Capitalize on Style
Appreciating how personality (introversion, extroversion, communication styles, shyness & mindset, previous learnings, attitudes, misconceptions) affect the ability to build relationships.
Be able to:
- Identify personal style
- Clarify attitudes toward networking
- Re-frame networking as teaching & giving
- Adopt leading-edge beliefs about the critical role of networking in the marketplace
Take a Strategic Approach
Targeting specific organizational & career outcomes (macro) and agenda-building for specific networking events & encounters (micro).
Be able to:
- Make informed choices about how to focus attention, time & money
- Adapt and apply the tools of networking to
- Get on board quickly
- Get the job done
- Get behind organizational initiatives
- Get the business
- Get the most out of meetings & conferences
- Get ahead
- Plan agendas to achieve maximum value from events / encounters
Envision the Ideal Network
Identifying WorkNet, OrgNet, ProNet, LifeNet contacts & appreciating the benefits, challenges, & leveraging opportunities faced in developing each of them.
Be able to:
- Correctly locate any contact in the appropiate Net
- Map WorkNet & OrgNet contacts
- Use criteria to evaluate relationships & sort them into categories, such as Start / Rev Up, Enrich, & Repair
- Plan structured next-step conversations
- Leverage opportunities from one Net to another
Develop Relationships
Seeing relationships development in 6 stages & managing the trust-building process by teaching character & competence.
Be able to:
- Use criteria to determine the stage of any relationship
- Survey & evaluate options for demonstrating character & competence
- Know how trust is broken & how to re/establish it
- Determine what to teach and learn if you want more of a relationship
- Initiate & manage the 6 follow-through conversations
Increase Social Acumen
Becoming more comfortable, confident, and professional by mastering relationship rituals.
Be able to:
- Make your name memorable
- Learn names using specific techniques
- Deal with forgotten names in a way that builds the relationship
- Know the best times to exchange business cards & how to use them to create a connection
- Easily join groups of people who are already talking
- Use specific methods to end conversations with the future in mind
- Handle awkward moments
Showcase Expertise
Using examples & stories to teach contacts about expertise, experience, talents & interests.
Be able to:
- Answer “What do you do?” in a way that makes expertise visible & memorable
- Call to mind, identify & research events & successes that teach organizational, team, or individual capabilities
- Use guidelines to construct & edit stories that highlight what you want to teach
- Recognize storytelling opportunities
- Deliver stories in a way that increases personal & organizational visibility
Assess Opportunities
Choosing optimum networking opportunities & making participation pay off.
Be able to:
- Analyze & select networking arenas to reflect your goals
- Decide if a specific group meets your needs
- Outline participation & plan how to get the most from time & money spent
- Decide when to discontinue involvement in a group
- Create a customized group to generate referrals & find resources
- Seek out & plan how to take advantage of internal networking opportunities
Deliver Value
Contributing to the organization’s networking culture & capitalizing on networking to affect the bottom line.
Be able to:
- Ask questions designed to learn about others & develop relationships
- Listen generously with a bias toward action
- Be alert for opportunities to connect your contacts & provide access to resources, talent, opportunities
- Up the ROI by bringing back business intelligence from conferences & meetings
- Encourage & support (model and mentor) a networking culture throughout the organization