One of the challenges of developing the ABCs of business networking, is that there is not any one word in any letter that can encompass what you try to say.
As with the letter 'A' article, I am going to have to use more than one word to talk about the 'B's'.
The words were going to cover today are: Branding, Boldness, Business, Brevity and Breathing.
Let's start with the least likely of the 'B' words. Breathing! You might want to ask why would I would put breathing in as an important word for business networking. The reason is simple, as a public speaker I have seen speakers as well as business people fail to create a good impression, because they are nervous. One of the best ways to overcome nervousness, and to settle your nerves in an uncomfortable situation is to breathe. It may seem like a trifle yet, learning how to breathe effectively can make all the difference to your success as a networker.
Remember, when all else fails - Breathe.
The rest of the 'B' words almost speak for themselves. You need to develop boldness when you're approaching somebody you don't know, this is not always the easiest thing to do. Firstly, you need to find out what type of networker you are, because each type of networker will have a different approach.
An important thing to consider when networking is that this is a golden opportunity to bring your personal or business brand forward and raise it to the attention of everyone you speak to. There is far more to branding than just focusing on its during a business networking function. But you must always have your brand top of mind, so that you are putting your best foot forward at all times.
I put the word "Business" in here intentionally. One of the challenges I have seen time and time again with business people is that if you go to a brunch, a breakfast, a lunch or dinner. People forget that they are there to network, not to critique the venue or to critique the food; business networking is about business networking.
Lastly, there is the word 'Brevity'. One of the first tools, every businessperson should develop is their elevator speech. This short, concise speech is designed to create interest in you in your business without boring the recipient of your approach to death. Now, you might say, Leo, you are being a little harsh here. However, I can tell you that I, as well as many of you, have been on the receiving end of a very, very long description of someone's business, or a sales pitch, which was wholly inappropriate to the function we were all attending. And all we did was ask that fateful question, "What do you do for a living?"
