Seven Secrets of Highly Effective Networkers

Joanne shares her best networking advice
and reveals some of her… gasp… mistakes

The Edmonton Journal invited Joanne to sit on a panel and share her advice and mistakes on networking for entrepreneurs and other business people. (We’ve also included the video below so you can watch your favorite corporate image consultant in action and hear the other panelists’ advice.) Here’s Joanne’s hottest tips.

Tip #1 – Real life networking vs. online networking

I love the personal touch; I believe that you get a sense of that ‘know, like and trust’ when you meet someone face-to-face. Certainly the online networking component is important, but there’s nothing like being able to have a conversation with someone to get a sense of their personality and learn whether you want to continue the relationship or not.

Tip #2 – How to leverage your networking

Remember that every person you meet potentially puts you in contact with a minimum of 250 other people — that’s their sphere of influence, at minimum — so if the relationship is developed and you nurture it, it’s amazing what kind of synergies develop.

Tip #3 – Avoid being a business card counter

Don’t do what I did in the early days of my business, and that was handing business cards out like they were popcorn. I was so proud of my cards I wanted everyone to have one; now I practice restraint. There’s no point to hand out a business card if there’s no reason to pursue a relationship. So I now go deeper, I try to get to know the person in front of me as best I can, and if there’s a reason for us to continue the relationship then I will follow up with them at a subsequent meeting. Networking is not the time to sell.

Tip #4 – How to follow up

In terms of the follow up you want to do it rather quickly, within 48 hours. Speed actually impacts trust. If there’s a reason for us to stay in contact I’ll do it by email or sometimes I’ll just write a note and say how much I enjoyed meeting them, and if there’s an opportunity I think they might benefit from I’ll put them in touch with someone I know, or invite them to an event.

Tip #5 – It’s not all about you

One of my biggest mistakes in my early days of networking was being overzealous about my own interests, my career, my business — I think we’ve all been guilty of that. They say people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. My advice is to be very active in terms of listening to other people.

Tip #6 – How to balancing work and life with networking:

Spend your time in activities you enjoy, they don’t have to be formal networking groups or associations… Simply through conversation relationships develop. You just have to decide that there are some things you just don’t have the time for… Do fewer things, but do them better.

Tip #7 – Advice for someone who hates networking or doesn’t know how:

Step out of your comfort zone, because nothing happens if you stay at home. Adopt a host mentality; most of us don’t have any difficulty making others feel welcome and included when we’re hosting them in our own environment, in our own homes, so take that mindset out with you. Recognize that over 60 per cent of the population are shy… so extending yourself to them will open them up and you never know where that will take you.

Some extra links, opportunities and advice

For a great business and entrepreneur idea sharing site visit Capital Ideas Edmonton http://capitalideasedmonton.com/

If you’re in Alberta and you need some fine-tuning on your personal brand and networking skills be sure check out our upcoming public seminars The Complete Professional – Finishing School for Business Success in Calgary and Edmonton.

If you’d like a fun opportunity to network in Edmonton checkout The Edmonton Journal’s Capital Ideas Mixer (we’ll probably see you there)

If you’re in the rest of Canada here’s a Financial Post list of Entrepreneur Events across the country.

Posted by Joanne Blake – The Canadian Corporate Image Consultant and savvy networker