Social Networking with a Delightful Twist!

By Bill Doerr
Sales and Marketing Editor

Bill's section is brought to you by qAlias

15 Second Executive ‘Speed Read’

Social Networking is a long-established mechanism for connecting with other people.

In days gone by, this meant anything from leaving a painting in a cave to being an elite member of a society’s ‘blue book’. Today, it’s more likely to mean a membership on either LinkedIn or Facebook.

What these latest social networks foster are the quantity of connections. But, as some point out, they may do so at the expense of the quality of the relationships they offer.

While no single social network is a perfect solution for everyone, a relatively new entrant to the social networking scene is Perfect Networker.

This site qualifies as a social network, but it is different. Why? The mission and passion of the founders is to teach . . . to teach the members who use it . . . how to build both high quality relationships as well as a significant number of valued connections.

Glenn Garnes, Mac Cassity and Ken Rochon are the founders of Perfect Networker – a new online community that is passionately committed to:
1) growing new and valued relationships

2) generating referrals, and

3) building revenues for an individual’s practice or business

for the people who are members of this young but growing online community.de

THE HISTORY

Glenn Garnes, an attorney by training and now a founder and key catalyst of Perfect Networker, shared some time with me recently to update me on the organization he helped to create.

Like many things, Perfect Networker evolved out of a sense of frustration with the limitations certain local business networking groups seemed to create for many people as well as the founders of Perfect Networker.

“Many business people are attracted to the notion of networking, but find many local groups are more focused on the mechanical rules of engagement than on the mission they were intended to achieve. We wanted to change all that with Perfect Networker”.

Glenn, Mac and Ken learned that networking has a tarnished image among many who are new to it because of a lack of education about what networking really is and how to network effectively with others. “It’s one thing to say, “There’s a plane” and quite another to actually get into it, fly it off the runway and level off safely at 39,000 feet”.

This inspired them to envision an intentional community of people who would be able to develop quality relationships with others and, as a result, be more refer-able themselves.

This immediately suggested a missing element in other networking organizations – despite their protests to the contrary: ‘Education and Training’ . . . in the art and science of how to build relationships, referrals and, as a result, revenues for the networker’s business or professional practice.

Glenn Garnes, who was a successful ‘rainmaker’ for his law firm, knew firsthand the power and value of networking in an offline environment. Ironically, what he did to grow his practice and revenues was also the reflection of his true passion and calling – to connect people with others to foster mutually beneficial relationships.

In 1999, Glenn became interested in the potential value of the internet as a medium for business promotion. In fact, he created various niche websites themed around ‘health and wellness’ and learned how to use them to sell ‘eyeball space’ on his sites to advertisers who wanted quality time with a select audience of qualified prospects.

That experience convicted him (please, no lawyer jokes, OK?) of the potency of the internet as an online medium for connecting interested parties with one another. So it’s not surprising that he began to think of how to use it to attract and cultivate valuable relationships with others. That, along with the input of his co-founders, lead to the eventual birth of the Perfect Networker website and online community.

THE PERFECT NETWORKER SITE and COMMUNITY

Ted Leavitt of Harvard Business School defined the term ‘differentiation’ as the quality of a product or service to be both unique and beneficial. The challenge, of course, is to be both. Over the long run. That’s not easy. If you’re truly beneficial, you’ll be copied sooner or later. And there goes your uniqueness. By the same token, if you’re truly unique, maybe your competitors knew something about the market and its receptivity to your product or service and chose not to make the same mistake you’re making. See?

That’s why I asked Glenn the obvious question: “Why Perfect Networker . . . given the prevalence and extensive market penetration of alternative sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.? In other words, what’s the angle that makes your site viable alongside all the existing players on the the social networking field?”

Glenn replied, “Bill, on a scale of 1 – 10, where 10 means ‘outstanding’ and 1 means ‘ho hum’, how do you think most business people rate the value they’re receiving from these sites? Mind you”, he said, “I’m on LinkedIn myself and use it a lot. I think it’s fantastic for what it does. But not everyone who signs up for such a service is able to use it effectively and benefit profitably from it for their business or practice.”

So what is the justification for Perfect Networker to co-exist with the ‘big boys’ like LinkedIn and Facebook?

“Simple. We designed it, from the start, to create a truly valuable experience for people who become our members.”

I asked Glenn, “How do you do that?” Glenn indicated there are several keys . . .

Key #1: Relationships Before Transactions
The most notable element of Perfect Networker is the philosophy that recognizes the truth that outstanding networkers always seek relationships before transactions.

Key #2: Training and Development
The second element is the extensive training that Perfect Networker members receive in ‘how to’ build mutually beneficial relationships. There’s a Referral University that offers various documents, audio and video to support the development of each member’s skills so they can become viable, contributing members of this online community.

Key #3: A Committed Community
The third element is the online community itself. If ‘water seeks its own level’ then the founders are attracting other people who, like them, passionately embrace the philosophy that cultivating mutually beneficial relationships is the key to networking effectively.

Key #4: An Open Connection Architecture
This element isn’t unique, but it is valuable. While some social networking sites restrict access to other members of their communities, Perfect Networker actively encourages this by making it extremely easy to find other ‘like-minded’ and/or ‘potentially valuable’ people to connect with online.

“In the end,” said Glenn, “a social network – be it online or offline, is simply a means to an end . . . much like a highway . . . it can connect you with all sorts of wonderful places and people . . . but you need to know how to use that highway . . . you need to know where you want to go . . . you need a means of transportation to make the best use of it. In short, just because a social network exists doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to use it to get wherever you want to be going . . . in your life or your business”.

He’s right.

Glenn, Mac and Ken are creating a truly unique (remember the definition?) online community here. It’s young. It’s growing. It will have some ‘pains’ as it grows. That’s to be expected.

What I didn’t expect (but find extremely heartening!) is that they really and truly get ‘it’.

They understand the secret to realizing value from any social network is to be a good citizen of that community, pro-actively reach out to others and seek to build relationships before transactions as a way to build revenues. Their site reflects this. Their actions support it. They are truly practicing what they’re teaching to their members. Refreshing!

Do yourself a favor and check it out for yourself. I think you’ll be as pleasantly surprised at this nascent undertaking in the growing social networking arena as I am.

About Perfect Networker
Founded by Glenn Garnes, Mac Cassity and Ken Rochon, this site helps people grow revenues in their business and value in their lives by focusing on building valuable relationships with others by design, not accident. To learn more go to: www.perfectnetworker.com or call Glenn Garnes at: (800) 306-6488.

Bill Doerr, CCO of SellMore Marketing, LLC is the creator of The Preferral Prospecting System™,


The Expert Directory™, The Client Machine™ and The Ultimate Client Development System™.

Bill uses these services to 
help service providers build their business by leveraging relationships and generating more introductions to new business. You can reach Bill by phone at: 860-798-6964, online: www.sellmoremarketing.com or www.getnewclientsnow.com by 
email: billd@sellmoremarketing.com or through the TNNW Blog: http://thenationalnetworker.blogspot.com

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Social Networking with a Delightful Twist!

The Network Hubs of Hong Kong

By Victor Cattermole

Asia Pacific Bureau Chief

I was really struggling to find an interesting topic this month. I had a few people on my list but with one thing and another I just couldn’t connect with them. With busy days of my own in meetings I started to give some thought to where we meet and why.

My day started with the computer turned on and email and instant messages flicking up before my eyes. Before the first coffee I have 6 people talking with me on Skype, MSN and Yahoo. Top that off with SMS messages on the cell phone and I have hit the day running. At this time of the morning its best to have that coffee first for fear of sending the wrong message to someone as I am still half asleep.

Oh how I have realized the importance of this technology for me to connect my USA, Europe and Asian Pacific contacts together. It gets worse, my girlfriend pops up on screen asking can I help her with a document, she is only sitting 5 feet away (man, she looks so cute in that picture!). I am then reminded of reality as I turn around to see her and hear the rattling noise of her gas escaping, as she describes it.

A trip to central Hong Kong for me and my first meeting is in the local icon coffee shop, Pacific Coffee. This place is a hub of meetings, the whole place is geared towards customer demands, there’s wifi, free computer terminals and in some stores even workstations where students complete their home work. The whole environment is geared towards doing business and supplying coffee while people network. When it comes to arranging a meeting everyone knows where the Pacific Coffee stores are.

From there it’s off to meet one of my HSBC bank managers, he suggests a juice bar near by, called Mix. This place in so many ways emulates the coffee shop, geared towards business networking, wifi, tables which make it easy to lay documents out. The place is full of bankers talking deals and money.

A ten minute walk to my next meeting, it’s in the Marriott Hotel. I have to wait a while for my contact to arrive (I hate lateness) but I make the most of it and spend some time in the foyer watching what is going on. It’s non-stop; taxis coming and going, hand shaking, cell phones, folders, people at tables with documents and plans. My contact arrives, the coffee is crap, yet again its business as usual.

My day ends on Skype, MSN and Yahoo as the rest of the world fits in to my workable time frame.

Oh how we interact with each other has changed, my online conference calls conducted in boxer shorts, then in a chain coffee shop millions of dollars of deals are being discussed while women with babies talk with their girlfriends and kids gather together doing their homework. I realize the bankers are leaving their offices for the comfort of a more social environment, the juice bar, and the suits are still schmoozing in the big name hotels, pressing the flesh, talking the talk and between you and me ….they are still wearing boxers under that suit just like me in front of my computer.

The environment we network in is changing, the market place is where we stand.

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The Network Hubs of Hong Kong

Lawyers Not Behaving Badly

By Scott R. Forcino, Esq.

Legal Editor

This month I had the pleasure of examining a Networking Forum that spans the globe. You might think that lawyers speaking in many tongues would be confusing but there is a collaborative effort in place.

The ILN (International Lawyers Network) Regional Meeting of the Americas took place this summer. It was reported that the Network has almost 90 firms, with approximately 5,000 lawyers. As the Network has grown dramatically, its focus has moved from being one of only referral development to one where the ILN looks to help member firms to expand the reach of their firms. Lowell noted that this would be a theme throughout the Regional Meeting of the Americas and said that as the ILN works towards implementing a strategic plan for thenext few years, having an international link that can be used for marketing and as a real tool for clients will be important.

Then came a discussion of the referral activities of the Network. It was noted that referrals are an

important component of the ILN, and a discussion of the referral report is a way to understand some of their value.

The most recent referral report covered the period of January to July 2008, which showed an increase in referrals.

It was stated, however, that it is still difficult to obtain accurate referral information, but said that the report serves

as a gauge to show a continual increase across all regions. It was also stated that inter-regional referrals continue tobe the most active, which reinforces the importance of regional meetings. It was estimated that

the figures are under-reported by at least three times based on his conversations with members about referrals

that are never officially reported. Yikes..

Corporate referrals remain the highest category of types that are referred, followed by litigation, tax, labor and employment and real estate.

The monetary value of the referrals is a difficult number to assess, as many of the reported referrals show only the initial estimate, which is often very low. The ILN doesn’t have a method for capturing the future value of the referral as of yet, and so the majority of the referrals appear in the smaller valued bracket. The total valued is also believed to be under-reported, and a conservative estimate is that the total referrals could be $7.5-$10 million per six monthperiod.

Keeping track of referrals, especially in the larger firms, is very difficult and members are asked to work closely with the contact person at their firm to ensure that the firm has some knowledge of thereferrals that are occurring.

The offices of the ILN can offer to the members, another service, which is a referral from a lawyer that obtained a judgment in a community and needed to enforce the judgment in four or five locations. One method of handling this would be to go to each of the ILN contacts there and asking each of them to handle it, but a more effective way of handling this is to go directly to ILN, itself, and have it delegated appropriately.

ILN would simplify the process by getting those locations squared away and ensuring that the job gets done,

acting as the facilitator on a multi-jurisdictional problems.

The ILN officers had visited over 20 firms in 2007/2008, which he noted is a very important part of its recruitment.

The response is tremendous, even at firms who are knowledgeable about the ILN, because it gives the partners a chance to sit down with the organization.

It should be added that the referral request is a six month snapshot, as an example, a referral will come in and will develop only $5,000 worth of fees by the time the request is circulated, but could turn into $150,000 matter over the next year. The referral report doesn’t capture to what extent the referrals lead to additional business from that client or relationship and that the ILN has worked to come up with different ways to capture the data. The ILN

Administration can accept referral reports at any time and reflect that approximately 20% of the referrals lead to ongoing client relationships, which is a significant amount.

Another way that ILN members are beginning to use the offices of the Administration is to market their services to existing or potential clients to show the global reach of their firm through the ILN. The Administration has been contacted by firms who are having client meetings and would like to express the capabilities of member firms in the jurisdictions where their client does business. When contacted in this regard, the ILN Administration will contact the relevant firms in the group to get the information.

The ILN is proud of their website, saying that it’s a source that all ILN members use, in addition to

their partners and the outside public. Currently, the website has 50,000 hits a month, which is quite substantial.

The statistics that the Administration gets allows them to see which pages people are visiting, and these include

membership information such as the practice areas of firms, as well as the articles that members contribute to the

newsletters. These articles continue to be referenced every day, every month, and even years after the article is

written when the subject becomes relevant again.

This is a powerful, far-reaching organization of lawyers designed and implemented for the benefit of the legal community and their clients.

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Lawyers Not Behaving Badly

Social Fun Leads to Natural Networking

People, Power & Possibilities with Donna Fisher

I noticed that I was "busy" with work and life all the time and not spending quality time with friends. I was really missing feeling connected with my friends. So I scheduled a couple of get togethers; one for my women friends and one for the members of a former networking breakfast club.

In fact, I decided to revive our networking breakfast club (which many of us had belonged to for over 10 years) as a virtual networking club (yahoo group) with quarterly social gatherings.

All it took was one conversation during my quarterly visits with my financial advisor, "It sure would be great to get together with everyone from Windsor Club." Her response was "It sure would". She offered her home. We picked the date. I sent the evite and we had a wonderful event with the chance to catch up and reconnect. And now we've planned another gathering.

For my gathering of women friends, I picked a place called Path of Tea (here in Houston, Texas) where the owner conducts tea tastings for groups. I scheduled the date and time. Again, I sent an evite. And some wonderful women friends showed up for a lovely afternoon of learning about various types of teas and learning about what each other was up to in their own lives.

It's been my experience that as we bond socially, we then open doors to opportunities for each other in all areas of life. And I learned that I can create simple, easy events as a way to see my friends, have fun, feel connected and maintain my friendships (personally and professionally).

So, rather than always going to events, how about hosting your own event for some of the people with whom you really want to stay connected? Don't let networking always be about "business". Create events, opportunities and environments for connecting socially, having fun and being with people you enjoy.

_____________________________________________________________

Donna Fisher believes in the power of people to connect and communicate to create new possibilities. She is a Certified Speaking Professional, author, drummer, Nia White Belt and business owner. Author: Power Networking, Professional Networking for Dummies, People Power, and Power NetWeaving

www.donnafisher.com
Houston, TX
713-789-2484

Email: Donna

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Social Fun Leads to Natural Networking

The Best Time Is Now

Mastering the Membership Maze with Glen Gould

The signs are everywhere you turn. From inflated gasoline and commodity prices to news reports of job losses, we’re hard pressed to keep a good attitude about the economy. So if you’re one of the many that have bought into the “R” word as a reality, I have extremely good news for you. Yep, there’s an easy way to increase your business and be one of the haves in this have-not cycle.

Imagine arriving at a place where everyone (or at least nearly everyone) knows your name. You are welcomed by friends and acquaintances who are happy you’re there. Better still, most of them are ready to help you build your business and are even referring you to their family and friends. And you experience this environment several times a month.

But there’s more. This is a place where you can hone your skills as well. You’ll have the opportunity to attend educational programming at a fraction of the cost available to the public. Often you meet people here who have experiences you can learn from. You’re even introduced to the movers and shakers. You can even demonstrate your commitment to the community by serving as a leader. Your only limit is you.

Sure, this may appear to be a thinly veined cover of a shameless plug for your local chamber of commerce. And it is. But here’s why I’ve dedicated this article to the idea that you must be a member of the chamber in these challenging times.

1. You need to share your message with as many people as possible for the lowest investment of dollars. For a couple hundred bucks you’ll be a member of a business organization where you can communicate to a closed group of hundreds, if not thousands of potential customers and networking partners.
2. You need to build a network of people who are thinking of you first when they are asked by their customers, friends, family and vendors who they would recommend to provide what you’re selling. By the law of averages the best opportunity you have to fill your networking base is in a big crowd of business people – your local chamber.
3. You need to be in the know about current events and what changes may be coming that could affect future business. The chamber is the epicenter of business trends.
4. You need to be able to prove your worthiness to potential partners, vendors, customers and networking partners. The chamber affords you the opportunity to serve and thereby demonstrate your skills. What’s more, a recent survey by the Atlanta-based Shapiro Group states:

*Consumers are 63% more likely to buy goods and services in the future from a company that they believe is a member of the local chamber

*When consumers know that a business is a member of the local chamber they are 44% more likely to think favorably about it.

*Consumers who are told that a business is a chamber member are 51% more likely to be highly aware of it and 57% more likely to think positively of it reputation.

5. You need to be in a supportive atmosphere where you can see that others are still doing well and you can too. Again, the chamber stands alone as a positive voice for business.

If you’re not a member of the local chamber you owe it to yourself to join today. When you join, get involved. Volunteer to serve, attend meetings regularly and be willing to meet new people. Then you can begin to build your trusted resource network and soon you’ll reap the benefit of being a part of the best business-building network in town.

Glen Gould

glen@inspirationagents.com

770-745-5102

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The Best Time Is Now

Networking Events: Push, Pull or Repulse?

By Jason Alba
Career Transition Editor

As you network, whether you in a job search or not, do you find you typically:

a. attract people towards you, and get leads, offers and information with little effort, or

b. have to work hard to help people understand what you do and why you could work together, or why they should consider you as some kind of subject matter expert, or

c. have nice first-conversations, but hardly ever get a second or third conversation?

When I speak about personal branding, I talk about the power of a strong personal brand, and how it can create a pull marketing strategy, as opposed to a push marketing strategy. In a pull marketing strategy, people already know what you have to offer, or your value, or somehow relate what they know they want/need with what you offer. They come to you and want to engage, without any further education. Think about the things you "run into the store for" ... things like toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, bread, milk... these are things you don't need any education on, you just buy them. This is an example of a pull scenario.

In a push scenario, education is needed. Have you ever gone to a grocery story or super store (Costco or Sam's) and walked by a display table where someone is ready to let you taste a new product? Most of the products I see aren't new (salsa, tacos, some microwaveable thing, etc.), but they are new product lines for a certain brand. The person displaying the product shares all the great things about the product, why you should buy it, the price, and where to find it. You didn't go to the store looking for that product, but hopefully with their information, and a sample of the product, you'll like it and buy it. This is an example of push marketing.

I've seen very successful pull-marketing strategies executed online. In fact, on my JibberJobber blog I have a monthly recognition for people who are touting their personal brand in a way that is or should be successful. These professionals are letting others know about their professional passions, in their profession or industry. They are giving a window into their breadth and depth, and allowing others to determine if they are subject matter experts of thought leaders (or full of hot air). Many of them are building communities, and creating conversation amongst their readers. When they need something, have an announcement, want ideas, they can turn to their community, who already respects them.

I've also seen successful pull-marketing tactics at face-to-face networking events. One of the most important pull-marketing tactics in a face-to-face networking event is simply a smile. Other things, such as a nice handshake, ability to engage in conversation, initiating a conversation, and not looking around the room anxiously to see who else you can talk with (someone more important than me), help in your pull-marketing in a face-to-face event. Don't think you need to be an extrovert in order to successfully network in person. Introverts can do just fine (especially if they don't try and be an extrovert during this time).

While a push-marketing strategy is harder, there are things you can do to make it successful. Make sure you polish your "elevator pitch" or "30 second commercial" or whatever you call it. The more refined your pitch is, and the more you practice it (so it rolls off the tongue naturally), the more you should have people say "really, tell me more about that." Continually hone your elevator pitch, and work on the communication after that "tell me more" question. Stay on-brand... don't wander into stories and areas that won't help your cause, as you might just get a few minutes with someone, and you don't want to waste that time on things that won't help take your relationship to the next level.

Another critical thing to do in a networking opportunity is to ask questions, and then LISTEN. If you ask someone "what do you do?" you need to then listen, and become engaged. Part of this relationship-building process is getting (listening) as much as giving (talking), and if you can't listen you may quickly be branded as the guy/gal who just talks about himself. That's the person who no one wants to network with.

Of course, beware of repulsing others. It may be as simple as a dead handshake, bad breath, continually looking around at others, name dropping, bragging, not knowing when to shut up (or stop talking about YOU YOU YOU), telling inappropriate jokes or stories, hogging someone's entire time, following them around... the list can go on and on. Don't come across as needy or disrespectful, or your relationship may never go to the next level.

Push, pull or repulse. The difference can be subtle, but successful strategies are always planned, and on purpose. Let me know what you are doing to have a successful push or pull strategy, or what you've seen people do to repulse you! E-mail me at Jason@JibberJobber.com.

___________________________________________________________________

Jason Alba is the CEO and creator of JibberJobber.com, and author of “I’m on LinkedIn – Now What???” After a corporate downsizing impacted Jason in 2006, he experienced firsthand the difficulties of conducting a job search. Drawing on his extensive computer software and IT experience, Jason analyzed the job search process and developed JibberJobber.com, the gold standard in career management technology.

Widely acknowledged as a leading career management evangelist, Jason continues to spread the word to job seekers through his blog, JibberJobber.com/blog. He is co-author of “I’m on Facebook – Now What???”and offers tutorials on how to fulfill the role of being CEO of You, Inc.

Jason Alba is: CEO of JibberJobber.com Author of I’m on LinkedIn – Now What??? Co-author of I’m on Facebook – Now What??? Founder of CEO Training for Me Inc.

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Networking Events: Push, Pull or Repulse?

Monetizing Relationship Capital, Part 1

by Adam J. Kovitz, CEO, Founder & Publisher

Adam's section is brought to you by Salesconx.com

Last month I completed a ten-month-long epic adventure into the Laws of Relationship Capital of which (coincidentally) there are ten. The Laws are about networking theory that goes far beyond what most of us know to be networking; collecting business cards/online “friends”/connections, working rooms, etc. And while networking theory is great in helping us understand the reasons why we collect cards/“friends”/connections and work rooms, it’s not necessarily for everyone. So…breaking from the ten-month-long streak of theory, I humbly submit the practicalities and applications of how people are actually making money from their own Relationship Capital. In the first part of this series, I will focus on what you and I can do as individuals and as members of organizations to create wealth from developing our own Relationship Capital.

What is Relationship Capital?

When we think of the word “capital”, we usually think of “money” or Financial Capital, and rightfully so as Financial Capital is the basis of our current economic system. Yet www.dictionary.com defines “capital” as “any form of wealth employed or capable of being employed in the production of more wealth”. When we perform a root-cause analysis as to how Financial Capital is acquired, it comes down to two major components:

1. What we know, and
2. Who we know.

This is the Ninth Law of Relationship Capital. The good news is that we have made considerable progress in valuating the “what we know”, there by deriving a more pure form of capital called “Intellectual Capital” and is now being used to valuate the true wealth of companies and individuals for purposes of mergers & acquisitions (M&A), stock offerings and for purchasing/selling. To a lesser degree, however, have we made advances in valuating the “who we know” into the other pure form of capital: “Relationship Capital”.

Evidence of the Less Understood Wealth Generator

Just because we still don’t completely understand Relationship Capital or have even begun to scratch the surface of its potential, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Examples exist everywhere of how we consciously or subconsciously valuate Relationship Capital everyday to make life’s decisions:

• Doing favors for family and friends – leveraging our own network of closest contacts to help us with things that either make us money (like getting a friend to help you get you a job) or save us money (having your general contractor son-in-law fix your house, without charging you for the labor)
• Rewards programs – companies understanding that strong relationships equal revenue reward their network of customers by providing incentives (usually in the form of points) that can be redeemed for products and services
• Investing in a new venture – people with high levels of Relationship Capital have an aura of believability and credibility. One of the first things an investor will look at when determining whether or not to invest their own Financial Capital into a new venture is the perceived level of Relationship Capital of the Management Team. Think about it; would you rather put own money into a new tech start-up founded by Bill Gates and Steve Jobs or one founded by John Smith and Mary Jones? Why?
• Hiring – aside from the degrees and certifications that typically make up the based requirements for some jobs, most that also require more “interpersonal skills” evaluate candidates based upon their believability and credibility. This is especially true for sales professionals who are often asked to “bring their own contacts” to the job.

Relationship/Network Mapping

When a public speaker prepares to address an audience, most experts agree that it is best to “understand the audience”. The same is true for effective networkers. So how do effective networkers “understand their network”? By mapping their network. Think of an organizational chart for a corporation…this a simple way by which they map out their own internal network. The science of networking, social network analysis, championed by such folks as Valdis Krebs maps networks using such software known as InFlow which allows organizations to map out their own internal and external networks. The software allows for what if? analyses to determine things like the effects of key employees leaving the company on knowledge transfer and succession planning.

Effective networkers do not necessarily need such sophisticated software but do their own mapping by analyzing their own key contacts. I do an exercise with groups when I discuss planning their own networks in which I ask them to choose five people that they know. Once chosen, I ask them to rank the “signal strength” of each relationship on a scale of 1 to 10. The higher the number means the better the relationship. Key indicators of a “better relationship” are typically determined by:

1. Frequency of contacts with the individual (via phone, instant messenger, in person meetings, etc.)
2. Average time spent with the individual
3. Known results achieved through such a relationship, including
1. Financial Capital generated and/or saved
2. Jobs realized
3. Intellectual Capital transferred and/or utilized
4. Levels of emotional support
5. Time taken to respond to requests for help
6. Social acceptance and/or affinity
7. Feelings of love, affection and/or respect

Maximizing Our Network Portfolio

Mapping our network is the first step to creating wealth by leveraging Relationship Capital. It gives us a baseline for seeing what we have. For many of us, we have only two choices if we are not getting the results we want with our current network portfolio:

1. Expand it, or
2. Upgrade and/or maintain it.

Why the term “portfolio”? Back in 2004 I made a startling realization for myself as I was researching networking organizations across the globe – every network is an asset. In the popular book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter define an “asset” as an item that produces revenue. This means that a network is no different, in theory, than a real estate property, stock, bond, mutual fund, etc. Like traditionally-recognized assets, networks:

• Require an investment (usually of money, more often of time) in order to achieve a return
• Are managed by those who are competent enough to add value to the bottom line, and
• Have a constantly-evolving portfolio of holdings.

Quantitative Approaches: Expansion

The Third Law of Relationship Capital states that one of the ways to build Relationship Capital is to increase the amount of relationships one has. Just like we mind our Financial Portfolio and occasionally see fit to add to the overall diversity of holdings, we can expand our Networking (Relationship) Portfolio by:

• Attending more offline networking events – this means getting out of “cave-dwelling mode” as fellow TNNW writer, bestselling author and Founder of BNI, Ivan Misner puts it and seeing more people. In his book, The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret, Ivan discusses making oneself visible as a means of achieving credibility. The more credibility one has, the more Relationship Capital (Ivan calls it “profitability”) one has.
• Collecting more business cards – at events, the more one collects, the more opportunity one has to expand their network. Effective networkers will enter or scan the cards collected into a contact relationship management (CRM) system like Outlook, ACT! or Goldmine.
• Making more “friends” online – thanks to new online venues like LinkedIn, Facebook and Myspace, people are expanding their networks in ways they have not before. This has become a viable alternative, if not adjunct to offline networking. While I’ve found that most people will connect with you as a “friend”, there is less depth to a relationship, although the key indicators of a better relationship as stated above do apply and deep relationships do have the potential of forming.
• Joining/Participating in more new networks – the more new networks to which you become active, the more people you will meet – it’s the law of statistical probability and it has been employed by sales and marketing professionals since there were sales and marketing professionals.

Qualitative Approaches: Upgrading

The Fourth Law of Relationship Capital states that we can increase our Relationship Capital by bolstering our current relationships through further enhancing positive perceptions of ourselves. Just like we would put additional money into assets that are currently performing well for us (or we think might start performing well for us) in our Financial Portfolios, we can upgrade and/or maintain our Networking (Relationship) Portfolio by:

• Increasing frequency and length of contact with key relationships – this could mean regular calls, checkups, outings, etc. When we want to do something special for our family, instead of buying more things like toys for the kids or items for the house, we can also invest in special outings like day trips and picnics or family vacations to encourage bonding. In business, this can mean after hours parties, team building retreats or golf games.
• “Sweetening the pot” – companies offer incentives all the time to reward its customers for their years of patronage or for just “switching over” to them. This can include discounts on pricing, value added services, and promotional items.
• Minding the “golden rule” – Human Relations 101 says to treat people the way we want to be treated. The studies of customer service, hospitality and generally being of service to others goes a long way to build positive flow of Relationship Capital, especially when we “walk our own talk”
• Following up – Sending thank you notes, recognizing others for their work and calling people back after you’ve had a pleasant first meeting in person go a long way to ensuring that the business cards/online friends become more than just names that get forgotten (Relationship Capital goes to zero – Fifth Law of Relationship Capital for those keeping track). You wouldn’t want to be forgotten would you?

If we begin to look at Relationship Capital the same way we look at Financial Capital, we can almost imagine having Relationship Capital Accounts where we make deposits every time we work to improve or at least maintain our relationships while forgetting about or doing a disservice to others would be considered a withdrawal. Each network, therefore, acts like a bond fund/mutual fund/hedge fund in which we can both build potential for and get fantastic returns on our Relationship Capital.

Next month we will look at those whose business is networking. The networking industry is alive and well and these creators and brokers of networking assets make a living from helping you and I earn the best return we can on our Relationship Capital. Stay tuned!

The Emergence of the Relationship Economy

Relationship Capital is the cornerstone of the Relationship Economy, which RNIA defines as an “economic system in which Relationship Capital influences the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services.” I am proud to have contributed discussion of the Ten Laws of Relationships Capital to the upcoming book The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, now out as an eBook and in hardcopy. With a forward written by Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame), it is being considered a “must read” for anyone responsible for the strategic direction of their business. If you would like to purchase your own copy of The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, please click here.

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Monetizing Relationship Capital, Part 1