Successful Networking in 7 simple steps. Clare Dignall
Get business cards printed
Although we live in a hi-tech, increasingly paperless age, it’s a surprising fact that the business card is still a must-have item in the world of networking. The act of exchanging them is a rite of passage in itself, a sort of low-level ‘trade and contract’ between you and the person you’ve just met. The reciprocal movement of exchange also provides a physical ice-breaker and puts the two of you on a level playing field.
If you are networking on behalf of your employer, it’s likely you already have a business card. If you don’t, you need to get some, for without business cards, all your networking efforts will be for naught. If you are starting your own business then ensure you have business cards printed before you start networking. You may think that’s a start-up expense you could do without, but it’s imperative to have some and they needn’t cost much – the web is full of sites printing business cards at very little cost. If you are hoping to switch careers, you may want to consider printing a personal business card, so that you can prevent a job offer being sent to a work email. What’s on your business card? Remember, you may need more information for use internationally than you need in your own country. And you may need information in the language of the country in which you plan to network.
Petersfield Projects
Tony Fawkes M.A. Managing Director
Petersfield Projects
6 Manor Drive, Petersfield, Sussex P03 2PZ
T 01377 201564
M 097015 400400
W www.petersfieldprojects.co.uk
Check your ‘back office’
Before you finalize your business cards, ensure that everything you say on the card holds true. There is nothing more infuriating than typing in a web address from a business card and finding that the website is a work in progress, or (much worse) cannot be found. Such a faux pas will speak undesirable volumes about your organizational skills, so before you give out business cards, literally do what a new contact would do. Get someone to ring your phone number and ensure that it comes directly to you, send a test email to the address printed (especially if it’s new), and double-check that the web address printed is operational. It’s amazing how many people get this terribly wrong – with permanent and disastrous results.
Do you have the appropriate kit?
Networking relies mostly on your ability to listen and converse. However, if you are in a particularly visual field of business, you may want to use equipment to help illustrate what you do. The key here is making the technology work for you, not against you. It’s going to be easier to talk over a tablet than waiting for a laptop to boot up (and necessitate sitting). Do you have comfortable and professional-looking means of carrying whatever equipment you need? Can you get it in and out of its bag easily without interrupting conversation? Think about the reality of bringing hardware into a networking situation with you. It has to look good, look easy and appropriate.
What should be on your business card?
If you have a choice about what goes on your business card, you can make it say a lot about you, or the nature of your business. Be creative, but remember that the business card is an important document:
Provide your contact details: Provide your name and your job title. Then provide your (or your company’s) address, telephone number, email address and web address.
Use a horizontal orientation: Using a landscape rather than a portrait orientation will ensure you will have space to enter your full contact details.
Use a standard size: The standard A8 or 74 × 52 mm is the desired size. Annoying business cards that won’t fit neatly in a standard wallet or card holder will not be filed properly by recipients and could get lost.
Left align all text for maximum readability: Centred text can look naïve and unprofessional, and it obstructs readability.
Use one font: Stick to one font (and its related italic/bold if necessary) to prevent your business card from looking disorganized.
Check and double-check: Proofread your business card thoroughly, and ask a friend to do the same, before you send it to print. One typo in your phone number can result in a very quiet business year if you don’t notice it.
Less is more: Don’t aim to provide any in-depth company or personal information. At the very most, you could include a strapline. You will be doing the talking, not the business card. Look again at the business card here as an example.
You must put effort into planning your networking. Like any other project, you need to plan it, schedule it and monitor success. That way, you’ll spot blind alleys before time and effort is wasted, freeing you up to follow more promising leads. How you plan such a personal thing as networking is up to you. You might create a spreadsheet and enter in your goals, activities, and resulting business in it, with scheduled alerts to meet new contacts regularly. You might create a mind map connecting people and ideas in a more organic way. The choice is yours, but a few key questions will shape that plan:
What do I want to achieve for myself and my business in the long term?
Who do I want to meet to help me achieve that?
How much time/money can I spend per month?
What are my immediate networking goals at each event?
How do I measure my networking success?
Do I need different tactics for different groups?
You will have many of your own questions to add to the above, but this list may give you ideas as to how you might plan your own networking successfully.
Three tools for network planning
If you are under pressure with work or the launch of your own business, you may feel that networking doesn’t feel ‘mission-critical’ enough to waste time in its planning. If that sounds like you, then three simple tools could help you manage your networking effectively:
Scheduling: Set aside a time each week or month to plan and review your networking and block this time off in your diary. That way, you won’t feel that you must ‘find’ time amongst your other commitments – you already have it set aside. Schedule these sessions for days when you know you’ll need a break from other projects; thinking about networking and the opportunities it can bring can be a good motivator if other things aren’t going your way. If it’s in your diary, you won’t be tempted to skip planning either – networking without clear goals can be haphazard and costly.
Funding: If you are starting your own business, or are networking for personal development, it’s a good idea to factor in a monthly allowance for networking. It’s positive to think of this as a necessary start-up cost, rather than an expense you can ill afford – you want to be able to catch up with contacts for coffees and lunches without feeling that you are dipping into earnings. If a once in a lifetime opportunity comes up, having some travel funds in place means you can enjoy the experience, rather than arrive