Networking Builds Opportunities
The following is a guest post by Frank Angelone; he is the founder of Social Tech Zone and helps businesses and individuals with news and tips for interacting with social networks and technology.
I think for anyone to build their business or brand themselves requires networking. Whether you are trying to market yourself for a job or you are looking to grow your own brand that you’ve created; you won’t go far without networking. For me I realized that there are two places to network that really help build credibility for yourself. One is Twitter and the other is face to face networking. Granted Twitter is great for networking and meeting new people, but let’s focus on face to face networking. It’s the old school method and it is where networking first took place before online built the presence it has today.
The first networking tip I could provide anyone is go to a conference. Seriously, if you haven’t been to one, you are short changing yourself. There are so many people that go to these events and everyone is looking to meet someone and connect. Talking to another person can be intimidating if you don’t know them, but it’s something you need to do if you want to get yourself known in the industry you belong to. My first conference was Affiliate Summit East this past summer in New York. I was feeling quite overwhelmed going there to begin with, but I knew I had good communication skills and I could talk to people. You have to go into something like this with that frame of mind to succeed.
I talked to a good number of people and received a lot of business cards. Granted people always exchange business cards. That doesn’t mean anything. It’s what you do with the business card after the conference that means something. You need to build a conversation with people, take an interest in what they do, and in turn they will take an interest in what you do. This can help lead to more opportunities for you and give you connections. Out of all the business cards I received, I contacted maybe 5 of them that I really felt I communicated well with. The next question you should ask yourself is, “how many responded and how many did you continue talking with?” Well, maybe 3 of those 5 responded, but out of those 3, I came away with one actual contact from Affiliate Summit East.
Don’t for one second think that coming away with only one contact is a bad thing. One contact is more than what you had before and it’s the kind of relationship you build with that person and how you both can help each other. Having the one actual person I networked with from Affiliate Summit East has allowed me to meet a lot more people and introduced to many more along the way. One person helped me reach about 8 more people. So, don’t ever mistake the value of networking with people and going to large events. You never know how one person can help change your goals and give you that edge you need. Not to mention, you make a friend along the way.
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Comments
Martin,
I thank you once again for letting me guest post of your blog. I'm glad you liked the feedback I provided and I hope people can look at networking as something that's exciting for creating opportunities. Most people are nervous to meet new people which is completely normal, but I think we all need to step outside our boundaries to learn what is out there.
Thank you for your input Frank, you mention an important part of networking, and that is followup, as mentioned in a previous comment by Angelo Fernando on another post of mine, Networking tips for shy people. I too have had similar experiences.
I was at an event a while back, this happened to be at a job fair, and not many people I spoke with had a networking/business card, and I gave my contact information to about 6-8 people because I did have my networking/business card with me.
In my conversation with them I offered to help them find some job search resources through two different organizations I'd had contact with, and one I volunteer for. Over a 2 week period after the event I had hoped to hear from them, but never heard from any of them.
I'm glad you were able to make that connection that enabled you to gain other valuable contacts.
-Martin