10 attributes of confident and effective networkers - No8

Know that small talk is the most important talk. I’m sure we’ve heard many people say ‘I like to get straight to business’ or ‘I don’t like small talk’. However it’s good to remember that we can’t do big business without the small talk. Most of us like to do business we people we like and this is where we can establish the connectivity which leads to the relationships which can open the doors to unlimited opportunities. It’s in the small talk that we find out what they like, what they are like, if they’re like us, if they like us and if we like them.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

10 attributes of confident and effective networkers - No7

Are good listeners – letting the other person do most of the talking. Most people simply aren’t listening! They are thinking about what they are going to say next and they are waiting for a suitable gap to jump in with their own agenda, ideas and thoughts. We have two ears and one mouth. We should try listening twice as much as we speak. You’ll learn so much more about your prospect, their business and their needs. Not only will it help you find their pain, but it’ll ensure that when you leave a group they say “What a nice guy/lady”. That’s good for your personal brand, good for your company and good for your opportunities to business with them in the future. People love to talk about themselves, good networkers let them.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

10 attributes of confident and effective networkers - No6

Understand the power of remembering names. Whilst we are irritated or feel wounded if people forget, mispronounce or even forget our names, the opposite is also true. We feel strangely at ease with people who use our name, open or more connected to them. So switch on your attention when someone gives you their name. Hear it. Repeat it. Use it early on in the conversation. Remember it. It’s not about memory, it’s about attitude. Positive attitudes lead to positive outcomes.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

10 attributes of confident and effective networkers - No5

Have an interesting and exciting opening statement. Some people shock and some people joke, but creating a hook, any point of difference, positions you as confident and interesting. If it creates a smile, so much the better, but try to create a full-colour picture in the mind of your prospect. You’ll successfully engage in many more conversations and open many more avenues of opportunity.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

10 attributes of confident and effective networkers - No4

Make the first move when meeting new people. Most people suffer in varying degrees from some level of social inhibition. Many are simply shy. It’s normal. But most people are nice, too. So, in many cases, people are just waiting for someone else to make that all important first move. So if you are the person who can make the first move, who knows what you can unlock? If you don’t make the effort, you’ll simply never know.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

10 attributes of confident and effective networkers - No3

Have a giving and abundance mentality. By listening to others we can hear where there are opportunities for us to ‘help’. If you find that you can’t provide a solution yourself, don’t simply shut down. Surely you’ll know someone from your own network who can be referred. Your generosity won’t go unnoticed. Abundant harvests can only come after many seeds are planted. In our Hi Tech world think of your prospect ‘’WII-FY’; think ‘what’s in it for you’ and see how you or a colleague can help.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

10 attributes of confident and effective networkers - No2

See all new contacts as potential business opportunities. Everyone we meet has needs in their businesses, as in their lives. Also, everyone knows someone who... So provided we are clear in answering that key question “What do you do?” and provided we can offer a welcoming smile and we can begin conversations that create the connectivity with new people which can lead on to all important new opportunities.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

10 Attributes of Confident and Effective Networkers - No1

Now that we've looked at the common mistakes, lets take a look at the 10 attributes of confident and effective networkers.

Recognise that there are opportunities everywhere. Engaging with people, wherever we find ourselves, starts the relationship building process. Who knows where conversations can lead to? “Keeping to yourself” is simply bad for business.

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

The Ten Biggest Mistakes of Business Networkers - Part 10

No10: They simply don’t follow-up

For the vast majority of us, feelings of anxiety, self-consciousness, self-doubt and fear of rejection, rise up when it’s time to pick up the phone, after the event, and make that ‘follow-up call’.

These are the very same fears and concerns that most people have when entering a room full of strangers, in an unfamiliar environment, right at the beginning of the event and it prevents many people from completing the networking cycle.

I call these people ‘Networking Criminals!’ If they know they won’t have the courage to follow-up, from the outset, then my advice is that they mustn’t go networking in the first place.

It wastes their time, it wastes their prospects time and it can sometimes do irreparable damage to their brand. It's a negative multiplier.

Just by considering the harm caused by not following-up can make it easier to pick up that phone, can’t it?

Conclusion

Considering the financial benefits that attending networking events can bring, my recommendation to business leaders is to get your people trained in the systems and processes which will make them all more confident and effective networkers. Simply ushering them out the door, invitation in hand isn't enough.

Train them in the skills and techniques essential to making this activity deliver against the true promise of it's hidden potential.

In this market, your strategy for success must be visibility.

Your teams should be accepting more invitations and getting ‘out there’ more often.

Being good at what you do is not enough in the new millennium. One has to be a business developer too.

Also, being good at what you do, but being a secret, is bad for business.

Wouldn’t it be better to build their capacity to deliver to your business an abundance of new clients, instead of just sending them out the door to a business event, and hoping for the best?

Placing a monetary value on what one new client can bring-in will make the investment in just one days training a very sound proposition, won’t it?

If you would like to get together for twenty eight minutes and a cup-of-chino to discuss how I may be able to help you unlock the full potential of your team, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Parting words

I hope you found these series of tips to be of value to your networking toolbox and that it helps to make this activity more managable and profitable for you in the future.

Please feel free to invite any of your colleagues whom you think may also benefit from these insights, to the Blog to review the series or contact me for a copy of the full article.

Wishing you all effective and profitable Networking

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

The Ten Biggest Mistakes of Business Networkers - Part 9

No9: They revert to ‘selling’ mode when they spot an opportunity

Once an opportunity has been spotted, most become their own worst enemy by changing gear from 'relationship-building' into 'selling'.

Body language shifts, the speed of the questions increases and the focus of the questions becomes narrower. Usually the ‘seller’ turns square-on to face his/her prospect and it is obvious to the prospect that they’re about to be sold to.

People love to buy, but almost everyone hates to be sold to.

The outcome is simply that they start to feel pressurized. They become evasive or simply withdraw both mentally and emotionally and shut down altogether.

To be fair, launching into sales mode is an automatic reaction for most of us, but it is one that we must be conscious of and guard against if we actually want to be successful during networking.

The selling can come later. At a more appropriate time, in a more appropriate environment.

We’ve got what we came for. We’ve spotted the need (it's not going to evaporate), and hopefully we've established a good relationship upon which we can build, in the near future.

So handling the ‘spotting-of-the-opportunity’ correctly and seamlessly needs to be prepared for. It’ll be so much more beneficial and profitable for us if we do, won’t it?

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

The Ten Biggest Mistakes of Business Networkers - Part 8

No8: They don’t listen well

We have two ears and one mouth !

Like me, I’m sure your mother told you to listen twice as much as you speak!

So it is when networking.

Through active listening, and by suppressing the continuous chatter which incessantly clutters our head, it allows us to hear and remember those priceless pieces of information which alert us to new business opportunities.

Talking too much yourself? / Distracted by other things going on around you? / Thinking about what you are going to say next instead of listening tio the answer being given?

None of the above will yield profitable opportunities. In fact you'll simply miss them.

One of the most valuable things we can give to another is our full attention. It sounds like an oxymoron, but you’ll be able sell more, by talking less and through listening harder, for longer.

You’ll agree, then, that listening is an art at which we should all be a little better, shouldn’t we?

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession

The Ten Biggest Mistakes of Business Networkers - Part 7

No7: They don’t ask the right questions in the right way

Some people can be embarrassed when it comes to asking questions. They can feel they’re being pushy or intrusive, but the simple fact is that if you’re trying to uncover the needs of your prospect and therefore seeking to find ways to help them solve their problems through using your products or services, then you have to ask good, precise questions.

Firstly, be clear on what you want to know and mentally prepare a bank of questions which will lead to your desired understanding in the shortest possible time.

Secondly, questions must be phrased in an ‘open’ manner to prevent a mono syllabic answer. This allows your prospect to get into a flow, when answering, so that they will freely liberate more information than you went looking for in the first place.

There is limited time when networking and you must use it wisely.

Recognising that questioning techniques are key tools, then, means that giving them a little thought, prior to the event is more valuable than we previously realised, doesn’t it?

Mark Perl is a leading expert on the subject of Business Networking. He specialises in SME’s, business networking for solicitors, along with CPD training for the legal profession