’s Network was lead by TRA360’s own Valentina Rosa and was a gold mine of knowledge and experience in growing a company. The panel included Valentina Rosa the founder and CEO of TRA360, David Kelleher the president of CGI Interactive, Denise Aronson the  founder and president of Safety Partners Inc., and Joseph Sanroma, a Consultant with DBA Partners, Inc. Now, nothing can replace being at the meeting itself, so you best join ENET and not make the same mistake twice. But luckily for you, I’ve included 3 great takeaways (Teamwork, Education and Networking) you can start using now to grow your business.

1) Teamwork! Having a startup company doesn’t mean you have to do all the grunt work yourself. In fact, if you are, you are doing the company a disservice. Many of the time consuming aspects of a business can be outsources- from payroll, taxes, prospecting and even marketing. You as the entrepreneur should be doing more managing and less doing. How else can you grow if all your time is spent on busy work? Having a solid, reliable team is critical to scalability. Motivate the team with carrots for performance, and have the best rewards for goals that are a reach. Wouldn’t it be wise to double a commission for a 3x increase? Having cross functional managers can also save money. Ensure that all the pieces are connected to measurable metrics with scalable rewards that increase with performance.

2) Education! No I don’t mean go back to school. I assume that as an entrepreneur your schedule is already supersaturated and learning is best found in the work environment.  Today’s business is all about keeping the customers you already have. That means providing a great service and making sure they are satisfied. What better way to make them happy then to make the feel knowledgeable about the work you’re doing? Taking the time to having a “clarity conversation,” as Denise put it, can and will pay off. Everyone likes to feel valued as a team member; If they’re paying the bill, you bet your benjamins that that it’s best to keep the communication going to ensure what they want and how you will provide.

3) Network! So you have customers and they’re happily returning to you for business. Great! But you need growth. If you followed step one, you have now freed up time to go into the channels of communication for your industry. Take step two to the next level and begin offering free content connected to your business, and soon people will see you as a thought leader. If you sell marketing services and your blog is jam packed with great marketing content that people share, you better believe that time and effort is coming back in terms of clients. Do your best to get the greatest value out of the content you create by tossing into the groups of LinkedIn and Facebook, and sharing on Twitter and the likes.

Chances are if your clients are happy, they will be willing to recommend your services to others in the industry. Word of mouth advertising is free and the most effective. Take the time to keep educating your employees on the best practices and educating your customers and networks. All of the pieces to the puzzle work together to grow your clientele in a scalable way, leading to more money in your pocket and happy investors.

As 2011 comes to a close, it’s worthwhile to review some of the changes that have taken place this past year. Whether you’re a freelance blogger or a corporate executive, social media has it’s value in business and needs to be utilized in this new era of communication. Shall we begin?

5) Have Fun! Most people can tell when something is genuine so be sure to put in some honest effort into your social media. If you think just existing online will lead to riches you are poorly mistaken. Instead, create content passionately and cultivate a following.

4) Have a purpose. Whether your blogging about marketing or doing makeup (yes, I actually know a successful makeup blogger) it’s important to stick to your purpose to which your audience is built around. People like consistency so try not to be all over the place, and if you are sort it out so people don’t get upset.

3) Make online friends and share their deserving content. This lesson builds off the whole “I scratch your back you scratch mine” mantra. It’s rather self explanatory.

2) Be everywhere you can. Creating new content, be it blogs, videos or white papers, is time consuming. Relatively speaking, getting that content all of the internet is not. Assuming you made good content, it will have a much higher chance at virality by being pushed out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn ect. Doing this consistently will lead to success.

1) Customers can easily form online mobs. It’s best to obliged to their demands as soon as a problem is realized, lest you become the next Netflix or GoDaddy. Better yet, why not ask a few customers about such genius plans as raising prices dramatically or supporting something that is crippling to your industry because of a few backroom deals? The customer is the one that pays your bills so it’s wise to believe they know best.

Is there anything I left out? Leave it in the comments and get a free response from yours truly!