3 Things Highly Successful People Know about This Crucial Career Tool  

“What is the first thing that comes to mind when I say “Business Networking?”  This is one of the questions I ask of my training participants or clients, and the responses I get vary from “wine & dine,” “overwhelming,” “business cards” and “elevator pitch” to “tiring” and “do not like.” Rarely do I hear positive perspectives like “meeting new people,” “learning new trends” and “having fun.”  In fact, most of the respondents tell me outright that they dislike networking, since they do not want to end a long work day in a room of unknown people talking about themselves and their work. Others say that they find it awkward to initiate “small talk,” or enter and exit groups. Whatever the reason, this important career development activity has attracted a negative reputation to itself.

However, the most successful people I have met in the business world are the ones who have realized that this is one of the most significant tools for personal and professional development. They have made networking a way of life — and they love it. Why? Because they have learned and understood a few secrets about this so-called “task.” Here are a few things they know:

1. Networking Does not Have to be Wine and Dine
Let’s take a pause and ask ourselves: “Who made the rule that you need to network over a glass of wine in a conference/ballroom and exchange business cards?” Successful people know instead that networking can happen your way, at your time, and at your favorite place: you can meet new people at a hike, at a friend’s birthday party, or at a volunteering activity. Pick and choose your most-liked activity, find a group that shares this passion, and then go and join them. You will feel much more relaxed and naturally confident, and create a better first impression.

2. Set Specific Measurable Goals
Successful leaders who have gained most out of their networking efforts know that it is important to start with an action plan, set specific goals and measure results. Here are a few steps you can take to make your networking more organized:

• At the start of each calendar month, write down the tentative number of events you plan to attend over the next thirty days. This can vary each time, based on your other work and personal commitments.
• Once you have set your target (for example three events this month), select those industries, groups or organizations with which you would like to network.
• Then ask yourself: what are your goals from these meetings? Identify what you would like to achieve – for example:
  • Meet new people
  • Say hello and re-connect with the people you already know
  • Learn best practices
  • Promote your business
  • At the end of the month, take an audit of all of your notes, and note any areas that you still need to cover.

Following these steps will help you maximize your time and energy, and you will likely find that you no longer feel compelled to go to every event invitation that is thrown your way. Instead, you will enter the room each time with a purpose, and leave feeling accomplished.

3. Follow up and Maintain your “Relationship Inventory”
If you follow up and stay in touch with those people whom you met, the fantastic meeting and engaging conversation you had will translate into a meaningful business or personal relationship.  If you don’t, the meeting will fast become a fading memory, and in a few months your business card (if you exchanged any) will be in the bin. Here is what super-networkers do on a regular basis to grow and nurture their network:

• Prepare your own relationship inventory where you have listed all the people you would like in your network. Add important details like their nature of work, industry and interests, how and where you met, and any other information that will help you remember the connection and conversation.

• After the first meeting, follow up with a customized email. Let it not be a generic “it was nice to meet you” message. In lieu of that, make sure your message stands out by adding a detail from your chat.

• Review your “relationship inventory” every three months (or on a regular basis of your choosing) to see who you haven’t met or written to in a while. Then send a hello note, share interesting reading resources, or invite them to join you at an event.

Highly successful people know that it is not about the number of people you know, but about how well you know them — and more importantly, how well they know you.  They also live by this old (and wise) African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with people.”