Network the Internet – Part 4 of Add Value

It seems that networking is a hot topic these days. No, not networking, as in hooking up a bunch of computers in order to do something simple like searching 57 quadrillion pages of the Internet. Google has already done that. I’m talking about relationship networking, as in hooking up with 57 quadrillion other people (no, not that kind of hooking up!) in order to do something a lot more complicated – like grow your business.

You will find the topic of networking all around you – networking workshops, networking panels, even networking boot camps. You’ve heard of “speed dating?” Now, believe it or not, you can even sign up for “speed networking.”

Anyone in business needs to reach out to find new contacts – potential customers, potential partners, potential investors or potential hang-gliding buddies. I’m going to go way out on a limb here and guess that when you go to a networking event you have your eye out for someone who might help your business along. Maybe they know a couple of referrals for you, perhaps could be a resource to help your business grow, or even be interested enough to actually read your blog. (You can stop dreaming and forget that last one, OK? – no one is ever going to be that interested in you).

Look, I don’t want to point any fingers here, so I’ll just go ahead and admit it. I’m not a hustler or a glad-handler – and I’m not “on-the-make” all the time. But, when I go to a networking event, yes, I’m hoping to find someone who might help my business in some way.

So, when we went to the National Speakers Association convention in July, we sought out one of the masters of networking, Sarah Michel. She is such a master of networking that her company is called Perfecting Connecting – www.perfectingconnecting.com.

Networking has become the single most important life skill in determining business and personal success. Your ability to be connected within your organization and with outside contacts may very well determine your next sale, promotion, or job offer.

Sarah Michel

When we hit the convention we had our social antennae carefully groomed and our pockets stuffed with business cards – we were ready to “network” our first national NSA event with a vengeance. We stopped Sarah in the hallway and asked her, “So, Sarah, what would be your number one networking piece of advice for first timers at the convention?” She didn’t bat an eye and responded, “Find out what people need and then figure out a way that you can give it to them.”

No wonder she’s perfect. Boy, do I have a lot to learn. I don’t know marketing, I don’t know sales or cold calling. I can’t keep the company books for the life of me. But, I kinda’ thought I knew how to dole out business cards and tell people all the cool things we do. Nope, it’s not about that, said the good Ms. Michel. Not at all.

“I enjoy connecting people, but I don’t give to get. That’s ‘transactional networking,’ which is not what I’m about. I practice ‘intentional connecting.’ Intentional connecting is connecting people with the intention of helping them first,” she told us.

Does that last sentence keep ringing in your ears, as it does mine? Recently, we attended one of Sarah’s networking icebreakers at a recent convention. The assignment was simple – as people introduced themselves and told what they were looking for – we were supposed to be on the lookout for ways we could help them – referrals we might know, people who might partner or help them in some way, or resources they might use. How could we help them? Not what could we sell them.

This post is already getting too long for me to launch into my own topic of networking the Internet – and specifically, networking news alerts. So, I’ll do that in the next post – Adding Value to Your Employer – Part 4 and a Half! However, since I am going to refer to some of Sarah Michel’s approaches, your homework for the next article is to read this Sarah Michel article from a few years back (the beauty of the Internet is that it keeps this stuff) called – Perfecting Connecting: Learning to Speak the Language of Others.

Better than reading the article, however, would be to see Sarah in person – and you can this coming September 16. She’ll be at the American Business Women’s Association event in Denver, Colorado, called Conquer! Life’s Curves. Sheryl will be blogging that convention for you – and going to see Sarah – in case you miss it. There are four other great speakers on the line-up that day – so click here to see the full details and registration information – Conquer! Life’s Curves.

When I saw this quote the other day, I thought of Sarah Michel:

“We cannot hold a torch to light someone else’s path without brightening our own.” Ben Sweetland

See you next post for Networking the Internet.