Showing posts with label Networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Networking. Show all posts
Monday, 4 February 2013
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Networking Blues - Approaching Senior Executives
Networking is an extremely effective tool for career advancement. Whether you are an entrepreneur or work for a company, finding a mentor/sponsor, connecting with leaders in the industry and developing your personal brand are key. These strategies can elevate your networking game to the next level.
At events, meetings or gatherings, it is important to be networking focused. It is essential to be prepared and open to opportunities. Many savvy networkers (extroverts and introverts alike) have difficulties approaching senior management or leaders within their companies and industries. Due to social or political cues, many individuals tend to be intimidated and miss the chance to promote their career or social endeavors.
Listed below are a few helpful tips for connecting with high level executives and building a strong and viable network.
Have a Game Plan
It is great to attend functions and meet/connect with individuals. But when you are intending to connect with higher level executives, it is imperative that you have a game plan. Know exactly how you want to introduce yourself or be introduced by another professional. After the introduction, you should know exactly what to say to get the conversation going in the right direction. Do some research on the individual and their roles within the organization. Find out if they have received awards and special recognitions. Ask questions that relate to the future success of the company or solutions for challenges the company, employees or industry are facing.
Call To Action
After you have introduced yourself and made meaningful conversation, exchange business cards. Reinforce your professional image and brand while getting their direct contact information. Conduct good business card etiquette and suggest a follow up. Be creative in your follow up request. Offer to meet at their office or attend an event they are hosting. Pick a social or community event to continue the dialogue and connection. Show that you are interested in developing a purposeful relationship and long term partnership. Remember to follow up in a timely manner as a sign of courtesy and respect.
Use these tips to broaden your network and reach out to leaders in your company or industry. Be professional and intentional in your processes for communicating and building relationships.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Monday, 31 December 2012
Friday, 28 December 2012
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
Monday, 24 December 2012
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Networking Tips 3 - Be Prepared
Know what you want from an event. Again this sounds like an obvious one but many people turn up at an event and don't really have any expectations of what they want to achieve by attending.
You're spending your precious time and resources on being there, so it makes sense to get the most from it.
This doesn't mean pressing your business card firmly into the hands of everyone you meet.
It doesn't mean giving a sales pitch to as many people as possible.
It doesn't mean speaking to every single person in the room - you'll be lucky if you speak to half a dozen new people at any one event.
If you really want to maximise the number of people you talk to, then go along to a Speed Networking Event. Here you're more likely to meet everyone who's in the room and at least find out a little about all of them.
Decide what you want before you get there.
Plan to meet a certain number of new people.Plan to reconnect with people you know.Plan to meet one or two key contacts if you know who's going.If you're sent a list of attendees - make a note of who you want to talk to before you get there. Perhaps there are people you recognise or people you'd like to talk to.
To get the most out of your networking, spend a little time preparing for your meetings:
Get yourself a name badge. Sometimes networking events will provide you with name badges which gives you one less thing to remember. A simple one you can slot your business card into is useful, as long as the name on your card is easily readable. People are impressed with a smart name badge rather than a hand-scrawled sticky label or none at all.
Take plenty of business cards. Yes, I know that's obvious but people still turn up at events with no business cards or run out because they don't have enough.
Have a notebook and pen with you. You'll probably want to take notes of who you meet, useful information, opportunities for sharing contacts. Write it in your notebook or on the back of their business card.
Think about what you're going to say. Not only to the standard question ?... and what do you do?? but also to generate conversation with the people you meet. Practise saying what you do in a clear, concise way. One or two sentences is fine.
Get there on time. There's nothing worse than arriving late when people are already in full flow. It's good to arrive early and then you can easily introduce yourself to both the meeting organisers and to the first few people who are likely to be there early. You'll have a head start on the others.
Carry a business card with you at all times. You never know where or when you'll have an opportunity to offer help or your services. It doesn't always happen in organised events.
Where's the most unusual place you've been networking?
Clare Evans is the author of a time management book. She is a personal and business coach and enables individuals and business owners to get more out of their day and make better use of their time.
How good is your Time Management - find out in my FREE Time Audit and get free articles, information, tips and resources when you register for her free newsletter http://www.clareevans.co.uk/
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Networking: It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know
It's not what you know, it's who you know.
You've heard that before, I am sure.
I was asked recently on a job forum for my opinion on various job search apps - to which I responded in bewilderment, "Those exist?"
Even if you don't consider yourself a people person, your odds are always better of advancing through the application process if you have a chance to meet your prospective employer in person. If you are looking for work, I suggest applying for jobs in the follow ways, listed in order from best-to-worst:
In personBy phoneThrough email / faxComplete online applicationEverything else...This article is about focusing on #1 and #2 - in person and by phone. I have seldom been unemployed for more than a few days at a time. Why? Because it's not what you know, it's who you know. This article is all about networking.
How would it feel if you knew you could stop by in person or simply pick up the phone and have a job ready and waiting for you? You can! It's the power of networking. Why would a recruiter choose to sift through hundreds if not thousands of resumes when he or she could simply pick up the phone and give you a call?
I have prepared 10 simple ways that you can begin networking now - whether you are looking for work or currently employed:
Attend a local Chamber of Commerce meeting. These meetings are free and generally happen in most cities every month or so. Attend a couple of these, mingle, get to know other people in your industry, and make some friends - these can be great long-term contacts!Spend time with some of your co-workers outside of work. You can have outings with work friends that do not have to be exclusively from your place of employment. While in a sales position, I went out with a co-worker who also invited out a few of his friends who work with his previously employer. One of them happened to be a hiring manager. I made friends with all of these people and consequently made some new contacts.
Join a local job search or career advice forum online. Even if you aren't looking for work, you can read posts pertaining to your industry and learn who is hiring. You can also make some local contacts in your industry by making some posts of your own.
Stay in touch with your past references. Don't just call them when you need a reference - call just to say hello! Talk about work. How is their business going? What news have they heard locally in your industry? Who is hiring? Find out.
Follow companies in your industry on Twitter & LinkedIn. - You can meet new people who are associated with these companies, learn when they are hiring, and collect other industry-relevant news. You can also tweet and leave comments occasionally to keep your name in front of these companies. Who knows who you may connect with?
Create a profile on LinkedIn & Monster. - Both of these tools keep your name in front of industry contacts, even if you are currently working. A lot of hiring managers (and headhunters) will just go to LinkedIn or Monster to search for potential new-hires instead of going through the hassle of creating a job posting. If you are contacted, made note of by whom and from where!
Do you have a professional designation? - If so, you may be able to join an association for professionals in your field, or attend events hosted by such an association.
Attend career fairs. - This is a great place to find out who is hiring, pick up business cards, and meet others in your industry. You can always meet hiring managers at these events, but you can also meet other job-seekers who may have some good advice for you.
Keep an eye on classified ads in your area. - It's always nice to keep note of hiring trends, who is hiring, etc. This isn't exactly networking, but it can be valuable information when talking to others. "I saw that xx company is hiring. What do you know about them?"
Upgrade your skills by taking a course. -If you upgrade your skills by taking a night class relevant to your industry, you are likely to meet other people in your industry there. These may not be hiring managers, but they are a fresh contact nonetheless.
Statistics say that the average American knows 2000+ people by name or face on a personal basis. I would be inclined to believe it's even more than that. There is no such thing as a wasted contact. Get to know as many people in your industry as possible. You never know when that contact will open a door for you one day down the road, or vice versa.
Brent Jones lives in Toronto, Canada and spent the majority of his professional career in recruiting and sales. He currently offers job-seekers advice through his blog.
He is also the author of the successful report '7 Fatal Mistakes Made by Most Job Applicants.' It is available for free download by clicking here.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Business Networking - 9 Tips For Success At The Networking Event
You have prepared and planned for your networking event with almost military precision. You have arrived in plenty of time; you are relaxed and mentally prepared. Now what do you do? Do you rush in and hand out business cards to anyone who will take them? No! Don't do that. Here instead are nine great tips that will help you maximize your networking enjoyment and potential success.
Tip One - Meet your pre-arranged contacts
After you have been greeted by the event host, and if you previously arranged to meet with a sponsor or business colleague, make sure that you seek them out as promised. Do not spend all your time talking to the people you know well. Save this for another day. After all, everyone is really there to meet new people.
Tip Two - Get introduced to others
Use the host or people you already know to introduce you to others that you may want to meet. This method gets rid of the sometimes awkward ice-breaking stage.
Tip Three - Be the introducer
This is a great way to feel confident. Introducing people demonstrates your confidence and social grace. Pay particular attention to people who seem lost, shy or simply isolated. They will love the chance to be introduced to someone so after talking a little with them yourself, find out who they want to meet and then make the introduction. You will feel really good about this simple act.
Tip Four - Refreshments and snacks
These can be a nightmare. If the event has a sit-down meal element that is fine and you can eat and talk as you would in any other dining situation. If the refreshments and snacks are intended to be eaten whilst mingling then I would suggest that you stick to soft drinks only. Even handling a cup and saucer with coffee or tea can be tricky when you are expected to shake hands or kiss cheeks. Don't even get me started about people spraying crumbs of food when they talk or getting food in their teeth - leave the snacks for later.
Tip Five - Be careful with your promises
This may sound counter-intuitive but don't just give your cards out to everyone you meet. Only swap contact details with people you feel it is worth keeping in contact with. It is unfair and a waste of everyone's time to give the impression you want to connect with people you really don't want to connect with. If you promise to call someone or follow-up with some more information, then you had better make sure you do it. Make a to-do list and stick to it. This will help you protect your hard-earned credibility.
Tip Six - Be a fantastic listener
This is a really key social, business and life skill. Learn to listen well and attentively. Listen to what is not said as much as what is said. People love to be listened to and will like you all the more as a result. You will learn much more. We generally all have two ears and one mouth so use them in that ratio.
Tip Seven - Be helpful whenever you can
People are naturally drawn to helpful people. Offer advice only if asked and only if you are qualified to do so. Offer to send articles of interest to people or provide helpful contacts. Givers get, as they say, and what goes around comes around.
Tip Eight - Be yourself
It is hard to be anyone else so why bother trying. Be honest and don't fall into the trap of making false claims to impress people. They will find out eventually. It is very easy in the heat of the moment to inflate our own importance. It is not necessary. People will like you all the better for just being you.
Tip Nine - Smile
In my opinion, the best tool in the networking toolbox. You'll feel on top of the world. Smiling is infectious and people will be drawn towards you. You will put people at their ease. Smiling indicates confidence and control. People want to see that in potential suppliers and referral partners.
That's it for now. I hope you enjoy all your upcoming networking events. You now have more knowledge than many others so relax and enjoy meeting your potential new customers or referral partners. Listen carefully and openly to what they have to tell you and, more importantly, what issues they want to solve.
I'm Andy Pope and I am committed to helping individuals and organisation develop more effective face to face communication skills. I hope you enjoyed this article.
Check out my website at http://www.eryrglas.com/
Check out this new and valuable FREE report "What Is Effective Face To Face Communication & Why You Should Care" at http://eepurl.com/pjaz9
Hope to see you there soon!
Friday, 23 November 2012
Business Networking - 5 Tips For Successful Business Networking Event Preparation
You have chosen your ideal business networking group and you have picked a suitable event date. You have designed a fabulous networking "pitch" that is chock full of benefits for your potential new clients and referral partners. Is there anything else you can do to prepare for success ahead of time? There are definitely many activities and tactics that can help. Here are five great tips for pre-event preparation that will help you maximize your networking enjoyment and potential success.
Tip One - Get to know your event host.
Every event will have a host. Get to know this person well and make their life easier by completing things such as administration requests and your meeting payments ahead of time. They will then be well disposed to help you as a result. They will know who is who in the group and quite often will have many additional contacts in the area. These contacts are potentially very valuable once the host knows your business and trusts you enough to pass your name on.
Tip Two - Find out who is attending the event
Once you know your host you can quite easily find out, ahead of time, who will be attending the event. Why is this important? Well, if there are people there you do want to meet you can either arrange to be seated next to them or have the host introduce you during the proceedings. Conversely, if there are people you wish to avoid the host can also arrange that you are seated elsewhere.
Tip Three - Get your mind-set right
This is very important. Have a goal for what you want to achieve at the event. Now, visualize yourself being successful at the event and achieving your targets. Visualize yourself delivering your pitch perfectly and naturally to a receptive audience. Visualize meeting your intended potential client or referral partner and hitting it off right away. The choice of visualization is yours but visualize - it works. Be relaxed and look forward to the event.
Tip Four - Dress appropriately
The right attire really does affect your ability to make a good first impression. Notice that I said dress appropriately. If it is an informal networking group don't show up in a suit as you will be noticeable for all the wrong reasons. Likewise, for a formal event, don't show up in jeans. It might be superficial but first impressions have to be right. Clarify the dress code in advance, with your host, if you are in any doubt.
Tip Five - Plan your journey
This may sound obvious, but make sure you know where you are going. Leave in plenty of time and check for any traffic hold-ups that may case you problems. Getting to an event late is a fantastic way to destroy your carefully prepared mind-set and make a poor first impression with the host and the other attendees. Get there early and you can park up, have a nice cup of tea and be able to meet and greet all the guests you want to.
That's it for now, so enjoy your networking event and remember that there will be other people in the same position as you. You, however, now have more knowledge than they do so relax and start to meet your potential new customers or referral partners and listen carefully and openly to what they have to tell you and, more importantly, what issues they want to solve.
I'm Andy Pope and I am committed to helping individuals and organisation develop more effective face to face communication skills. I hope you enjoyed this article.
Check out my website at http://www.eryrglas.com/
Check out this new and valuable FREE report "What Is Effective Face To Face Communication & Why You Should Care" at http://eepurl.com/pjaz9
Hope to see you there soon!
Sunday, 18 November 2012
The Top 3 Tips for Organizing a Effective Business Networking Affair
Accept Walk-ins and Door Payments for additional guests
It is always a good idea to have an online registration option. This makes it convenient for guests to sign up but you cannot stop there. Many people who host networking events allow for online sign-up and then have a cut off. When this is done there is no option to attend the event without preregistration online. If you're looking to maximize attendance as well as your bottom line, you must have a way to accept payments for latecomers who haven't preregistered. You must prepare in and dance to accept cash payments and have change available. Furthermore, you must prepare yourself to accept credit and debit card payments on the spot. An easy way to accept credit card payments is to use a portable card swiper. If you have an iPhone or Android smart phone you can use "Square" which is free and connects right to your headphone jack. No merchant account is required.
Online and Off-Line Registrations are both important
Making it easy for your desired guests to register for your event is imperative. Even though it is very easy to register for events online nowadays, there are many who find online mechanisms complicated or difficult. Because of this, you must create options for registration online and off-line. A great online registration software is Eventbrite.com. This online software is free and relatively easy to set up. If you charge for your event, the company will take a small percentage of each ticket sold. However, you have the option to completely customize your event page. You can include photos, videos, press, etc. It is very user-friendly. Simultaneously, must create a way for people to sign up off-line. There are a few options for this; have people come to your place of business to purchase tickets. Allow people to call your business line and purchase tickets via credit or debit over the phone. Partner with a local business and sell tickets from their location.
Using Event Help and Support Staff
Even when hosting small networking events it's not recommended to handle all of the chores alone. These chores can include; checking people in at the door, introducing people to others, handing out your company literature, etc. You will want to make sure that your guests have a pleasant and productive experience. It can get to be cumbersome when trying to handle several tasks at once. The last thing you want is for your guests to feel neglected. You also want to ensure that the activities within your event are fulfilling your goals. If you decide to partner with another business or professional, you can assign different tasks for both of you to complete. It is also a good practice to trade off on tasks as the event progresses. This way both of you can get a chance to mingle as you wish. There are also the options of hiring event support or enlisting volunteers who may benefit from attending as well.
Do you want to learn more about business networking? I have just completed my brand new guide for Professional Networking Success:
Download it FREE here: Expert Networking Secrets Exposed In Plain English
**You'll also Receive The Networking Know-How 4 Day eCourse
Thursday, 15 November 2012
The Most Notable 3 Guidelines for Presenting a Victorious Business Networking Mixer
Always Collect Business Cards From Your Guests
Even if you obtain attendee contact information from online sign-ups or even a sign in sheet at the door, collecting business cards is still an important practice. There are numerous purposes to collecting business cards that can prove useful. For example; they can be used as back up contact information if anything happens to your sign in sheet or registration software data. They can be used, if placed in a bin when of attendees enter your event, to be pulled out randomly when giving away door prizes. They can be used in obtaining physical addresses or other information not available through online sign-up or sign in sheets. There are even more reasons to collect business cards but the acquisition of them is very easy; simply request attendees hand over their business cards when they first enter your event and are signing in. Most will do so gladly.
Name Tags or Badges Are an Important Element to Add On
You must consider that when people come to network they are in a room full of strangers. Networking is a social exercise but it also has an end goal in mind. Many attendees may feel intimidated and uncomfortable while others may be more focused and have a goal of who they want to meet. In either case removing the guesswork and putting a name and a company with a face is valuable to your guests. By using name tags for badges you are helping your attendees to collapse time frames and making it easier for them to interact with one another. There are even networking events in which the badges are color-coded by industry. This is excellent because it allows more focused networkers to approach who they wish as well as avoid others whom they may feel are not a good match.
You May Want to Hire a Good Photographer
If you're planning on hosting a networking event chances are you're not going to stop with just one. As you go through the process of hosting several events it is a good idea to record the happenings via photos or videos. This is a good idea for a few reasons; you can post these photos or videos on your event website. You can e-mail attendees photos or videos of events they attended and subsequent events. By posting these photos or videos you are displaying visual proof that your events are worthy of attending. Depending on your role in event itself, you may or may not have time to take flicks or film it yourself. Therefore, it is a good idea hire a professional photographer to take photos or record your event activities. Hiring a professional almost guarantees that there will be higher quality than doing it yourself. Many photographers are affordable for short periods of time.
Do you want to learn more about business networking? I have just completed my brand new guide for Professional Networking Success.
Download it FREE here: Expert Networking Secrets Exposed In Plain English
**You'll also Receive The Networking Know-How 4 Day eCourse
