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HOW NETWORKING SKILLS BUILD YOUR BUSINESS AND WEALTH

1. NETWORKING IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A PROFITABLE BUSINESS 
    
   You have heard the old adage “Its not what you know is who you know” well as far as this article goes I agree. Without contacts who can help & assist you, you are dead in the water as far as business goes. 
    
   Fix it firmly in your head that you need to make networking a daily part of your business activities. 
   
2. FIX YOUR GOALS & OBJECTIVES FIRMLY IN YOUR MIND 
    
   This comes up every time doesn’t it? It is time to get the pen & paper out again and either write your goals & objectives down or re-read them if they are already put down on paper. 
    
   These goals & objectives will guide you as to why you are building your network and help target the people you need to meet. 
   
3. START WITH YOUR CURRENT NETWORK 
    
   Everybody knows more people than they think, those people are probably more useful than you understand too. Unless you already have a massive list of people I guess you’re thinking – “but I only know the news agent, my mum, my mates down the pub, my work colleagues, etc. etc.” 
    
   List them ALL – let me stress, YOU don’t know how these people can help you until you let them know what you are trying to achieve, you don’t know who they know either – they might be able to introduce you to someone really useful. 
   
4. YOU NEED A GOOD MIX IN YOUR NETWORK 
    
   Do not just look for people of your age group or who are in your own business, you must look for people who fill gaps in your skills & personality. You may have skills but others may be able to do the same thing better, you need confidants, mentors, advisors, introducers, etc. You should aim for a well balanced network to support you. 
   
5. CUT PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR NETWORK WHO DRAIN YOU OF ENERGY 
    
   Some people don’t know they are doing it, seeing everything from their point of view, talking about their interests all the time, you need to spend your time with ‘generous’ people. You need relationships where there is an equal flow in each direction. You may think “what could I give back to a mentor” for instance. The mentor will be getting something out of the relationship, believe me, it may be that they want to ‘give something back’, enjoy helping or they have too much time on their hands. 
    
   It is up to you to find out what the other person is getting out of knowing you and making sure they are getting it – if they stop receiving their ‘pay off’ the relationship will fizzle out. 
   
6. DEVELOP & UNDERSTAND YOUR NETWORKING STYLE 
    
   There is no right or wrong way to build your network, we are all different. There will be things you hate to do when contacting people and thinks which come very naturally to you. You should follow the paths that you find most easily fit with your character, at least in the beginning. You can develop new skills later. 
    
   This is important because you need to build this activity into your everyday life so that you do it totally unconsciously and all the time, if you push yourself to do things that don’t feel natural & you don’t like – you will probably stop networking which would be a disaster. 
   
7. USE FAST METHODS OF BUILDING YOUR NETWORK  
    
   You can network all your life but you need to do it in an efficient way and in ways that fit with your lifestyle. Think of the ways you have naturally made contact people up to now, write them all down. Then pick the ways that are quickest & easiest first. Is it by email, writing letters, giving out business cards (and getting cards as well!) at functions, getting referrals or introductions from friends or acquaintances? 
    
   What ever works for you start doing it a lot more from now on. 
   
8. KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOUR NETWORK IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS 
    
   You need to keep your relationships fresh so you need to vary the ways in which you make & maintain contact; phone, email, letter, postcard, birthday cards, celebrations, meeting up for daytime business meetings, a quick after work drink – the options are endless, you need to list and employ them all 
   
9. QUICKLY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR CONTACT WANTS FROM THE RELATIONSHIP 
    
   Listen hard to what your network contact is saying, see how this matches the body language. They are with you or keeping in touch for a reason – what is it. You need to know this to build the relationship. 
    
   You have to ensure that the networking contact is getting what they want before you ‘take’ what you need. Every relationship in life is some kind of trade off, even your loved ones must get something out of being with you – when they don’t feel like you are caring about their feelings they will certainly let you know! 
   
10. UNDERSTAND OTHER PEOPLE’S GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS FIRST 
     
    Unless your contact tells you the only way to find out what makes your contact motivated is to ask questions, it should not feel like an interrogation to them, you should show genuine interest in the other person. 
     
    You should know this information because it gives you another way to build the relationship, you should see if there are any ways that you can help you contact achieve their objectives. 
    
11. YOUR OWN GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS SHOULD BE CLEAR TO YOUR CONTACT 
     
    Once you are sure you understand your contacts requirements you must work into the conversation your agenda items. Try to do this in a casual manner to see if they pick up on the subject matter. If they don’t know what you need or want how can they help you? 
     
    You may even find that your goals & objectives are the same or similar, with inevitable and obvious benefits to you both. 
    
12. BUILD LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS 
     
    Just like customers finding and developing new contacts is much more difficult than retaining existing ones & building them. You should constantly try to build your understanding of your contacts & their understanding of you. 
     
    Only through mutual understanding can the relationship build and last, if you understand you can feed the relationship with the elements required to sustain it. 
    
13. MAKE YOUR CONVERSATIONS INTERESTING FOR YOUR CONTACTS 
     
    The best way to be thought of as an interesting conversationalist is to show genuine interest in the other person, ask questions, concentrate on the responses and relate the next thing you say to the responses. 
     
    If you constantly go off topic the other person will get the feeling you are not interested in them, equally if you constantly talk about yourself or your personal interests or opinions you are shutting out your contact. 
    
14. TAKE CARE OF YOUR PERSONAL PRESENTATION 
     
    You must start becoming very aware of how you present yourself and how it is being received by your contacts, you should aim to be respected. Don’t put any barriers between you and your contacts because you look or act differently to how they expect. 
     
    If you have clear goals & objectives it should be clear to you what is expected, if you are seen at to be at odds to what you’re aiming for it just makes it all the more difficult. 
    
15. DO FAVOURS & RETURN FAVOURS 
     
    This is the way you build the relationship, people want to feel ‘favoured’. If you only do what’s expected of you people will take what you do for granted, if it is not special it will have little personal value to your contacts. 
     
    You can only do a favour if it is asked of you or you really understand the other person. It comes back to ensuring you ‘tune in’ to the other person so you can truly be of value in the relationship – if you find that it is a one way street towards the other person you will have to find a way to encourage the flow back to you or you will terminate the relationship. 
    
16. AFTER EVERY MEETING FOLLOW UP IN SOME WAY 
     
    During every meeting you should find an unobtrusive way of keeping either notes or the main themes in your mind, one way is to find a quiet place immediately after any meeting and jot down everything you can remember. I find that people don’t mind if you have a piece of paper or a note book to make short notes as the meeting proceeds, if you feel unsure ask your contact if they mind – they won’t because it shows you are taking them seriously. 
     
    The next day you could send a meeting report, send the info you promised, a short note thanking them for their time - do something to show the relationship goes further than the meeting. You can also invite them to another meeting or social occasion, just keep the door open. 
    
17. GET OUT AND MIX WITH PEOPLE MORE THAN YOU DO NOW 
     
    This is the essence of networking, being amongst people and using your new networking skills. You can start the networking process from your home or office but the real networking starts the moment you meet with someone and start building the bonds of the relationship. 
     
    Even if you only go out for one hour in the evening you will improve your chances of networking with new people. You should also think of other times & places where you can mix with people. In addition to formal events there are opportunities in your lunch hour, on the way home, charity activities, in fact anywhere groups of people gather. Do try to vary the places you go, try new ideas, perhaps get new contacts to suggest somewhere you have never been. 
     
    You can also ask your current network contact if they can introduce you to other people you would like to know or who could help you – referrals work in networking too. 
    
18. ESTABLISH & MAINTAIN A GOOD RECORDING SYSTEM FOR YOUR NETWORK 
     
    The activities relating to Building your network of contacts is only the first step of course, you need to be able to store & retrieve them quickly and refer to every bit of information you have gathered about them. 
     
    There are many methods of achieving this, between your computer or even your mobile phone, the main thing is to regularly update & add to your recording system. You must also keep a back up copy of your network in some way – this is essential. 
    
19. APPROACH PEOPLE YOU WANT TO MEET CONFIDENTLY 
     
    Even if you don’t feel confident you must be bold in getting to the people you want & need to meet, nobody is off limits. Develop a list of target people you would like in your network and do not put any limits on your thinking while you are writing it, right down the wildest thoughts you can – you can work out how you will achieve this later, for now develop you networking wish list and keep adding to it every day. 
     
    Once you have your target list you can start writing down plans on how to make contact & hopefully meet these people. Start with people you already know and are part of your current network. It may take a few stages - someone you know introducing you to someone else who does the same until you eventually get to the one you really want – just make certain that you add all the people along the way to your network. 
    
20. BEFORE MEETING NEW CONTACTS DO SOME RESEARCH 
     
    Try to find out a little about the person you are going to meet if it is a pre-planned meeting, particularly if this is one of your wish list targets. There is no problem asking a few questions in the meeting but try to know the basics that everyone should know about the person beforehand. If you can not find out anything useful before the meeting try to stimulate the other person to lead the conversation, listen and continue the subjects that they seem interested in. Gradually you will build up some sort of picture, if you are unsure make certain you do not try to lead the conversation because you might take it somewhere that turns your potential new contact off. 
    
21. WHEN YOU DON’T NEED TO - NETWORK MORE! 
     
    As I said earlier networking should become an unconscious activity in your everyday life. Building your business depends on interaction with people, they may bring business to you, be customers or someone that keeps you going when you feel down – they all contribute in some way. 
     
    You will always be better at networking when you are relaxed, this happens when you feel on top of the world, business is good, your social life is buzzing!  
     
    But this can all change, when you are at your best network your heart out. 
     
    You have an opportunity to build your network to the point where it takes on a life of its own and everyone wants to know you, you will only do this if you network, always – network when you have to and network more when you don’t need to. 
     
    Good Luck & Happy Networking. 
     
    © Carl Henry 2006

Carl Henry has been in business for 28 years including; Property, Finance and marketing. He is publishing a range of eBooks on the internet, offering a coaching program which combines building property company with personal development to create the ideal lifestyle. For more information contact carl@1carl.com or visit these links: 

www.CarlHenryPublishing.co.uk – download a PDF copy of this article

www.CarlHenryCoaching.co.uk – Learn more about the coaching program

www.CarlHenryProperty.co.uk – for details of property trading activities and download a copy of “Prepare yourself for SUCCESS in the UK property industry”.