Jan 11, 2008

How To Build A Huge Network Without Traveling Anywhere

One of the questions I get asked the most when it comes to networking is how I get to know so many people so quickly. I can tell you the primary reason: I don’t travel to anywhere to do my networking anymore. I do it all online, and much more effectively than I ever could by shuffling luggage over to seminars or networking events. It’s a lot easier than the traditional method of networking, and by the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll know how to do it too.

First, Why “Old” Networking Styles Will Never Die

There will be some people who think I’m about to go on a rant and tell people to abandon face-to-face (FTF) networking. Those people would be wrong. FTF is here to stay because it works, and in a significant number of situations, it’s your only bet. Multi-million dollar deals will still be made in FTF situations, on the golf course, at dinner, or over drinks. That’s never going away, and you’ll do well to leverage that as much as possible. But FTF is only one little slice of the networking pie. Failing to leverage the power of the keyboard will only slow your business growth.

3 Painful Limits Of Face-To-Face Networking

As effective as FTF networking is, it’s often slow and requires a lot more follow-up than it should. Consider these three limitations that an FTF strategy locks you into:

1. Getting access to your target contacts in the first place. If you’re aiming high (and you should be), the people you’re trying to connect with are likely to have some competition around them – other hopeful networkers who are vying for a slice of the targets’ time. It’s likely you’ve been at events where you just couldn’t get in front of the people you wanted to speak to, no matter how hard you tried.
2. Getting your target contacts to focus on you. If you’re at an event and do manage to speak to the people you want to connect with, it’s likely that they will have other things on their mind: namely, the things they want to get out of the event. Or how much work they have left at the office. Or how they wish they were home with their kids instead. A million things could be going through their minds during the brief opportunity you have to talk to them, and each of those things is going to dilute your ability to be memorable.
3. Getting your target contacts to continue a conversation with you after the event. During the event, your target contact is going to meet a lot of people. Chances aren’t stellar that they are going to pick up a conversation with you after the event is over. They will have a million things going on when they return home, and unless a conversation with you will take one of those things off of their plate, getting back to you will likely become “something they’ll get around to when they have the time.” You know how that ends.

Again, I’m not criticizing FTF networking because you’ll be want to use it when appropriate. But in many cases, online networking can go a lot faster.

How To Use Online Networking To Overcome Those 3 Limits

Here’s a simple, “spiral up” strategy for rapidly growing your online network starting today. It relies heavily on the “givers get” philosophy I wrote about earlier and it’s incredibly effective.

1. Look at your current warm contact list, the people who you can touch base with freely at any time, and who would feel comfortable receiving referrals from you. Shoot them an email and ask them what they’re up to these days. Get to know the projects they’re working on, and find out what issues and needs they currently have that are holding them back.
2. If you know of people who can help them out, offer to make an email connection for them. They’ll likely say “Hell, yes!”
   1. If you don’t know of anybody yet, let them know that you’re always meeting new people, and you’ll keep an eye out in case you run across someone who can add value to their business. They’ll appreciate the gesture. Keep your eyes out, and when you find a good contact, then go to step 3.
3. After the “Hell, yes,” send an email to the two contacts, doing these two critical things:
   1. Introduce each of them to each other and give some relevant background for each of them.
   2. Explain why you’re connecting them – in other words, what you think each contact can contribute to the other.
   3. Ask them both to keep in touch to let you know if the connection is useful.
      (At this point you’ll probably get an appreciative reply.)
4. Afterwards, follow up with each of them and ask if there are any other types of people you can connect them with. In that same email …
5. Let them know you’re expanding your network. Then ask them if, given what they know about you and your projects, they know anyone that they might want to introduce you too. The important thing: Ask for an email connection, similar to the one you sent for them, rather than a verbal one. The reason you want an email introduction is twofold:
   1. First, because you can ask the sender to highlight the most relevant details about you and how they can add value to the recipient’s business, and
   2. Second, because you can later reply to that email with as much relevant information as you can after you’ve done some research on the person. That gives you a lot more leverage than being on the phone making small talk.

You can repeat this process with your new contacts over and over again to move up the networking “food chain.

The Verdict Is In: Givers Get

These five simple steps have allowed me to amass a solid contact list of people who add value to my business and can add value to the businesses of others. Building a network this way ensures that everyone in it is receptive to me and sees me as an adder of value to their business. And that’s where you want to be.

Remember, the #1, unbeatable way to stay memorable and top-of-mind for a contact is to make some aspect of their life/business better. That makes you unforgettable. So, use these five simple steps and you’ll overcome the three limits of FTF networking:

• Instead of struggling to get face time with someone, you’ll have a nice warm introduction that is meaningful and relevant to the recipient,
• Instead of fighting for focus, the relevance of the introduction will capture the attention of the recipient, and
• Instead of hoping for a follow up, you’ll be able to reply to your CC’d email introduction and add additional relevant information, as well as ask for a quick phone call to get to know each other.

Now It’s Time To Put It Into Practice For Yourself

Contact one person a day for the next five business days and get a taste for just how well this system works. Be sure to post your success stories in the comments, too, so I can see what results you’re getting. Get to it!

And if you’re new to this blog, why don’t you sign up for email updates (or the RSS feed) so you get all the articles in this better networking series?

You know what to do,

Dave