Effortless Networking

“[My biggest networking challenge is] starting! I think not having a good ice breaker outside of “Hello, my name is…” gets pretty boring and routine. Also how do I make an impression that leads to a sincere building professional relationship?”

Last week I wrote about what it takes to easily start conversations with anyone.

This week let’s consider how to make an initial impression that paves the way to building a long-term, sincere professional relationship.

Here’s the “secret”:

• first discover a shared interest
• then agree that you do in fact have this common interest.

After all, what would be the foundation or basis for the relationship, if you didn’t have any common interests?

So when you think you might want to build a strong professional relationship with someone, start by considering these questions:

1. Why do you want to build a professional relationship with this person?
2. Why might the other person want to build a relationship with you?
3. How did you come to this conclusion? Based on what?

Your responses to these questions will help you engage in a productive conversation with this person on this topic.

You’ll be able to better explain to the other person why you’re interested in building a long-term working relationship. This helps the other person get a clearer sense of where you’re coming from.

You’ll also be able to talk about why the other person may want to consider such a relationship as well. Who knows? You might even bring up things he or she had not considered.

And if you are sincere about what you’re saying, your sincerity will naturally come through.

Try it. See how it works out for you.

(FYI, more on this topic is covered in module 3 of the Effortless Networking home-study program. To find out how to get a complimentary copy of this program, click here.)

“[My biggest networking challenge is] starting conversations with all levels of people, from Ministers, Chief Executives down.”

I recently had a conversation with someone about exactly this topic!

She said she felt intimidated talking with people more knowledgeable than her.

But in social situations, she didn’t have a problem starting conversations with people.

“What’s the difference?” I asked.

It turns out that in social contexts, this person starts talking with people about topics that are of interest to her.

In this case, it doesn’t matter if the other person is more knowledgeable about it or not. In fact, more knowledgeable is probably better, since she is curious about the topic and wants to know more!

In business contexts, she assumes that the topic of conversation must be business related.

And often, she is among people who are specialists or experts in their field. Given her assumption that she must talk about work-related stuff, she feels tongue-tied.

After all, what could she possibly say to a lawyer about law that won’t make her look and feel inadequate?

So I asked her, “How did you come up with this assumption that you should only talk about business related stuff in business contexts? And is it valid?”

She looked at me for a while. Then she sat back, looking relieved!

If starting conversations with people is a challenge for you, what assumptions are you making about such conversations?

More on this topic is covered in module 2 of the Effortless Networking home-study program. To find out how to get a complimentary copy of this program, click here.

Many people attend business networking events or join leads groups without doing much research.

If you did, here is what you might find:

“[My biggest networking challenge is] finding an appropriate networking group. Most groups are comprised of businesses with annual revenue of less than $1M. We really have nothing to offer businesses of this size.”

Or your experience may be this:

“I cannot find a networking group to attend. I am a single mom, I have my own business in the financial industry and I would lile to take my business to the next level. Morning events do not work I take my daughter to school and I am out doing appointments in the evening. I am also looking for a networking group in the Htfd area of CT that does not have many financial professional members already. What do you suggest?”

My response: If you can’t find a group that fits your needs, create one!

I recently wrote about someone who created her own group, and is already reaping the results. Click here to read that story.

If you custom-design a networking group built around the shared objectives of the group members, the return on your investment (of time, energy and money) will be well worth it.

For instructions on how to create your own group, click here.

Important note: to get good returns from networking groups, you do need to invest your time, energy and usually money as well.

If you can’t or aren’t willing to do this, there are alternatives. Click here to read about some of these other options.