The Business Link website defines business networking as being about connecting with other people in order to share information, resources and leads. It adds that the emphasis is on relationship building – getting to know people, finding out how you can help them and what they can do for you. Not a bad definition to be honest. The Americans do this so much better than we Brits & Irish – they just aren’t as shy as we are & they’re blessed with oodles of self confidence from an early age that we just don’t seem to have. The picture above is the Learning Pool team welcoming guests to our conference last year. I love this picture because everyone’s engaged in animated conversations and there’s a tangible air of busyness.
There’s no doubt that a sizeable and varied network is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. The act of building your own network is a lot of fun, good (and sometimes quirky) things can happen along the way and you get to meet loads of great new people. But it’s an investment that takes a lot of time & effort, especially in the early days when you’re just starting out and don’t know many people. The end result however is valuable and well worthwhile and should result in you having a variety of people you can go to for:
· business advice, maybe specialist advice about new product development or a new market, or just a general sounding board;
· career advice, perhaps you feel as if you’re losing your way with your progress or just need a one off discussion with someone about a specific job offer;
· introductions to all manner of people and organisations;
· sales introductions and potential leads.
So – how should you get started with networking. The first thing to note is how much easier this is with the arrival of Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook. Gone are the days of showing up at a conference or event with a delegate list & praying you may catch sight of the name badge on a person you want to talk to. Social networking is a great leveller as well – I treat everyone the same on Twitter as I usually have no idea of their status – and it’s also good news for people that are very shy. Other ways to get started are to comment on other people’s blogs, volunteer in your local community, use your professional body if you have one, use work related groups that you may be part of, join your local chamber of commerce or junior chamber, get involved in a political party if that’s your bag. You should also have a long, hard think about everyone you already know and you should remember that building a network is something that is additional to being at work – a lot of this needs to happen in your own free time.
Like most things in life there are a few cardinal sins – these are the main ones in my book:
· not following up on an introduction that someone has made for you;
· collecting people for the sake of it and not really having any interest in them or what they do (those serial networkers with hundreds of LinkedIn contacts with people they’ve never met);
· only collecting people that are “useful” to you right now – this is shortsighted (you never know what’s around the next corner) and it’s also mean;
· mixing up networking & selling – never, ever pitch to a new introduction unless you’ve been specifically invited to.
Some people are phenomenal networkers and if you know someone like this & treat them well, with a bit of luck and a lot of grace they may one day gradually introduce you to their own networks and accelerate your progress. These are people I know who are legendary networkers – Twitter names in brackets – Ellie Stoneley (@E11ie5) Matt Johnston (@cimota) Dave Briggs (@davebriggs) Bill McCluggage (@BillMcCluggage) Michelle Gallen (@michellegallen) Shirley Ayres (@ShirleyAyres) Lyra McKee (@lyramckee) Bill Liao (@liaonet).
Some hints and tips – there are more of these on Dave Briggs’ excellent & related blog “The networked public servant” which you can read at this link http://davepress.net/
· Remember karma – what goes around does come around – this is a two way street where you have to be as generous with your time and introductions as others have been for you;
· Be brave – what’s the worst that can happen – someone doesn’t want to speak to you or connect with you;
· Make a conscious effort to speak to people you don’t know – don’t take the easy option and hang out with your friends the whole time at events;
· Be courteous and a little bit persistent when making contact with new people; don’t be afraid to approach people speaking at conferences for a quick chat – most people are approachable and it’s part of human nature to want to help others;
· Take time to get to know people and talk to them properly when you meet them, chat until you find commonality, don’t be rushing on to the next person on your list, remember why you have two ears and one mouth.
As always I’ll leave you with a story. We were at an awards dinner a couple of years ago with our own senior team. It was one of those occasions where none of us really knew anyone – but the room was full of investors, politicians and general big wigs – people whose radar we wanted to get onto. Ok guys – we said – network! – let’s go. My business partner’s wife, who was also there, tells how fear passed fleetingly across their faces but when I looked around the room 5 minutes later – every one of them was chatting away to someone different and my heart swelled with pride – again!
Welcome your comments, stories and tips for others on this important topic.
Photograph courtesy of Anna Karas – thanks Anna!
Mary McKenna's Blog 
Excellent blog post Mary. Any chance of a wee name check for the localised verion of Businesslink site i.e. http://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk (@nibusinessinfo) for your readers in Northern Ireland?Our online networking guide is worth a read here: http://bit.ly/eEQhlFOur learning through networking with others guide is here:http://bit.ly/gPrbAvCheers :-)David
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Loving this post Mary, real insight here. In terms of networking, what I’ve found useful is just to be friendly. I treat everyone the same when I meet them and I’ll pretty much talk to anyone. It’s funny how many of my “business contacts” have become good friends as a result. To give an example; during my first company, I met a potential investor to discuss business. He didn’t invest but he became a really good friend and a great mentor and next week, he’s letting me crash on his couch as I’m in his city at an event. Another investor who I met while working at my second company, who again didn’t invest, has also become a great friend; we’re going to the pub tonight after work, that’s the kind of friendship we’ve come to have. I can name a few others on the list as well. The key to “networking” is to be open, honest and yourself. People do business with people they like. They won’t do business with you if you’re out to just get what you can from them. Business relationships should always be a win-win.
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You’re blog is so much like your Twitter feeds – informative, fun and always a must read, it’s like reading a short story 🙂 You have a great ability of capturing what people think and putting in a non-jargan language. And most importantly GREAT advice for networking shy individuals!Clare
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Hi Lyra – I think it would be useful for younger readers if you would share some of your experiences of getting started as a young networker. I’m sure many people would find that very helpful.
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Hi Clare – thank you for your lovely comments. Writing my blog is a great source of joy to me & it makes me even happier when other people enjoy it too.
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Hi Mary,No problem! It was hard because, to a certain extent, I had to overcome some shyness; it’s hard to not feel intimidated when you’re the least experienced person in the room. So if young networkers are feeling this, it’s very normal! I used to go to alot of events but, tbh, most of my networking actually happened on Twitter. Alot of the events weren’t that useful, they were just the same faces most of the time, but on Twitter I was exposed to people like @rejoco and @david_crozier who took me under their wing and nurtured me until I found my talent. I engaged people in conversation and said some very controversial things, which-by happy accident-got me noticed! I think the turning point, though, was a talk I gave at @bizcampcraigavon though. I can’t even remember what the talk was about but I had people adding me to Facebook, like the wonderful @eveearley who is now one of my dearest friends, saying they’d seen it online and how much they enjoyed it. That seemed to up my profile a bit. Since then, I’ve just continued to build on that with my blog, tumblr.techfluff.com, where I try to help other entrepreneurs avoid the screw-ups and mistakes I made. So, looking back, I’d say alot of my networking was done online. It came from having the cajones to voice my opinion when I had no experience to back it up. Which, in hindsight, was incredibly arrogant of me but it’s paid off thus far! So tip to young networks: get on Twitter and start talking to your community of entrepreneurs.
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Hi Mary,Some very good points raised in your post and in the comments. i) I find Twitter a good starting point but it covers up an awful lot about a person until you meet them face to face. I don’t do any real business type networking on Facebook, I try to keep that personal.ii) While public speaking is not the forte of everyone it does get you noticed. If you are prepared to spend the time working on it then it can reap rewards. If it wasn’t for the Barcamps, Bizcamps and Showcases of this world then I wouldn’t have met or learnt as much as I have.I knew conquerered my networking fear when it was commented that I will have more than likely networked with the whole departure lounge at Stanstead Airport (you full well know who said that…. 😉 )RegardsJ
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Thanks for the comment & links David – very useful & I’m sure others will think so as well. Perhaps we’ll create a short e-learning course on networking to include in the http://www.mylearningpool.com portfolio as it seems a lot of people would get benefit.
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Thank you, Mary. I have shared your post with my cohort at School for Social Entrepreneurs. I’m currently grappling with bringing together the information that’s in my head, business cards, LinkedIn, etc. Do readers recommend any tools – or is a spreadsheet the way ahead?
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Thanks Liz – gosh I’m probably a bit of a Luddite – I enter all contacts details that I don’t want to lose into Outlook & then synchronise that to my iPhone. The rest of the business cards that are for “later” I keep in a pile at the back of my home office desk in a few boxes – it’s surprising how frequently I will find myself hunting through those for a business card someone gave me 4 or 5 years ago. A few years ago I lost my mobile phone & on it over 20 years of contact numbers that weren’t backed up – that was a lesson and a half…
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I’m reassured. That’s pretty much described my current method,!
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Lyra makes a good point above re talking to anyone. I will talk to anyone – why wouldn’t you? If you see me at a conference or event, please come up & introduce yourself – I love meeting new people, exchanging ideas and having a few laughs – because that’s what life is all about. I don’t understand people that are “unavailable” to others – they are missing out on so much.
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Totally agreed Mary; the most successful people I know are also the nicest, in all seriousness. They take time to talk to people and lend them a hand while expecting nothing in return.
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