Networking can reduce your workload; when you network properly you will have all aspects of your business in the trusted hands of people you know. Don’t wait until you need a lawyer, tax accountant, or PR representative. Network today, nurture the relationships, build friendships and delegate work with them as needed.
Some people think of networking as making connections so that you can use them, the general way of thinking is establishing a win/win-mutually beneficial relationship.
The way I think of networking is finding friends in all sorts of areas, then nurturing the relationships the way I would any friendship. I suppose one of the reasons I never feel tired from work is because I like everyone I work with. I make a point of only associating with people I like, this includes people I’m working with. It’s not hard to do, but it does take groundwork, though, overall it saves time and energy which preserves mental health, relaxes emotions and reduces the workload.
Network:
Let’s use lawyers as an example. There could be say, seventy lawyers in your town, twenty of them may cross your path at events, or from family, or a friend’s connection, or maybe at your morning coffee shop, out of those twenty there will likely be five to seven you have the opportunity to talk to. Out of seven there are sure to be two you like, out of five at least one you like.
I have a rule, I don’t work with people I don’t like, there aren’t many people I don’t like, but there are a lot of people I don’t like to work with. When I work this way, I’m much happier and more productive for the people I like.
I only work with people I like.
Part of the reason is that the people I work with are more than just people I work with. They are friends I talk to, learn about and enjoy, we spend a lot of time together so we should be compatible.
Where to meet:
Online- Online events, LinkedIn, or FB groups, comment sections of industry specific posts on social media and YouTube.
Events- Eventbrite, Meetup, industry events, cultural and religious events, chamber of commerce events.
Disclaimer, most events are free, don’t pay for them until you have exhausted all the free stuff.
Make your network your Friends:
Professional friends aren’t vulgar, they don’t discuss sex, or ideas their friends may find offensive; follow this rule and find that it’s a lot easier to retain professional friendships. If you’re sensitive about the political, or ideological values and the religion of the people you like, then be polite with how you mention what you think and don’t criticize them for what they think.
You can slowly distance yourself and let them go if they don’t meet your criteria. Do not be rude, do not be aggressive, or offensive, be graceful.
Another rule is, try not to talk about anything other than them- what they do, what sort of connections they are looking for, who do they love? who are their kids? do they have pets? what are they passionate about and have fun with them.
I don’t talk politics, or ideas with them until I get to know them better. If you’re pickier it’s going to take you extra time to find people who match your qualifications.
How to master the Break Away:
In person breakaway:
Introduce them to someone you already met, be polite, then walk away to someone else.
Create a circle by introducing them to someone else and staying, then as anyone walks by ask them to join the group in a discussion about some random topic, maybe if they prefer strawberry ice cream, or chocolate. Since I’m an American in Europe I always get questions about politics which ends up being super fun conversations. I work in technology so when I was in New York they would be questions about blockchain, or AI. There are so many options to open up conversations, just be yourself with an extra dose of polite.
Online breakaway:
Politely let them know that you think they are very nice and would be a great fit for someone else in the group, introduce them to that person. If you don’t know someone in the group for them then find someone, meet everyone you can to find someone to match that person. That’s your mission, your mission is to be graceful and help others. When they meet that right match for their personality and need they will appreciate you and then you can move on. I find that when I help others this way I find my matches quicker.
Be graceful, that means be polite, be kind, be empathetic.
If you’re just going to be rude and self-serving, acting with hurry about any of this, then don’t bother because you’re going to burn down bridges and people won’t like you for long. I know plenty of people who do that and they end up working so much harder than I do.
Nurturing:
Nurturing the relationship is the best part. When you have found people, you enjoy this is easy. it’s easy to find time for someone you really want to talk to and hang out with. Go with them to their industry events so that you can meet more people in their industry. I work in technology, but a friend who’s a lawyer introduced me to legal events. There are three big annual ones in New York, two are free, one costs money. I’ve gone to these events and found clients. Since I had a friend with me they were able to introduce me, what I do, why I’m the best IT consultant ever and why all their friends need to introduce me to their company’s CIO and IT manager right away. It’s worked out for some long-term relationships and a few nice sized sales.
Delegation:
Some call it outsourcing and that’s a fine word for strangers, but it’s not the word for the team you have developed through networking. Ideally your network will include all the regular business requirements: tax attorney, patent attorney (if you need one), CPA, book keeper, city employees, state government employees… all those serious sorts of people.
I travel fulltime, but frequent the same cities. When living in a city for a month, or three I make sure to get to know a police officer, my local embassy employees and any other government employees I can, one never knows what they might need in the future. By looking for these people I’ve made some fantastic friends
Delegation, for example:
You have a new realty firm in a mid-size city like Austin, or Miami. You have a lot of competition, you need to find an edge. When you go to industry events, or local events you find a lot of the same people all looking for a sale, or pat on the back.
You need something new, you need to meet some web designers, some public relations people, some people in property development. You aren’t looking for a sale, you aren’t looking to show listings, or talk about when they want to sell their house. You want to listen to them, do all the normal being graceful stuff and once you have selected the people you like, you want to discuss how you can be different from your competition.
Can the web designer help you build a website that will feature development properties? Would that be helpful for your new developer friends? Does your PR friend think that they can help make your company shine to the press as a way that developers can feature future projects to get the community excited and preemptively avoid any bad publicity that comes from future issues. Now, that might have all taken a year, but if you have a couple of developer friends how many sales do you think you will be closing? I’d say a lot. All you did was have a whole lot of fun and made some friends.
Work smarter, not harder, by making friends who can help you, help them in the process and everyone wins. This isn’t just a win/win, it’s not a mutually beneficial relationship. Most of the people I know who do those end up doing way more work than what’s being done for them. Your first focus is finding the friends who will be in the industries you need for your success.
You help them because they are friends, they help you because they are friends. Be bold, have grit and don’t be offended. Have fun! Subscribe for more business, sales and investing posts.
