Networking Made Simple (but not necessarily easy)

Kim Kline from AccessProfiles, Inc in Glenshaw, PA commented on my post of my recent blog entries, Secret to Success at Networking Mixers - Do Unto Others! It's a two-fer! on LinkedInGreater Pittsburgh:  “I think a lot of networking is given a bad name. It is preconceived as being a 'hard sell' (like the stereotypical used car salesman). Sadly, networking can be that way, but it does not have to be!”  This brings to mind the huge lack in our university education system!  No “business networking” is taught.  Even in the work force, networking education is not there.  I worked for several Fortune 500 companies and had great opportunities for training – quality, problem solving, innovation, software, hardware, team work, you name it, but networking education was never offered.  In fact, I didn’t see any such training until I was out of work!  And I only had this opportunity because I had access to an outplacement firm – one of those groups that help executives remake themselves to find another job.  Very few of us in business have that opportunity so we’re left without any real networking skills. 

 

Many business owners tell me their new customers comes from “word of mouth” – referrals.  I remember my Sales Coach, Dan Hudock from Sandler Sales Institute once said that he runs across students all the time who tell him that their prospecting plan is to network.  When he asks them how their business is going, they tell me they don’t have enough.  Largely this is because networking is not repeatable or controllable for most business people. It’s like fishing when you can’t see the pond.  You throw your line out there and aren’t sure if you will hit water, let alone get a bite or better yet, land a fish.  You don't catch enough fish so you cast the line more often, but this still doesn't result in any more fish.

 

I work with business owners to understand that networking is about the process of forming a relationship that results in building a network partner with whom we exchange referrals.  The process can be repeatable and controllable if we know what to do.  The process I use, The Relationship Maturity Model, consists of steps to find a personal connection, build trust for each other, develop an understanding of each other’s business so you can recognize the right people to refer and then know how to start a conversation with them about your network partner, and create a steady stream of referral opportunities for each other.  Success with networking doesn't happen overnight - it takes time.  And there's hard work involved.  But it is controllable and repeatable.  This makes networking simple…but not necessarily easy.