Description
Book SynopsisGrow your business, build your career, find more customers, and build a valuable support network of likeminded business people. Networking is a crucial skill for all professionals and business owners.
Table of ContentsForeword xv
Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part I: Getting Started with Business Networking 5
Chapter 1: Getting to Grips with Networking Basics 7
Understanding Business Networking 7
Starting with ‘Why?’ 8
Noting the ‘why’ of networking 9
Figuring out your ‘why’ 10
Talking to Strangers (Ignore Your Parents’ Advice) 11
Knowing Who Uses Networking 12
Realising It’s Not All Funny Handshakes and Old Boys Clubs 15
Finding Networking Opportunities 15
Following Networking Guidelines 16
Networking in a Nutshell: Different Formats 17
Understanding unstructured networking meetings 17
Seeking out structured networking meetings 18
Networking formats you’re likely to encounter 18
Business networking and referral marketing – same difference? 19
Chapter 2: Exploring Different Aspects of Networking 23
Networking for the Employed 23
Building your skillset using networking 25
Meeting people in the same industry to swap ideas 27
Keeping up to date with trends in your industry 28
Meeting your next boss – career building and future proofing 28
Networking for the Business Owner 29
Promoting your business 29
Finding trusted suppliers: Real-life Google 31
Keeping up to date with trends in business 33
Creating your virtual team: The future of business 33
Networking as Marketing 34
Clarifying your marketing aims 35
Reaping the benefits of business networking 35
Networking Meets Social Media 36
Seeing the relevance 36
Making the most of social media 37
Chapter 3: Setting (Realistic) Expectations 39
Recognising Why You Need to Set Expectations 39
Thinking about what You Expect to Get Out of Networking 40
Coping with your first networking event 41
Knowing That Networking Isn’t Without Effort 42
Keeping track of your schedule 43
Being patient 44
Chapter 4: Making Use of Networking Organisations 47
Finding the Right Organisation for You 48
Start locally 49
Match your business to the prospect 49
Finding Independent Networking Clubs 50
Contacting your local chamber of commerce 51
Finding local independent networking groups 51
Joining Commercial Networking Organisations (in the UK) 52
4Networking 54
BNI 54
Business Scene 55
FSB 55
NRG 56
Women-only networking organisations 56
Coming across Co-working 56
Co-working hubs 57
KindredHQ 57
Regus 58
Specialist and Niche Networking Organisations and Groups 58
Understanding the Politics of Networking Groups 59
Running Your Own Networking Club 60
Remembering Why You Got Involved 62
Chapter 5: Networking at Trade Shows 65
Knowing What to Expect from a Trade Show 65
The Great British Business Show 66
The Welsh Business Shows 66
New Start Scotland 67
Finding Local and National Trade Shows 67
Making Your Trade Show Experience a Success 68
Networking at trade shows, big or small 69
Becoming part of the crowd 70
Feeling the Need for Speed Networking 71
Doing something different 71
Following up 72
Part II: Face-to-face Networking 73
Chapter 6: Attending Networking Meetings 75
Finding Time to Network 75
Recognising that networking is real work 76
Networking to suit you and your business 77
Using your time twice 78
Deciding What to Wear and What to Take with You 79
Making sure that you understand the dress code 79
Thinking about the impression you want to make 80
Being prepared with business cards – and plenty of them 81
Taking promotional material 81
Knowing What Time to Arrive 82
Checking the meeting timings 82
Entering as an early bird or fashionably late? 82
Calming Your Nerves 83
Knowing why your nerves may be your biggest asset 85
Keeping on top of first-time jitters 86
Managing your nerves and appearing confident 87
Knowing what time to go home 89
Chapter 7: Making Connections in Open Networking 91
Understanding Open Networking 91
Introducing Yourself to People You Don’t Know 92
Recognising that everyone’s in the same boat 92
Choosing who to approach 93
Making an Impression 95
The handshake 96
Starting a conversation 98
Answering ‘So, what do you do?’ 100
Chapter 8: Nailing the Introductions Round 103
Getting the Scoop on the Introductions Round 103
Remembering that you’re trying to get the interview, not the job 105
Avoiding the elevator pitch error 105
Standing Out from the Crowd 107
Preparation, preparation, preparation 107
Think about what they might be buying, not what you’re selling 108
Using soundbites 109
Using props 110
Understanding body language 111
Can you hear me? 114
Injecting your introduction with passion and confidence 116
Rules to Follow and Things to Avoid 116
Introducing Sample Templates for Your Introduction 117
The attention grabber 118
The third-party endorsement 122
Remembering What You Planned to Say 125
Chapter 9: Handling One-to-Ones 127
Getting the Scoop on One-to-Ones 127
Having a one-to-one with everyone 128
Getting the Most from One-to-Ones 129
Where to have a one-to-one 129
When to have a one-to-one 130
Asking open questions 132
Are you listening or waiting for your turn to speak? 134
Making notes to follow up with 134
Taking notes like a pro 135
Knowing What to Do After the Meeting 136
Chapter 10: Breezing Through the Ten-Minute Speaker Slot 137
Recognising the Opportunity 137
Reaping the benefits 139
Understanding stock value 140
Planning and Preparing 140
Looking at Different Networks, Different Opportunities, Different Approaches 141
Using ten minutes to talk about your business 141
Using ten minutes not to talk about your business 145
Structuring Your Presentation 151
Questions and answers 151
Checking your timings 152
Coping when the day comes 152
Chapter 11: Following Up 155
Following Up to Win 155
Ouch! Dealing with Your Piles 156
Making the most of business cards 157
Using CRM systems 160
Evaluating email marketing software 161
Following Up Successfully 162
Thinking about your follow up 163
Being creative 164
Reminding People about Your Business 166
Asking for business 166
Asking for referrals 168
Part III: Networking Online and Using Social Media 171
Chapter 12: Networking Online 173
Introducing Online Networking 174
Finding Business Networking Forums 175
Joining an Online Community 175
Becoming Part of Any Community 178
Advertising is Okay (Sometimes) 179
Calling First Means That You Often Get the Job 180
Establishing Yourself as the ‘Go-To Guy’ in the Community 181
Chapter 13: Using Social Media to Keep Relationships Alive 183
Venturing into Social Media 183
Realising that the times, they are a-changing 184
Entering social media 185
Winning Friends and Influencing People 185
Finding common ground 186
Forming meaningful relationships 186
Going local, regional, national or international 187
Joining in other people’s conversations 188
Staying in Your Contacts’ Field of Vision 189
Going beyond: Following up with social media 190
Thinking business? Think personal as well 192
Spotting easy referral opportunities 196
Getting Maximum Value from Blogging by Hardly Writing a Word 196
Curating information about your industry or profession 198
Remembering it’s about conversation not content 199
Chapter 14: Networking Using Different Social Media Platforms 203
Choosing the Right Platform for Your Business 203
Twitter 204
Facebook 207
LinkedIn 208
Google+ 209
Blogs 210
Instagram 210
Vine 211
Foursquare 211
Pinterest 212
Taking the Next Steps in Social Media 212
Chapter 15: Joining Up Your Online and Offline Networking 215
Acknowledging that People are People – However You Connect 215
Finding Your Strongest Connections 217
Meeting People Before You Meet Them 219
Researching your prospects 220
Listening online, then speaking on the phone 221
Part IV: Turbo-charging Your Networking 225
Chapter 16: Using Networking to Build Your Business 227
Standing Out in Networking 227
Putting in the effort 228
Remembering that networking isn’t easy 229
Engaging your brain and engaging your network 230
Finding better ways to advertise than shouting to strangers 231
Boosting Your Business with Personal Branding 233
Learning from Evian’s posh bottles 234
Being a product of the product 236
Using Networking as an Excuse 238
Getting to your ideal prospects using networking 238
Using networking for businesses that can’t cold call 240
Chapter 17: Building Networking into Your Business Strategy 241
Circles Within Circles: It Isn’t Just About Who You Know 241
Staying in Touch When You Said You Would 243
Finding people to talk to 243
Growing your network as people come and go 244
Thinking Outside the Limited Company 245
Building Your Virtual Team 247
Settling Into a Routine and Knowing What Works for You 248
Part V: Measuring Your Success 249
Chapter 18: Networking or Notworking? 251
Measuring your Return on Investment 251
Recognising and recording the value in every meeting 252
Finding the hidden value in networking 253
Adjusting Your Mindset to Spot the Benefits 254
Listening to your intuition 255
Keeping an open mind 256
Acknowledging that networking is always working 257
Chapter 19: Revisiting Your Approach 259
Using Networking as a Sounding Board 259
Nobody’s asking you for a one-to-one 260
Business is dribbling in 261
You’re getting one-to-ones but nobody’s buying 263
You view knock backs negatively 263
Using Your Networking Contacts to Advise You 264
Launching new products to your networking crowd 265
Trying new pitches 266
Tailoring your approach to your environment 267
Discovering the secret to turning around your networking experience 267
Keeping Faith with Networking 268
Part VI: The Part of Tens 271
Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Improve Your Networking Results 273
Do More Networking 273
Become Part of Your Group’s Team 274
Volunteer for the Ten-Minute Slot 274
Take an Honest Look at Your 40-Second Introduction 274
Attend Meetings of Other Networking Groups 275
Phone People 275
Run a Mini-Seminar after a Networking Event 275
Use Social Media 276
Make it Easy for People to Buy from You 276
Understand that Networking is Working 277
Chapter 21: Ten Networking Gaffes to Avoid 279
Talking Only About Yourself 279
Overrunning 280
Being Late 280
Whispering during Other People’s Introductions 280
Ridiculing or Disrespecting Your Competitors 281
Adding People to Your Mailing List without Permission 281
Judging a Book by Its Cover 282
Not Following Up 282
Treating Networking as a One-Off Sale 282
Forgetting to Smile 283
Index 285
