Wisdom - Agencies & Consultants 110

It continues to amaze me how important relationship building is and continues to be in generating business, getting a new position, achieving any goal, etc., and many people still take it for granted. Many people who network still think of it in WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) terms. They give up after not getting a position, business, etc. Networking is about patience and persistence. Networking may not reap benefits for days, months or even years. But developing and maintaining the relationship is what counts. Networking is about helping the contact. Three keys to networking: 1. You the networker must take the INITIATIVE — go to them. 2. Ask them about themselves — what they do, what keeps them up at night, their hot buttons, etc. And really LISTEN. Ask them what you can do to HELP them today — your help can be totally unrelated to your goals, but you have to LISTEN to them, and offer to help them either by you personally or by someone you know who can help them. Trust me, they will remember you taking time to listen to them and being caring enough to offer assistance. 3. Tell them about you once they ask (and they will) — tell them who you are, what you do, and your elevator pitch, because you never know if there is someone they know who could benefit from you. Remember, networking is all about them. I was in a situation a couple of years ago where I met someone, I stayed in regular contact with this individual for several months and continue to do so today, about one year later, out of the blue, this person called me and hired me as a consultant.

Sue Duris, M4 Communications, http://www.m4communications.com