Category: Networking

Article Contributed by Jessica Thiefels

To network means to “leverage your business and personal connections to bring a regular supply of new business,” explains Ivan Misner, the founder of Business Networking International (BNI) and VIP contributor of Entrepreneur.com. In simple terms, this is the process of building relationships with people who could become valuable assets and referrals as you ascend the corporate ladder, find your passion, or build your businss.

Simply attending networking events, however, is only the start. You need to put in the work to cultivate a network that will provide value for years to come. Keep these qualities in mind as you meet people, offer your services, and search for people who can help. A network built on acountabilty, integrity and generosity is one that will set you up for success in the long run.

Accountable

Connect with people who are accountable and realiable, who you can count on in a pinch, or for a last-minute request. While you can’t know that upon first meeting them, you can keep an eye out for people who are flakey or unavaible; if they bail on a meeting or cancel last minute more than once, your time is being wasted.

If possible, find someone who’s willing to be your accountabiltiy partner. This person helps you stay on track and holds you accountable for timelines and goals: “Linda Galindo, author of The 85% Solution: How Personal Accountability Guarantees Success (Jossey-Bass, 2009), says accountability partners are an entrepreneur’s secret weapon for quick growth,” explains Stephanie Vozza, contributor for Entrepreneur.

She continues, “ An accountability partner can help you identify weaknesses in your business, make plans to overcome them and hold you accountable for action.”

Well Connected 

Every effective professional network needs a well-connected person—someone who’s been in the business for longer than most, and as such, provides a lot of value:

“This segment may be the most important part of your network. Connectors are people with a large network of their own who like to share connections. They have access to people, resources, and information, and are generous with their time and their contacts,” says Christine M. Hollinden, founding principal of a professional services marketing firm, Hollinden.

Authentic

Your contacts should be familiar with the most authentic version of yourself, and you want people in your circle who operate as their most authentic self as well. In our ever-expanding business world, it’s easy to get involved with someone who’s integrity is shaky—and in the end, you’ll suffer from having that toxicity in your immediate circle.

Authenticity is hard to spot, so keep these qualities of authentic people in mind as you network:

• Have realistic perceptions of reality.
• Are accepting of themselves and others.
• Are thoughtful.
• Have a non-hostile sense of humor.
• Express their emotions freely and clearly.
• Are open to learning from mistakes.
• Understand their motivations.

Your first conversation alone will help you uncover some of these personality traits.

Generous

All professional network relationships should be mutually beneficial—meaning you give as much as they do. However, not everyone is in the networking game to help someone else, and if they get what they need from you and then go radio silent on all future communications, you know they’re not someone you want to keep close. A network built on generosity bodes well for you, and everyone involved, so look for people who are already helping others—that’s a good indication they’ll be generous when asked for help from you as well.

Different (Than You)

Diversity is one of the most critical aspects of an effective professional network, and the best way to facilitate this is to use a targeted approach. Know the kind of people you want to surround yourself with, and cultivate a network with that in mind:

“Networking will be most profitable for you when you master this targeted approach. Find events, networking and otherwise, where you can connect with people that cross geographical, organizational and hierarchal lines, and you’ll be on your way to success,” says Ted Rollins, global entrepreneur recognized by Inc. 500.

Your needs will evolve, so before every networking event, consider what you need help with, advice on, or direction for. Then keep your eyes open for someone who fits that bill and always offer to help them first—which is the best way to start a mutually beneficial relationship on the right foot.

There’s more to networking than handshakes and small talk at a charity gala or client luncheon. Forging sustainable connections in the business world requires purpose and intentionality. But when you look for these qualities and commit to the process, those long-term benefits will make your efforts worthwhile.

BIO: Jessica Thiefels has been writing for more than 10 years and is currently a full-time writer, content marketing consultant and business owner. She’s been featured in Forbes and Business Insider and has written for Manta, StartupNation, Salesforce and more. Follow her on Twitter @Jlsander07 and connect LinkedIn.

Over 10 years ago I started a Mastermind group with one other gentleman. There was one individual I wanted to get to know better but we ran in different circles. I always respected this individual and told him that. I asked him if he would be willing to join me creating a group. He agreed and suggest he bring four and I would bring four (including ourselves).

We had many missteps in launching this group and creating the process we use now. We tried being a book club. That did not work. We tried using Dan Kennedy’s marketing material for discussion. That did not work. We tried being an accountability group. That did not work because we all had enough people to hold us accountable. We tried adding women to the group and that did not work (not sure why.) I tell you this because it would have been easy to throw in the towel and quit. It required open communication to work through the start-up issues and later the issues associated with creating a high performing group.

Here is what we needed to do to make the group work: Openness to give and receive constructive feedback, a willingness to be vulnerable (not easy for 7 middle-aged men), it required a commitment from all to play all out and a flexible format that allowed each person to play at the level that made sense for them that month (forgot to mention we meet monthly from 7-9 AM.)

We did turn over several people (for a variety of reasons) and we settled on a strong core of commitment members with the youngest member being in the group four years. Four of the members are original members.

At our last meeting, I asked them to talk about their biggest learning (both good and bad) they experienced in being a part of this group. Below is a summary of their answers.

“I learning how to asked good questions, not just questions.”

“I learned to be more interested in others and make myself less interesting.”

Several people mentioned the power of using “in what ways,” instead of “how,” and how it changed the both the quality of the question as well as the quality of the answer.

One gentleman spoke of how he would ask himself, “What question would the group ask of me when I share this with them?” We are his ghost accountability partners.

Another person spoke about how, “I learned to ask deeper questions and look for the connection between how someone feels about something and how they think about something.”

The consensus about the group’s success is around 100% ownership  of an issue and acting on that ownership.

One gentleman talked about the “power of transformation through the power of intention” with acceptance (not necessarily agreement) of each other and how he create lifelong friendship with each member of the group.

Others faced personal demons and with the help of the group, confronted them. Others made major life decisions (divorce, family priority, etc) based on feedback they received.

Finally, one person talked about how it is an oasis for him to be “self-reflective, force a pause in daily life and get clear on what is really important.” This allowed for a personal reboot.

I hope you understand that getting here was not easy. Beliefs were challenged, feeling were hurt, misunderstanding occurred, and  yet the group was committed to each other.

The most powerful change agent for me has been this mastermind group. I shared things I never shared before and I was accepted for all my flaws. It is a very powerful feeling to know such  respect and love.

I learned so much because everyone is a business owner or senior manager in a larger company. Sharing business problems and getting unvarnished feedback can be hard, especially if you are the problem.

There are many good groups out there. Some are business focused, some are marketing focused, and some are a combination of both. Some focus on the under 40 crowd and some on businesses with less than $10M in revenues.

Get clear on what you want from a group and visit groups you think will help. Look closely at the group’s culture. It might be a highly effective group, just not for you.   Are their members with more experience than you (you really want that, especially if business growth is your purpose.) The range of ages in our group is early 40s to late 60s.

Last resort, create your own group. Pick people who are different from you. It makes no sense to surround yourself with people just like you; how will you grow and learn without someone who not afraid to challenge you.

Reduced travel is one of the biggest benefits of video conferencing. Less travel to conferences means that businesses do not have to spend enormous amounts of time and money on travel. However, less travel is not the only advantage of using a video conferencing app to speak to your colleagues, clients and partners.

There are a number of benefits of speaking virtually to your coworkers, including increased productivity and efficiency, better communications, enhanced business opportunities and advantage over your competitors. Read on to learn more about the advantages of turning to video for your business needs.

1. Your business will see increased productivity and efficiency.         

According to Life Size, video conferencing is one of the best ways to increase your business’ productivity. While a reduction in travel costs is an obvious plus to using video conferencing to liaise with long distance partners and colleagues, you will also save time by using video conferencing rather than traveling, which in turn will increase productivity. You will have reduced travel risk, less unproductive travel time and more productive time spent in the office working on projects, whether alone or in groups video digital video communications.

In addition to the reduction in travel costs and time, your business will also have shorter, more structured meetings and participation from more colleagues and partners, because more people are able to dial into a video call than travel physical long distances to meet you. You will therefore optimize the attendance at your video meetings and receive a more immediate exchange of information. With faster response times, quicker access to experts and speedier decision making, your business will boost its productivity and efficiency in no time!           

2. Your business will improve its management communications.

In addition to increasing your productivity, you will also be able to improve communication with your coworkers, colleagues, partners and clients and reinforce those relationships, according to Mashable.

When you’re speaking with long-distance colleagues and partners over the phone, much of the body language that indicates how the other person is feeling about the conversation is lost. During a video conference, you can easily see your coworkers’ facial expressions and body language, which improves communication over a basic phone call.

If you are the owner of your business, you might consider holding a company-wide meeting with remote offices across the world to help remote employees feel closer to home. Of course, you will save plenty of time and money being able to communicate with your Chinese colleagues via video conference rather than making a trip there or having them come to your office. You can instead liaise from the comfort of your own computer.

3. Your business will see enhanced opportunities.

You will also see enhanced opportunities by maintaining a competitive advantage when you communicate with your team members over video, because you are able to share knowledge faster and therefore be more informed. Interacting over video conference reduces the time needed to deliver a new product or service to your customer base. Customer support departments can also establish better and more personal relationships with customers, because they are able to read the customer’s facial expressions and body language. This improved communication in turn leads to deeper customer loyalty.

When creating your company’s product, you need to be able to quickly and efficiently communicate with your manufacturer to verify that product quality is excellent, make any necessary changes and ensure and improve accuracy throughout the cycle of your product’s life. When you are able to video conference with your manufacturing team, you save time and quickly verify the quality and make changes in 1 percent of the time it takes your competitors to do so when shipping the product for review.

4. You can improve your employees’ work-life balance.

Before video conferences, telecommuting was much more difficult and less accessible to employees. Now, with a video conference system like BlueJeans, it’s much easier for employees to work remotely and they can travel less as well. Excessive travel time used to burn out employees of the corporate world. Now that your business has reduced the need for frequent travel through video conferencing, your employees can be more productive and focus on the important projects rather than burning out on travel. They can also easily work from home and improve their overall work-life balance, reducing commute times and giving them more time to dedicate to both work and their social lives.

So there you have it! Reduced travel is clearly a huge benefit of video conferencing with your colleagues, partners and clients, but it’s certainly not the only benefit. Video conferencing also gives your business increased productivity and efficiency, improved management communications, enhanced opportunities, an advantage over competitors and a better work-life balance for employees.

 

 

 

 

When it comes to the corporate business world it can be difficult to decide on gifts, especially when considering important clients. Giving something too personal and ‘over-the-top’ might put them off and make them think you’re not serious, but giving something too indifferent and cold might give the impression you don’t care enough.

Getting the balance right with corporate presents is tough, but it can be done. There are often significant benefits to be gained from giving business gifts, and here are some top tips on how to do it properly.

Get gifts specific to the receiver

Within businesses, there’s a huge variety of people that gifts can be given to, which is why it’s important to tailor your choice of gift to the exact person who’s going to be receiving it. You wouldn’t give the same present to both your top clients and employees, would you?

With regard to employees, it’s courtesy to give a gift at least once a year as a sign of appreciation for their hard work; Christmas is usually a popular time for this. Whilst most employees would undoubtedly prefer a seasonal pay rise, gifting small vouchers for a generic store/restaurant to each member of the team is a very safe yet thoughtful option that’s guaranteed to create a happy and grateful workforce.

When it comes to clients, it’s a whole different ball game. Gifts need to be carefully thought out, especially if it’s a high-flying client that brings in a lot of business. First, it’s important to analyze your previous experience with them, and establish any habits or snippets of conversation where they may show interest in a specific topic. If you’ve seen a client ordering a particular food at a corporate dinner, a gift involving that food would be a great option. For example, if they’re a lover of seafood or seasonal harvest foods, Citarella offer bespoke gourmet gift baskets that are sure to impress. Or, if you’ve heard your client mentioning they like a particular sport, a small voucher for a local game will be greatly appreciated.

However, it’s vitally important to establish your budget and, if you work with a large number of clients and are unable to afford personalized gifts for everyone, smaller items will suffice such as handwritten cards.

Stay in touch once your gift has been sent

If you opt for a Christmas-related gift for the holidays, or perhaps a more personalized birthday alternative, staying in touch with that client will be much easier and hugely beneficial.

Once your gift has been received, it’s highly likely that they will contact you to say thank you. This will open up further lines of communication and not only allow you to ask if they enjoyed their present, but also negotiate further work for the future.

Choose a theme

If your clients are high-flyers within their field, it’s likely you’re not the only one who will be sending them gifts. In order to make an impression and reap the benefits, it’s essential you stand out from the crowd whilst still getting the balance right and not going too overboard.

This strongly relates to the earlier point of tailoring your gift to the receiver, but tailoring your gift to reflect the entire company is likely to go down very well. For example, instead of just buying a gift for the particular client you deal with within that company, perhaps buy smaller items for their entire team as well. This will not only impress your client, but will also have an extremely positive effect on everyone else within your client’s close proximity at work which is sure to work in your favor.

So, if you’re thinking about sending gifts within the world of business but were unsure of exactly how to get it right, hopefully you’ve now got all the ideas you need to please everyone from your top clients to your hard-working employees!

Giving corporate gifts sometimes has a negative stigma associated with it, where people assume it gives the impression of ‘sucking up’ to your clients and is highly likely to put people off. That may be true if you give the complete wrong gift but, with our tips above, you’re almost guaranteed not to have any negative responses. So whether your target client is a lover of seafood, wine, or simply likes the odd football game or two, take into account the characteristics you know about your client, and use them to your advantage when choosing the perfect gift.

Louise Horton works in the giftware industry and can often be found typing up an article for an industry or business blog. Outside of work she enjoys baking and cycling.

If your company is going to be the next big thing then you’re going to need to get out there in the business world and mingle. Networking events are the perfect platforms to showcase your professionalism and let everyone know about your company brand. You get to mix and mingle with likeminded individuals and create serious connections.

If you’ve ever been to a networking event before, then you know full well that there are hundreds of companies being represented in one location. That means in order to get your brand out there, you have to stand out from the crowd. To do this, a bit of research and preparation are necessary. It never hurts to be prepared so that you can rise to the occasion when it’s necessary. Here are some tips that will hopefully help you make a lasting impression:

1. Do a Bit of Research on the Attendees

Are there certain business connections you intend to meet while at your networking event? If so, then you’re going to want to make sure you know your facts about the individual and their business ahead of time. A little bit of research goes a long way in making a good impression.

Let’s say you’re going into the retail industry for women’s fashion and you’re looking to start your own boutique. You might want to do some research on various companies who sell their products through retailers. For instance, if you’re looking for footwear, you might check out shoes from Marc Fisher to see how profitable the business is and how it might complement your brand.

2. Try and Connect Others

Though finding business connections is your ideal goal, if you know other individuals that might work well together, being the connector can be a great way to impress both parties. For instance, using the example above, if you were in the retail industry specifically for women’s fashions but found someone who was looking for a vendor to sell their men’s fashions through, connecting them with other retailers is a great way to help them out and build a potential connection in the future.

3. Don’t Over Pitch

Yes, networking events are a great platform for finding leads for connecting in the world of business, however, that doesn’t mean that you should over do it. Trying too hard to sell someone on your products or services is a surefire way to get labeled. When business owners feel like they’re being pressured to conduct business with you, they will likely go the other way and also tell other business connections to beware. So while you want to talk about your brand, you’re not trying to make a sell right then, you’re simply trying to build leads and generate connections.

4. Quality Over Quantity

While you might want to meet everyone that came out to the networking event that day you don’t want to get so consumed with a number of connections that you forget to foster real relationships. Sure, you could very easily walk around the room and pass out your business card to everyone while introducing yourself in fewer than two minutes, but what will you be remembered for? Take time to really talk with people and cultivate relationships that can be remembered beyond the networking event.

5. A Firm Handshake  and Eye Contact

When introducing yourself to someone, be sure to give a good old firm handshake to seal the deal. Handshakes are very useful in the world of business and should be used as often as possible. Also, as you’re talking with a business professional be sure that you’re keeping constant eye contact as you talk. Whether you’re doing the speaking or the listening, eye contact lets them know that you’re confident and that you’re paying attention.

6. Don’t Forget Your Marketing Materials

This is not to suggest that you waltz into the networking event with flyers and other large pieces of marketing materials. However, what it does mean is that you want to make sure that you have a bit of information for your connections to remember you by. A simple business card is a great way to do this. It provides them with all of your contact information and gives them something tangible to hold onto.

7. Practice Your Pitch

There’s nothing worse than clamming up when someone asks you what you do for a living. However, if you haven’t been to many networking events, this is a very possible reality. So to prevent looking embarrassed in front of others, it is probably a good idea to come up with a few things to say that can sum up what your brand is all about.

8. Dress the Part

Lastly, you always want to go to a networking event looking like a professional. Sure you might work from home in your pajamas but when you step outside, you’re a representative of your company. Therefore, you want to make sure that you’re dressed well for the event. Again using the women’s retail business as an example, you might even consider putting on some shoes by Marc Fisher or clothing by other designers that you’re interested in working with. This is a subtle way to flatter your potential connections. If you’re not sure what to wear, business casual is usually the best option.

Networking events are the perfect way to grow your business, particularly for those who are just starting out. It might seem intimidating to be in a room full of successful professionals, but it is in these moments that you have the opportunity to create lasting relationships. As long as you keep these eight tips in mind, you should have no problem in standing out and making a lasting impression in the minds of many.