Networking Thursday: Start defining your network

I’m trying something new here, so bare with me on this one. A series of blogposts about networking and how you can use it to build a better customer relationship. Hope you like them.

It’s probably a bad habit I learned from my Medieval history professor, but I believe everything starts with defining what it is. We (fear) can never understand what we don’t know. The goal is to clearly state what you want to do and how you’re going to try to achieve it. It’s your networking roadmap. Especially when you’re stressed for time, looking at the roadmap is a huge timesaver.

Ask yourself some really basic questions:
· Why do I need to network? Because you have to should actually be reason enough.
· What do I hope to achieve? Generate more business, get more new clients, improve relationship with current clients,…
· What keeps me from doing it? You’re shy, don’t have the time, can’t find the right tools, don’t know how,…
It’s an easy mistake to think networking is all about business and in a way it is, otherwise we wouldn’t waste our time doing it. But the idea of networking is getting help and helping eachother in any way possible. Don’t network for the wrong reasons and be in it for the long run.

Remember that you don’t have to have a fixed set of rules. Every relationship is different, but defining what you want from it keeps you on course. Do you want information, feedback, do you want to learn or do you want to know how to reel someone in. Take a few seconds before you ‘enter a room’ to think about what you want out of this networking opportunity and how it’ll take you one step closer towards your goals.

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