by Noelle SouthwickNew England Bureau Chief
(Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut)
(Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut)
Janet Powers worked in the corporate world until about 2 years ago. Although she thought she had a large network of contacts she soon realized she needed more. Most of her contacts were internal to the large company for which she had been working. In order to be in business for herself she needed to grow her network.
It has been only a few months since Diva Toolbox was launched in July of 2008. Out of millions of sites in the United States Janet’s site ranks in the top 47,000 of favorite sites. That puts her in the top 0.6% and her rank is improving each day. She has increased unique users by over 2000%. In the process of growing the Diva Toolbox Janet has learned some things about growing a network.
Choose 3 networks
You could love blogging and spend all your time reading and writing blogs. Networking events can be the same way. You could attend so many networking events that you have little time for much else.
Initially Janet says she spent too much time running herself ragged trying to do lots of networking. Now she recognizes that being involved in too many groups can mean you seem almost desperate. She advises being really good at doing a few things.
Three groups is a manageable number of groups in which to be involved. They can be on-line groups, in-person groups or both.
Decide what you need from a networking group. Is it clients, referrals, business support, ideas or connections that you want? Once you know what you desire it will be easier to locate groups to support you. Next do some investigating, and then try some out.
You want there to be lots of people you like in your networking groups. People do business with those they like.
You want to find a group where you feel good. Since you are going to be putting your effort into these groups it is important to choose ones that fit for you. If you can find your niche and like the people there it will be better for you and for your business. Currently, Janet’s three networks are the Diva Toolbox, the eWomen Network and she is deciding between a major regional Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Women Business Owners.
“Everyone wants to be part of a community.”
Define your audience
Is your ideal client an everyday person or a businessperson? Is it an individual or a business owner? Decide who your ideal client is and then you can discover where your audience is. Put yourself in places that you are most likely to find your ideal client.
Is your ideal client an everyday person or a businessperson? Is it an individual or a business owner? Decide who your ideal client is and then you can discover where your audience is. Put yourself in places that you are most likely to find your ideal client.
As an example, the Chamber of Commerce or a BNI group would be a good place to try if your business is as a web designer or you are looking for business-to-business contacts.
Janet’s audience includes women in business, in the home or outside the home, with multi faceted lives.
Refer business to others
Think of referrals as part of your business not something you do because you are asked. Too often people are afraid to refer but partnering is important. If you are confident in what you do then it’s easy to send people who are not a good fit for you to someone else.
Janet advises having a network of people in which you feel confident and to which you can refer business. If a contact is not a fit for you, you can refer them to someone in your network. Then you have two happy people, the contact and the other businessperson. It builds the relationships you have if you refer business to someone. Also the contact trusts that you are there to serve their needs. She says referring business to others will come back to you in abundance.
“ We need other people around us.”
Diva Toolbox
Diva Toolbox was born as a way for women to help each other. It is a community built on practical advice. There is a wide variety of topics covered like business and family. The articles allow women to contribute information to the community and at the bottom they can promote their business for free. Janet says it’s your neighbor. It’s an opportunity to share information in a casual way like you would with a friend over your kitchen table. Janet feels if you have some experience then you probably know something that can help others. The Diva Toolbox community shares information in a way that’s practical for anyone.
Contact information:
Janet Powers, President of Diva Toolbox, LLC
www.divatoolbox.com
Janet@divatoolbox.com
Janet welcomes all The National Networker readers to share their advice and expertise on the Diva Toolbox.
“Networking is nothing more than the neighborhood you grew up in but now it’s the people you do business with.” ~ Janet Powers, President Diva Toolbox
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Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.
To subscribe for your free newsletter, go to www.TheNationalNetworker.com.
For the complete National Networker Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free, continuous RSS feed (available either by traditional RSS or by direct email), go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com.
You are also invited to click our buttons:
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