Blog Post: Stay Connected

Most of us accept the fact that networking is a great way to grow a business and secure our next position, but we do a terrible job of staying connected when we are working.  I find it disturbing when looking back at the times I needed to network for a new position – The realization that I had lost touch with my network over the past 3, 5, or 10 years because I did a terrible job of keeping up with my contacts while employed.  Just as your employees are the most valuable asset in your firm, your contacts are your most valuable personal asset when needing to build your business or network for a new position.  Take advantage of your network to grow your business and work through challenges in your company.  The following are some tactics that can be used while you are gainfully employed as an executive, business owner, or front line employee to maintain an existing network and add new contacts that can help you with your goals.

1.)   Network every day – It can take as little as 15 minutes at the beginning of each day to call one of your network contacts and catch up.  Don’t wait until you need something… see how they are doing and explore any ways that you can be of assistance to them.  By doing this you can reconnect with 20-30 of your contacts each month, and feel good doing it.

2.)   Pay it forward – I take the approach of helping those in my network anytime possible.  While it would be nice to have reciprocity in the relationship, it is not realistic that everyone in you meet and help will be able to immediately provide you with support.  I have found that a “pay it forward” approach has come back to help me in the future.  It may not be next week or next month, and in some cases it has been many months later, but it does come back in the future in most cases.

3.)   Attend Networking Events – Find a networking meeting that supports your industry or an interest you have.  There are many associations that provide great content during their meetings, and also provide an opportunity to network with likeminded people.  An example is the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), which is a networking group focused on company growth through mergers & acquisitions as well as organic business growth.  The meetings tend to be over a lunch or after hours, so it makes it easy to schedule time to make meetings.  Focus on meeting a minimum of five new people at a monthly meeting and your network will grow by 60 contacts a year.  It is a great way of focusing on growing your networking and by attending different association functions you can diversify your network with contacts from a wide range of backgrounds and work experience.

4.)   Us a Social Networking Site – There are a large number of business related social networking websites.  One that I have used for years is LinkedIn, and it is a great tool to build an on-line version of your network.  Your online network allows you to search for contacts at companies you are focusing on for a job search or business development.  It allows you to see who in your network is connected to key people at the target company.  I only have a few hundred in my LinkedIn network, which provides an extended network of over 4.3 million people throughout the world.  Invite any new contacts to be in your network and you will be surprised how quickly your extended network grows.

5.)   Have fun – I used to dread networking events, because there were so many times that it just felt like I was interrupting a conversation.  Networking events are meant to meet new people and everyone at these events expects to meet new contacts.  Only spend a few minutes with each individual to explore areas of potential mutual interest, get a card and commit to a follow up meeting over coffee.

6.)   Follow up – If you tell someone that you will call them, then do it within the next couple of days of meeting them.  Make arrangements to meet at a coffee shop or for lunch within the next week.  You can learn a lot about someone in a 45 minute conversation and most people you meet at networking events will work their schedule to make a meeting possible.

Don’t wait until you need help to reach out to your network… be proactive and continue to develop your contacts.  Enjoy reconnecting with those you worked with in the past and take a “pay it forward” approach to networking.  You will find it a great way to build a business as well as developing a safety net.

 

Larry Turner is CEO of Roundhouse Advisors, Inc. and has over 25 years experience growing, starting up, repositioning, and revitalizing organizations. Roundhouse Advisors is a consulting practice focused on helping businesses increase enterprise value in all stages of company life cycle. For additional information visit www.RoundhouseAdvisors.com