All Business Networking: 7 habits

Showing posts with label 7 habits. Show all posts

Is this the most important thing in marketing?

In a discussion on following up in the NRG-networks Linkedin Group yesterday Helen Dowling of 'Exceptional Thinking' shared that she thought that following up is "the most important marketing technique you can do".

She certainly has a point about the importance of following up. My experience of marketing in general and networking in particular is that following up is the activity that really makes the difference. There is very little point in attending lots of events, delivering your pitch, chatting briefly with many different people and collecting boxes full of business cards you do nothing with.

You don't build profitable business relationships by hardly getting to know lots of different people!

You build those relationships by finding the real points of connection and then following up with different interactions over time. That includes regular participation in your networking group, follow up emails, follow up phone calls, follow up on Social Networks and most importantly of all, follow up 121 meetings.

In other words take the lead and become one of the proactive few. It is after all the first habit of highly effective people.*

*Read more on Stephen Covey's 7 habits in my article - Applying the 7 habits to your business networking.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

What comes first in business networking?

The first habit of highly effective people is being proactive* according to the best selling book by by Stephen R. Covey. I was reminded of this when reviewing the video interview in my recent post, 'Just how important is a network in business?'.The last question I was asked in that interview was what key piece of advice I would give to someone new in business.

I was pleased to find my answer in line with some great advice from Robert Craven in his article, 'The Shortest Book on Business?'. According to Robert success is down to some very simple basics - clarity, focus, confidence and activity. And as he says in regard to activity, "Take Massive Action".

It's great advice for networking your business. You do need to be clear about what you do and who for. Some people, however, spend huge amounts of time and energy on honing their service offerings before undertaking any business development activity.

The important thing is not to put off the activity itself. Go out confidently and build your network first and they will help you refine your messages and offerings.

*For more go to my article - Applying the 7 habits to your business networking.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

How to become a proactive networker

I have been doing some work with an NRG member on developing an online training course for networking. She came back with an excellent insight this morning after reviewing the material;

"I would definitely get more benefit from my networking after doing this training by being more focused on objectives, rather than just expecting things to evolve/happen."

It is not unusual for people to wait for things to happen in networking rather than concentrating on things to make things happen. The most successful networkers, though, get on and don't wait.

In Applying the 7 habits to your business networking I wrote that habit 1* is 'Be Proactive'. You need commitment and the right attitude. Take the lead in conversations, make connections, and share your expertise.

So just how do you make yourself proactive in networking?

The first thing is to decide your objectives and then set yourself targets for the things you can do to help you achieve those objectives.

These podcasts may help you discover what you want and what you can do.
1. 'Why are you networking & are you prepared?'

2. Developing a Networking Strategy

Then it's down to you to do it!

*From the best selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking tips

Look for Synergies

People new to networking will often look to 'network' with people from completely different businesses. Last week an IT provider said he was reluctant to attend an event because many of the other attendees were also 'in IT'. I asked one of these other people who he preferred to network with. He said, "Thats easy. Other people in IT services and support. They know what I'm talking about and we very rarely compete even though it may look like we do something similar. The opportunities for working together or referring each other far outweigh any competitive concerns."

The reality is that people in similar businesses can form relationships much quicker than with those in different fields.

As I wrote in As I wrote in 'Applying the 7 habits to your business networking' habit 6 is 'Synergise'. Look for synergies whenever you meet people and add them to your network. The value of future collaboration will exceed the sum of what each of you could achieve on your own.

According to Wikipedia a synergy is where different entities cooperate advantageously for a final outcome. Simply defined, it means that the effect of the whole is greater than the sum of the effects of the individual parts. Although the whole will be greater than each individual part, this is not the concept of synergy. If used in a business application it means that teamwork will produce an overall better result than if each person was working toward the same goal individually.

*From the best selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking tips

How to make your follow up productive

A couple of days ago in 'Why follow up is so important' I wrote about the importance of follow up in networking. You get to know people by spending time in conversation with them and others at regular networking group meetings. You get to know, like and trust them by following that up with One2One interactions.

You should treat that as an opportunity to really understand the other person rather than an opportunity to pitch. If you are not regularly finding yourself able to give referrals, connect people and share your knowledge then you need to be asking better questions. It is by getting to know, like, and trust people and giving them opportunities that will produce opportunities for you as people reciprocate.

As I wrote in 'Applying the 7 habits to your business networking' habit 5* is 'Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood'.

*From the best selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking tips

How to get what you want from your networking in 2010

Yesterday I posed the question 'What do you want from your networking in 2010?'. The way to ensure you get what you want is to go about it strategically. Set your goals and plan the activities that will help you achieve them.

The temptation is to set yourself the goals you have as targets. The problem with this is that you may be targeting things outside of your control. The important thing is to target yourself with those activities that you do control and that will lead to the results you desire.

I discussed this in 'Applying the 7 habits to your business networking'. Habit 3 of Stephen R Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is 'Put First Things First!' Set yourself targets for the things that YOU can control.

In 'Applying the 7 habits to your business networking' I included these as examples:
• The amount of time you can devote to networking
• The number of events you can attend
• The number of 1-2-1’s you can arrange
• How much time you can spend online
• Building a contacts database
• What introductions you can give
• Choosing the right networking organisation for you

Listen to this short podcast for the simple steps involved in developing a strategy to generate more business from your network.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

What do you want from your networking in 2010?

As you reflect on the year gone by and maybe make some resolutions for next year it is worth thinking about what you want to achieve through your business networking activity.

In 'Applying the 7 habits to your business networking' I wrote about Stephen R Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit 2 is Begin with the End in Mind. Unless you know what you want from your networking then how can others help you?

Once you have clearly identified what you want that's a great start. Combine that with going about it in the right way and you are well on the way to achieving your networking goals.

Take a listen to this podcast on the subject;
'Why are you networking & are you prepared?'

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

A simple way of standing out from the crowd

I recently changed the email address I use to send out emails. I am still using the old one and have not informed anyone that I am using a new address. I did it to simplify the way things get dealt with in my office. What I find interesting is that new messages to the older email address have dropped by over 90%. Further analysis shows that the vast majority of regular emails (excluding spam) are replies to me rather than new ones. This is not unusual as most people react to events rather than initiate them. In other words most people are reactive rather than proactive.

In business networking this means that most do not follow up after you have connected at a networking event. This gives you a great opportunity to be different by becoming one of the proactive few. By simply getting into the habit of following up first with that nugget of information or that helpful introduction.

'Be Proactive' is the 1st habit of highly successful people according to Stephen R. Covey in the best selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Read about 'applying the 7 habits to your business networking here'.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

Habit one in blunt terms from Brad Burton

I wrote recently about applying Stephen Coveys 7 habits of highly successful people to business networking. Habit one is 'Be Proactive' or as Brad Burton puts it in the title of his new book, 'Get off your Arse!'.

I interviewed Brad for this article on The National Networker and asked him about the title amongst other things.

Brad shared this "I’m not one for controversy. Look the basics of any business is getting off your arse its that simple, no point in looking at an excel document, I encounter many Spreadsheet millionaires, each week its easy making money on spreadsheets I’ve done it 100’s of times. But unless you get off your arse that spreadsheet is never going to happen. And it’s an honest call to action to anyone in business of any size to look at the way you are doing things and begin to do things differently, not just for the sake of doing things differently...".

More from Brad in the full article at the National Networker here >>>.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

Applying the 7 habits to your business networking

The best selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey lists the seven habits that will help you become more effective if you work on them.

The 7 habits (be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think "win/win", seek first to understand and then to be understood, synergise, sharpen the saw) are a great place to start with any personal development.

As you might expect they also offer some great insights into how you can be effective at business networking.

* Habit 1: Be Proactive:
You need commitment and the right attitude. Take the lead in conversations, make connections, and share your expertise.

* Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind:
Work out what you want from your networking. If you are not absolutely
clear about this you will be unable to respond when others offer you help.

* Habit 3: Put First Things First:
Set yourself targets for the things that YOU can control including;
• The amount of time you can devote to networking
• The number of events you can attend
• The number of 1-2-1’s you can arrange
• How much time you can spend online
• Building a contacts database
• What introductions you can give
• Choose the right networking organisation for you

* Habit 4: Think Win/Win:
Develop a giving mentality and become an Advocate for others. An Advocate is someone who promotes you and your services without being asked or paid. Remember, what goes round comes round.

* Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood:
When you meet someone through networking you need to bear in mind whether you want to take it further. To help you decide try & listen more than talk, understand their issues and build rapport. Ask open questions and good follow-up questions. Reveal things about yourself to establish common ground.

* Habit 6: Synergise:
Look for synergies whenever you meet people and add them to your network. The value of future collaboration will exceed the sum of what each of you could achieve on your own.

* Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw:
Use the knowledge in your network to constantly learn and improve. Share your knowledge with the network so they can do the same. Look out for networks that value the education that members can share with each other.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast