I’m not very fond of ranting online but there is a first time for everything.

When my daughter and I started our business we really started from zero. Not only we didn’t have money we didn’t know anybody in town. Someone came and told us about networking and that we could go to networking meetings. We were not familiar with the concept but we started attending some.

It took a while but we got our first client in one of these groups and another and another. They were the beginning of the company we have today, a very healthy, successful company.

So I’ve a lot of respect for these groups and Chambers of Commerce that provide networking opportunities.

So much so that even at that beginning, when we were attending every possible group in town we started promoting other people’s events in a way to foster the concept. When going out networking every day was not possible anymore for us because we started traveling to speak around the country quite a bit, we transitioned those promotions to this website, Networking in Utah.

We’ve been promoting other groups, chambers, events and workshops for over 7 years. Besides the site, we send a list of events happening in town every weekend to over 15 thousand local business owners in an e-mail newsletter. We’ve been doing this for 7 years without charging people for anything. We cover all costs, websites updates, hosting, e-mail database (yes, you pay for every name you have and the bigger it is, the more expensive it gets), help desk system, staff, etc. and we are ok with that. But just so you know, it does cost money and time to keep this going.

This year, after 4 years we decided to put a local live event in town. This is going to be a great event with lots of opportunities for business owners. It needs a lot of structure to happen the way it is going to happen and it costs a lot to make it happen. So, we need to make sure it gets as much promotion as possible. So we decided to ask a little help from our “friends”. It did seem like a good idea.

We contacted the groups and asked them to help us promote. No, we didn’t mention we’ve done the same for them during a long period of time. We did offer for them to become affiliates and make a commission on ticket sales and we offered special discounts for their members only. At least in my mind this would be a win-win situation.

We contacted them a number of times. The result: we got one chamber of commerce promoting our event. None of the other groups.

After going over my own frustration I started thinking about the why.

So my conclusion was that they just didn’t care because they don’t think that what I’ve offered was relevant to them, or they thought that an event with real strategies for business owners was not as fun as the “feel good, be motivated and expect a miracle” events out there, so why bother let their members know about it?

Therefore, I’ve decided that I’ve spent money and time for no good reason and from now on there will be no more weekly newsletters promoting events. I’ve decided to join the unclutter movement. One less thing to do every week, one less e-mail sent to my database.

The site stays until we decide to shut it down, after all I know there are a lot of people starting businesses and looking for places to network, so they will be able to still find the events online. (oh, by the way, group organizers that are too lazy to post your own events and ask us to do it, that is out of the picture too).

For the new business owners out there, choose well the meetings you attend. Choose organizations that are structured, organized and with a proven track record. Have in mind that many groups have leaders that are there for lack of money making options and many business advisors out there never had a real business. Do your work and check before paying. If you want my advice, join the chamber of commerce in your area.

For the members of other organizations that chose not to let you know about this event, there is more info here: Extreme Income Explosion Summit

For all, the attendance for the event is hitting over a hundred people and we want more.

If you want to get more referrals from people in your network, you have to be able to make it easy for them to find and give those referrals to you. They want to help you, but most will not step out of their comfort zone to make it happen,

Here are 5 things to help you start the process of making it easy;

1. What should I listen for? I am with people all of the time, and many of them are complaining about something, or sharing great news, or contemplating a decision. Each of these conversations present opportunities to develop referrals for you.

2. What visual clue might I see that would lead me to recommend or refer you? Are there things that are common to signals that a person might need you? Such as someone who’s car has a dent in it and you are an auto body shop owner.

3. Are there things that I might see that would help me recognize someone as your target market? Like a motor cycle or boat in a drive way for the insurance agent.

4. What kind of things might be happening that would lead me to believe that someone is in the market for your services? A child being born, and child going to college, or a new business that just opened?

5. Is there an activity that you clients often engage in? Such as running in mini-marathons, jogging, bike riding, working out, skiing, or any number of activities that would help me identify our clients?

The more you can paint a picture for your network members the easier it is going to be for them to help you. Unfortunately, this means that you have to give some thought to what and who you are looking for as clients. Anybody or everybody will not be as effective. Profile you clients and teach your network members how to spot the clues.

Since time is limited, it is necessary that women make the best use of networking time. Men in general have more time to network and connect with others in the business world, so women need to leverage the time they have. Our study shows that the more time a person spends networking the more successful they are, therefore if a woman is limited by her life style on the number of hours she can network, she will also be limited in how successful she will be at getting results from her network. Her only alternative is to find better ways to utilize the time she has. And to find groups that fit her and her families life. Predominately that has been groups that meet mid-day since morning and evenings have a tendency to be family and social time.

For most business professionals there is a great deal of time spent running from one networking event to the next, meeting more and more new people in hopes that we will sell a product or service to someone in the room. It takes a lot of time, and becomes frustrating to women when they find themselves behind the eight ball because they cannot make so many meetings. If you stop and take a look at quality networking over quantity networking you will find that as a busy mom and business owner you can have a positive result from your activities.
Networking is the activity of going out and meeting people face to face, adding new people to your Rolodex and often pitching your product or service to the people in the room or having their products and services pitched to you. This is not an effective use of the valuable time that women have, if indeed it is our desire to create credibility and profitability.

Networking is an important activity and needs to be planned in advance, how much time you are going to spend and what event you are going to attend. For most women being able to get our business act ivies and family act ivies on the same calendar will allow us to manage all of our options. Once we decide what events or functions we are going to attend we can then set goals for what we want to accomplish while we are there.

More effective planning will allow everyone to make good use of their time spent networking. Look at your calendar and your contacts, and plan accordingly.

Digging your well deep is important if you are going to get the best water, or even the precious oil that resides there. Have you ever seen a well that is only 3 feet deep and 6 feet wide? Yes, they call them retention ponds and even they are deeper than 3 feet. They serve little purpose beyond managing run off water. This is not water you can go out and drink, it simply looks nice in most cases. To get the clear cold water that can enrich your life, allow you to cook, clean, create steam and run a civilization you have to go deep.

It works the same way with your network. The deeper you go with your relationships the more valuable the results you will reap. Unfortunately, networking has the bad reputation of more is better. In most cases, I find that people pretty much know all the people they really need to know in order to accomplish the things they really want to accomplish, only problem is, those relationships tend to be shallow and not well nurtured.

If you want to get results from your network go deeper, here are 5 things that you can do to begin the process of digging your networking well deeper.

1. Choose 5 – It is easier to focus on a few versus the masses, if you have built a large network it is important to take a look at your inner circle. From that circle, choose 5 whom you would like to have a better networking relationship and think about those 5 people and how you can help them. Make deposits into the relationship.

2. Get to know them – how much do you know about your 5 people. You should know what Goals they are trying to accomplish in their business, what they are most proud of accomplishing, where else they network or would like to network, what are they passionate about beyond what they do for a living.

3. Ask “How can I help you?” – find out ways that you can help your 5 people. Can you distribute material for them, make an announcement for an event they are having, display their business cards, or mention them in your newsletter/blog? Making deposits into the relationship assures you of the opportunity to make a withdrawal when you need it.

4. Stay in contact – When communication changes so does the relationship, being out of contact for long periods of time slows down the relationship process and allows relationships to go cold. Leave the occasional voice mail reminding your network that you are there to help them, drop a note card in the mail and of course invite your 5 to events and network together.

5. Take advantage of Social Networking Sites – Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter make it easy to keep up with your network. Connect to them, read what they are posting, comment on their post and in general show them that you are interested in what they are doing and saying. The Internet has made it so much easier to stay in communication for those times when you are out of the loop but still want your network to know you are interested in them.

All things being equal people want to do business with people they know, like and trust. Going deeper into your network and building stronger relationships will reap you more rewards than constantly adding more strangers to the mix. This week take some time to identify at least 5 people you would like to develop and start working on making deposits.

If you ask people to describe networking you will get a variety of responses, most often it sounds something like this, “going to events where business people exchange business cards and talk business with one another.” While indeed that is a good description of what a lot of “networking” events look like, it is not the only way that networking takes place. People get so hung up on the formal side of networking that they completely miss all the other opportunities to network. I personally spend far less time at “networking events” and far more time networking in ways that I enjoy.

Recently, I was invited to be part of #Social46. This is a group of social media minded people who have strong networks, they were asked to support the Super Bowl 2012 committee in welcoming guest and helping them out using social media. I was honored to be asked, and took advantage of the opportunity. Many of these are people I have heard of but never met in person, some I knew and have relationships with and still others I have never met online or offline. This is the kind of networking that I enjoy, a group of people bound together for a common cause.

It does not take long to build strong relationships with people who have a common cause because you are all working and supporting one another to achieve that cause. For this group there was the added excitement of being able to connect the city and the visitors, and being the first city to ever fully use social media in such a large event. I have a strong affinity for many of the participants, they are my role models on Social Media, and they are so giving of their time and efforts. These are the kind of people I want in my network, who I want to learn more about, and who I feel good about referring to others because their “Givers Gain” attitude make them so referrable.

Working with a small group of people for a common cause is often far more effective that going month after month to big “networking” events. Take a look a the networking that you are doing, how are you breaking out of the traditional mode and finding new ways to connect and build relationships? Share some of your ideas with us!

Networking!.JPGWhat makes a person a successful networker?

Is it an outgoing, charismatic personality or maybe it’s experience or practicing proper networking etiquette. While those aspects are all helpful, the key to being a successful networker is understanding that networking is mutual and not a one-way exchange.

According to Rita B. Allen, Career Management Consultant and President of Rita B. Allen Associates, networking is all about building meaningful and long lasting relationships and what you do with those business cards. Fewer and deep is better than a database of contacts you don’t keep up with. Allen describes networking like planting seeds in the garden, nurturing it, and seeing it blossom. Many see networking as insincere, so the focus should be on building a mutually beneficial relationship and not just collecting as many business cards as possible. Allen suggests “be real and do what works for you.”

Linda Moraski, President/CEO of PeopleSERVE, Inc., stated there?s numerous benefits to networking, whether it is for business, finding a vendor or service provider, or finding a job. As Allen mentioned, it’s not about who you know but who knows you. Having a good network is critical in business.

Being active in social media is important but getting out there and meeting people face-to-face is equally important. Writing, speaking, and teaching are other ways to broaden one’s network. Going to an event and networking can be intimidating for some, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you will get with working a room.

For those that are new to networking, practice your message about who you are and what you have to offer.

Allen stated that those new to networking are not always clear about their brand. Develop a strategic plan on how you will build your network and start attending events. When meeting someone for the first time, look to identify similarities and interests. Make notes about the person on the back of their business card, and then follow up with a personal note. A hand written note makes a lasting impression but email is also appropriate.

Good places to start networking include chambers of commerce, business associations, support groups such as women’s groups, professional associations, alumni associations, and charitable events. Rebecca Sullivan, PR Consultant and Principal of Rebecca Sullivan Public Relations, likes to diversify the events she attends and said “if you only attend events in your own industry, you may end up only meeting the same people over and over again.” Also, get involved in various organizations to the extent your schedule permits. Joining a committee is a great way to get to know others and for others to get to know you.

And don’t forget about internal networking within one’s workplace and other referral sources. That is very important, as people often refer business to those they know and trust. Even the competition can be a referral source, especially if they have a different niche than you. The more involved you are with your network, the likelihood of learning about new business opportunities increases; and if you refer business to others, they may reciprocate.

Staying connected with your network is very important and there are various ways to do so. If you come across an article that you know would be of interest to someone, send it to them. Perhaps there is an event that may be of interest - send a personal invitation. If you learn of a contact’s accomplishment, congratulate them. Be genuine, always be willing to help others, and go the extra mile. Others will appreciate it and may return the favor someday, but that should not drive your motivation to help others. Sullivan, Allen, and Moraski all credit referrals from their networks as an important contributing factor to their businesses being so successful.

Tips for Attending Events:

Eat before the event - it is difficult to speak to someone if you are chewing food.
Dress appropriately for the event - first impressions are very important.
Don’t go asking for business - that’s a major turnoff. Instead, go to meet people and build the relationship.
Go with a friend or colleague if you are uncomfortable by yourself, and plan to meet 3 new people.
If two or more people are engaged in a deep conversation, don’t interrupt.
Don’t overwhelm yourself and try to attend too many events.
Don’t forget to follow up with a personal note.
As Moraski stated “practice, practice, practice and don’t give up!”

Follow-up Tips:

Be genuine in your intentions.
If you follow up with someone via LinkedIn, add a personal note - don’t just use the standard language,
It should be clear that there is a mutual reason to stay in touch.
Know when to quit, don’t be a stalker, and don’t wear out one’s welcome.

Ellen Keiley is a Boston World Partnerships Connector and a member of the Business Development Department at K&L Gates in Boston. She can be contacted at ellen.keiley@ klgates. com

Save these dates:
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Extreme income explosion summit is happening on these dates in Salt Lake City.

In these 3 powerful days you will:

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Some of the speakers you will be able to meet and spend time with are:

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