by Karl Smith
Whatever you do today you need relationships with others to help you find work or customers now and in the future or resources, information and support. Who is currently in your network? How recently have you contacted them? Have you reflected on their roles in your life? Early this year, I met Johann Oostenhuizen during the celebrations for International Networking Week. Johann is a business developer and we took time out to understand each others personal and business objectives. We had five meetings, telephone contact and we continue to have wonderful email interaction. We had two brainstorming sessions simply aimed at sharing contacts to open doors and we proactively promote each other. I introduced him to a number of my “centers of influence” and he has put me in touch with people in his network. During the latter part of this year, I included Johann in a roundtable discussion aimed at bringing people – who have something in common – in my network together.
Then there was Ann (not her real name) who was referred to me by one of my clients because she is a part of his network. Ann had just started her business and my client felt that Ann may benefit from my contacts and expertise. Ann has cancelled our initial appointment and our second appointment but she calls me as and when she needs clarification on legislation in which I have expertise. This relationship is a one way relationship and it does not meet the requirements for my definition of networking i.e. “to establish relationships of mutual benefit, based on honesty, trust and sincerity”. As you can see, networking is more than doing lunch, attending association meetings and making a lot of phone calls. Ann drains me, she uses me, she uses my valuable time and she uses my knowledge. What a price to pay!
Then there is one of my key service providers. Pete (not his real name) has promised that he can help me. When we started our relationship – by the way I have educated him on my business philosophy, namely building mutually beneficial relationships – I informed him about my expectations and he confirmed that he can deliver the job. He then delegated the responsibility to staff who did not understand my needs and expectations. I invested hours at his office to educate the staff. Pete issues his bill immediately after they eventually delivered the service and expects immediate payment. Pete has a high staff turnover and I continue to drive to his offices to educate new appointees about my needs and how their service fits into my business growth strategy. Is this a valuable contact? You can be the judge. I regard key service providers such as attorneys, web developers, financial advisors, accountants etc as a vital part of your network! Why because they are instrumental to your business success through the service they provide and the referrals they can direct your way and vice versa.
So what is my point? Take an audit of your current network. Why? Because they are either kind of people who will help you to achieve your goals in one way or another, or they just want something from you or they remain “neutral”. Let me conclude this article with a few questions – I like to ask questions in my presentations and articles because I want my audiences to reflect…I want them to grow…I want them to change because if you do the same things the same way, then you will get the same results – Who do you know really well and get along with? Who do you know less well, but would like to know better? Who have you lost touch with? Who should you know, but don't yet? Who would you love to meet? Who do you want to have less to do with in the future? What does this suggest you might want to do about the people in your network? Think of some ways in which you could benefit some of them - for example, by introducing them to each other for their mutual benefit. Finally, be willing to approach your network for introductions, information, support etc yourself when you need it. If you have been sincere and generous in how you have built and maintained these connections, people will be eager to repay you if they can. Your relationships are important both in your personal life and your work life.
Karl Smith, the founder of Business Networking South Africa, is a powerful self-improvement speaker, entrepreneur, coach and author of “Beyond The Business Handshake: Dare To Build High-Trust Business Relationship”. Visit www.businessnetworkingsouthafrica.co.za to see Karl in action, see what Karl’s clients says, book Karl to speak or to do in-company training, attend a public event, subscribe to his newsletter or to use the free networking resources. Karl acknowledges the expert opinion of other commentators in drafting this article.
For more information, please visit Karl's TNNW Bio.
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