Power Networking Blog
How do I expand my professional network in college?
My first suggestion would be to take the word ‘college’ out of the equation. You may be currently attending college, but that is only one aspect of the potential network you have to connect with.
Don’t discount the value of networking with family, friends, neighbours, businesses and community resources that you frequent. Potential connections are all around us if we keep our eyes open to opportunity.
How do you build strong relationships with contacts to strengthen your network?
Teddy Burriss offers some excellent tips on how to strengthen your network. I had to agitate my wee gray cells to come up with some suggestions that would add to the discussion.
One of the things that I have found when it comes to building and strengthening business relationships is to actively discover the common interests that you and the other person have.
Can you do too much networking?
This question appears to be looking for a definitive answer, where only subjective responses will be provided.
If one defines ‘networking’ as the face-to-face or online interaction with another person, for business purposes and they spend all their time meeting people, at the expense of doing other activities involved in running a business, then perhaps you can do too much networking.
Are most business professionals good at networking?
This question raises subjective responses.
From my perspective, of those business professionals that I know, I would say that they don’t.
A comprehensive answer requires exploration of the terms ‘good’ and ‘networking.’ And ‘business professionals’ for that matter.
What are your most effective conversation openers in networking situations?
Effective? The risk is in not coming off like you’re using a pick-up line.
I tend to use situational comments.
I’m not adverse to using “come here often?” It can elicit a chuckle or two and open the door to conversation.
How do I meet local people with common interests?
A couple quick suggestions would be to check out Eventbrite & Meetup.
I don’t know where you live of course, but both of these, offer access to special interest communities and may very well be local for you.
Another suggestion might be to see if you have any community recreation programs e.g. YMCA/YWCA, as they often have non-academic programs.
What are good networking events?
That really depends on what benchmarks you use to determine what is good or not.
I have heard of some business people that say if you get more than two free drink tickets with your admission, then it is a good networking event. Some use the food as a measuring stick, assuming there is any food served.
If you are actively looking for prospects, a networking event that provides lots of people to work through, i.e. by sheer numbers, a larger event is more likely to be beneficial to you.
If you are an outgoing person and confident in your schmoozing and networking, any size of networking event will probably work for you.
What are the benefits of like-minded connections?
It might be helpful to think in terms of the mutual benefits of like-minded connections. While being like-minded, some may call it resonating, certainly makes it easier to communicate your desire to the other person, there is great value in offering something in return.
Being like-minded doesn’t mean that they are exactly the same as you. We all have our own life-experiences, wants, desires, hopes, prejudices and biases. Even though we are like-minded on specific topics, we are still quite different.
Far too many people in business have the idea that they need to get something from somebody, whether at a cost or free. A different approach, as promoted by Dr. Ivan Misner of BNI (Business Networking International) is that of ‘givers gain.’ The concept simply put, is that if you give freely to others, you will receive something of equal or greater value in return.
What research exists about professional networking groups?
I'm trying to understand the entire market of "professional networking groups" including what are the largest groups, how many people attend, what professions utilize professional networking etc. Thanks in advance for your help.
~~~~~
From my experience, there is very little research, if any on the subject of professional networking groups. Just to clarify the question a little I would expect that you are asking about groups where professionals network, rather than networking groups that are professional in nature. Professional Associations, might meet that criteria.
What is the best way to network?
I don’t think that there is an absolute answer to this question. The answer probably lies in one’s ability to take advantage of different networking models.
If you are a shy introvert, utilizing the internet in advance to learn more about the people you are going to be networking with, reducing your anxiety and building your self-confidence, then Linked in can be of use. I outline a system I created in my book Power Networking for Shy People: Tips & Techniques for Moving from Shy to Sly!
More...
What are some speed networking tips?
Question as asked on Quora.com and answered by Rae Stonehouse. “What are the speed professional networking tips?”
I’m not sure how to interpret this question. One way would be that the question is looking for tips from professional speed networkers. This would presume that there is a subsector of elite networkers that consider themselves professionals. If so, I would expect that they are self-proclaimed professionals. That leads me to wonder that if they are so good, why do they have to keep producing more connections? Wouldn’t it be better to build quality relationships with the number of connections they already have i.e. quality over quantity?
Another perspective is that the question is asking for speed networking tips from business professionals that are successful using the format of speed networking. I’ll go with the latter.
Speed networking is an organized event where the expectation is that all of the participants will have access to a greater number of personal interactions then they would on their own or at a typical, non-organized meet and greet.
What is the best self-introduction?
A one-size-fits-all response doesn’t work with this question. The best self introduction is the one that you are comfortable delivering and that serves your purpose.
In my article How High Does Your Elevator Go?, I suggest that you prepare several different versions of your elevator pitch i.e. self-introduction, as well as different time lengths.
How Do I Get Better at Networking?
Interesting answers on the question of “How do I get better at networking?
A few years ago I asked myself the very same question. There are some people that will tell you that they absolutely love networking. They will say something like “It’s so much fun!” Yet, others, will tell you that they would rather have a root canal than attend a business networking event. As a shy introvert, networking was a painful activity for me. I’ve recently experienced a root canal and believe me … networking is much less painful.
John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing says that “networking isn’t something that you do before work or after work … it is work!” You don’t need to network to be in business butyou do if you want to stay in business!
Networking is not a normal and easy activity for many people, especially if you are shy. It is a skill that must be learned and practiced. In business and in life, a majority of our success comes from talking to people and involving them in your ideas, plans, or projects.
I would like to introduce …
A common anxiety-producing situation in a shy networker is when a third or more persons join the conversation and it falls upon them to introduce everyone.
Who do you introduce first? Do you use first and last names? Are you required to provide collateral information about each of the people that you introduce?
Popular Post
-
How can introverted people who dislike networking do so for their business goals?
-
Some people attend a large amount of networking events. How helpful are networking events considering the amounts of time, energy and other resources needed for various events?
-
Does having 500+ connections on LinkedIn make a difference?