Networking for Newbies

I’m relatively fresh to actively seeking to network instead of happening to meet people at things I’m interested in. I fell into it accidentally, I found an ad for a free Rebellious Business Networking event, I took part and I loved it. Especially the online part.

The internet has enabled networking for introverts and I am out there! From the safety of my home. I approve. I can lay down immediately afterwards and recharge my social battery without awkward questions like, "Why are you on the floor?” and “Is that a pillow?”.

I’m not sure if I’m writing this for you or to remind me, but having found myself in a couple of meetings with people who'd never dipped a toe in the water before, and thinking on what I've picked up already, I wrote down some quick tips for people thinking of venturing in.

Have a plan.

Cunning is good, simple is easier. It breaks down like this, aim to establish:

·         Who does what and how they deliver it

·         Who their ideal client or connection is

·         What everybody can do for each other

This includes you. Formats vary, sometimes you’ll have spiel time and prompts, others not. But prompt or no prompt it’s a good idea to:

·         Be able to sum up what you do and how you deliver it

·         Be clear on your niche (if you have one) and why that niche

·         Have a clear idea of the connections you want to make, short term and long term

·         Have an idea of what you can do to make the connections beneficial

Because sometimes these meetings can feel stilted, especially if you’re all introverts and nobody knows where to start.

Asking questions around those things can get a stuck ball rolling. You can draw it out further with more open ended questions such as:

·         Why your niche?

·         What got you started?

·         Was there one thing you did that made a significant difference?

·         What’s been the highlight?

It’s inevitable you’ll occasionally end up in one-on-one scenarios where both of you have plenty of airtime. Good, you get the chance to make a stronger impression.

However, not everybody is comfortable discussing purely business for that long, we’re people not entities.

Bringing up 'hobbies' can be handy here. They're personal and memorable. The questions:

·         In an ideal world how would you spend your free time?

·         What would you like to do if you had the time?

Require long form answers. You'll remember that about them, they'll remember you asked, you each get to find out a little about the person. If you meet again, or want to reach out, you have something other than business to inquire after.

Make the connections count 

That addresses two points, find out what everybody does and find out who their ideal connection is (including your own). But what about the third point i.e. the purpose of it?

We all know networking is about making mutually beneficial contacts, that’s why we’re doing it. Well, great, we’ve made contacts, what now? How can we keep it going, and how can it help us?

This is something I’ve been thinking on recently. Ok, maybe nobody you meet has direct need of, or useful connections for each other right now. So, what else can you do to benefit each other immediately?

·         Agree to like and comment on each other’s LinkedIn posts

·         Share posts

·         Agree to refer each other to clients that don’t fit you

·         Offer a guest post or feature on your spaces

These are all easy ways to make your meeting start working as soon as the session ends.

Thus concludes my 'how to' missive.

Am I an expert? At being new to this and largely figuring it out as I go? Yes, bona fide credentials there, I'm expertly not an expert. But it's working well enough for me. I've had projects come directly from it so something's going right somewhere.

I'm sure I'll have some more thoughts on this subject soon. Likely I'll come to decide I've been doing it all wrong.