10 Networking Tips for Introverts

An article from Internet Word Magic by Michelle Howe
As an entrepreneur you are encouraged to get out there and network. Make contacts and start building relationships by attending networking meetings and promoting your business.

This sounds like a good idea until you actually arrive at the networking meeting. Then the self-doubt and fear sets in. According to an article in Psychology Today, “48 percent of people identify themselves as shy.”  Is it any wonder that networking is difficult for many entrepreneurs?

Even if you don’t consider yourself shy, networking is a challenge.  How many of us really feel comfortable walking into a room of strangers and starting a conversation?  Except for those few souls who love to “work a room,” the rest of us struggle to fit in.  We revert back to that little kid on the first day of class at a new school.

But, it doesn’t have to be this way. You can learn to feel comfortable networking if you change your outlook. Here are ten tips to help you become more of a social butterfly:

1. Understand that most of the people around you are also feeling awkward. Shy people are focused on themselves and falsely believe that everyone is focused on them too. Wrong. They aren’t thinking about you; they’re thinking about themselves.
2. Give yourself time to feel comfortable in a situation. Get to networking events early, before the main crowd shows up. Strike up a conversation with a few people and build your confidence.
3. Listen to discussions before you jump in. Get a feel for the conversation and then contribute when it seems right.
4. Ask questions when you first meet someone and get them to talk about themselves and their business. Make them the center of your attention.
5. Don’t insist on talking about yourself and what you do. Go into networking with the attitude of gaining more information about the people in the room.
6. Don’t try to sell your products or services. Networking is for building relationships, not selling. When someone asks you what you do, that doesn’t mean she wants a sales presentation.
7. Learn how to describe what you do in 30 seconds or less.
8. Always ask someone how you can be of help to him or her and really mean it.
9. He who collects the most business cards or gives away the most business cards at a networking meeting is not the winner. Having a business card means nothing if you weren’t able to personally connect with that person.
10. Plan ahead and have a specific purpose when you attend a networking event. Rehearse the questions you want to ask and know where you want the conversation to go.

One of the best ways to build your business is to build relationships with other business owners. People want to do business with people they like and trust. Use a networking event as an opportunity to get to know people better and find out how you can help them grow their business. Your networking will be successful once you start looking at it as a way to help others.

© 2005 Michelle Howe

Selfless Networking Gets Results

 A friend of mine told me a story about how visiting a speed networking event produced to a highly promising business referral. He visited a speed networking event in a neighbouring town where he was hoping to launch his services. He spent about £10 on the speed networking event and another £25 on lunch.

One of the colleagues he met works for a youth enterprise scheme, which aims to give youngsters some experience of the business world by giving coaching sessions and seminars in schools. Now my pal is a former youth worker and, therefore, running a business mentoring session would be like rolling off a log, so he volunteered. He arranged to meet his new colleague, to go through the inevitable documentation that anyone who walks within ten yards of a youngster has to go through.

Three days before the meeting was due to take place, the youth worker called him and in the course of the conversation it emerged that she had dealings with company that he was considering approaching. He arranged for a meeting for him the very same day and a s a consequence he was able to secure a contract, effectively jumping the queue ahead of other interested parties.

Needless to say the product my friend is offering suited the needs of his new client far better than that of his competitor. Howe the whole rigmarole of cold calling sending a letter and arranging a one-to-one was avoided simply because of a positive referral offered by somebody to whom he had offered support.
Follow the link to get business networking now in Hull.

Netmanners

Blog posts this week have focussed on basic good manners in the world of online networking. To round this off I have found an excellent site called Netmanners. It touches on a wide range of topics concerning Netiquette.

The article on when to send thank-you e-mails is basic stuff that we can all sometimes forget.

Netiquette

A whole host of advice on business networking is to be found on the internet, hopefully some useful stuff has also appeared on this blog.  E-networking using twitter or LinkedIn provides its own set of possible pitfalls for the unwary. Here are three tips I have gleaned from colleagues recently.

1. Make sure you actually know someone before inviting them to make a connection. Having someone's e-mail address is not the same as having met them. If I meet someone for the first time I invariably follow up with an e-mail. If they reply I invite them to link-in. If a friend or colleague passes my details to someone else, I wait for them to invite me or asks our mutual acquaintance to approach them on my behalf. An invitation from a virtual stranger is like SPAM.

2. Be honest about why you are asking for an introduction. If you want an introduction to someone who may be a potential client or link to a potential client then tell your mutual contact that's why. Nothing worse than being linked to someone on false pretenses and trust can evaporate  just as quickly as links are built.

3. Reciprocate before receiving.  Offer recommendations to people who have helped you or offered you a good service. They will be inclined to affect introductions for you and won't feel taken for granted. Spend one period a week going through your contacts to see if you can offer an introduction to a friend. Showing a pro-active interest in a colleague's needs will always make them think about you.

"It's Not Who you Know, It's Who they Know"

This quote comes from an interview I came across this evening. I'm not going to add anything. It's worth a read.

Member Spotlight: Pearson Park Hotel Hull

The Pearson Park Hotel is a founding member of Business for Breakfast East Yorkshire, serving as the venue for our Wednesday and Tuesday Meeting.

The Pearson Park was an obvious choice for BforB for 3 reasons:

• It's close to the centre of town and easily reached from Beverley and East Hull. Anyone coming from Anlaby or Kirkella can reach it easily via Spring Bank and Princess Avenue.

• It has none of the disadvantages of city centre locations everywhere, Parking is easy, either in the car parks or around the perimeter of Pearson Park. And it's free!

• Service and food are excellent. I've had Christmas lunch there on at least two occasions and it's one place where you know that you get value for money. So many Xmas venues do not give good value.

Though not the biggest Pearson Park is Hull's most attractive park, and makes a relaxing venue for an overnight stay. The bars and restaurants of Princess Avenue and Newland are a short walk away and the city centre is a short taxi ride. To be honest, most colleagues of mine who have stayed have been happy to eat in the restaurant or have a pint on the front terrace overlooking the park.

Above all the staff and are helpful and friendly, Anne-Smith Brady the General Manager and Lee have been a great help to BforB since we started there. Here's the link to the website of this lovely venue.

Don't Let This Happen To You

On Friday I had the pleasure of speaking to Will Kintish, whose eponymous website gives a wealth of business networking tips. His company offers a large range of courses to assist businesses in face-to-face and on-line networking.

I paid particular attention to this networking tip entitled "Don't Let This Happen to You", which was highly relevant to the previous entry on this blog. Will gives excellent advice on being prepared for any meeting and ensure that the agenda, style and tone of the meeting are understood by all parties. Failure to do so can lead to embarrassment.