Networking Tips
Networking tips for you and your staff
Congress is a special time. The Seminar Day offers us an opportunity to listen, learn and debate. The Commutations Day is about getting down to business. They are busy days but there’s also time to revisit and expand our networks. Most of us are seasoned hands at this but it’s useful to look at what networking is all about so we can point junior members of staff in the right direction.
A good deal of business comes through personal contacts and one great way of making contacts is through networking. Heather White, Managing Director of The Magic of Networking, a company that specialises in helping people to improve their networking skills, has some sound advice to offer. When it comes to events, she says that people should leave their ‘sales hat’ in the office. Her mantra is: "build relationships, build relationships, build relationships."
And that relationship building doesn’t just have to be aimed at finding a potential customer or finding the right job. Approached intelligently, networking can be an effective way to find business partners, potential employees and possible suppliers.
But what if you’re not a 'natural' in this way of relationship building? Networking guru and author of The Art of Making Friends, Carole Stone, says: “It’s important to not just talk to people you know, business is all about referring.” She doesn’t think that talking to people you know is a sin…but she does say that you will get more out of an event by introducing them and yourself to new people.
And difficult though it may sometimes be to make yourself join in a conversation with a stranger, attempting to move away from that chat can be even more tricky. Networking experts tend to agree on the best line to take. If there’s more than two of you talking and you want to bow out, a simple ‘excuse me’, is fine. But if there are just the two of you, then a little thought is required. They counsel against the: I’m just going for a drink/I have to go approach. The golden rule is: never leave someone by themselves, introduce them to a new person and then move on. That way you can excuse yourself without having to explain your leaving.
While it is important for seasoned professionals to attend networking events, White advises bringing your junior staff along too. An event is a great training ground for them to learn how to deal with people and by doing so to build their confidence.
As far as key tips go, Stone suggests giving yourself a target for whom you want to speak to and a time limit for 'working' a room. For example if there are four people you want to meet, spend no more than ten minutes with each of them. When the forty minutes is up you can leave, knowing that you have achieved your objectives. By that stage, however, what might have started out as a bit of a chore, might have become a pleasure – you might just want to stay on.
