E81: Connect the Dots and a Series of Networking Tips and Cheat Sheets

As many of you know, I’ve been working on my networking book. Boy, that’s been a journey of UPS & DOWNS! Fear, Anxiety, Excitement, Dreams, Reality, Unknown.. I’m literally my own 52 Flavors of Emotions. This is what happens, when you do things totally outside your NORM. I’ve always wanted to write. It’s no secret, my grammar sucks most of the time. However,  you can hire editors to make you look like a rockstar!

 

Which is even funnier because my editor, Barbara, her & I met at a Women’s Digital Networking Event here in Toronto about 2-3 years ago.  We always stayed in touch and meet up from time to time. I really had zero clue that I’d be using her to edit my book. A book was part of my curiosity list and more  importantly, it was on my BUCKET LIST!

 

I’m happy to announce that the book is in the finalization stages and called CONNECT THE DOTS! How to turn strangers into meaningful network connections. Actually, my eldest niece - the 9 year old, who is a BOOK WORM! I actually call her BELLE (from Beauty & the Beast) came up with the book name! She asked me to explain what the book is about and viola. CONNECT THE DOTS was born!

 

As some of you know, this book is inspired by my College students. The students each week would come into the class and ask about networking techniques and tactics as they were having very poor luck. I was surprised because I thought everyone knew how to do this. Each class, we’d end up spending so much time on their challenges from confidence issues resulting in that they had an accent, or that English isn't their first language to how to introduce themselves or answer ‘What do you do?’ The book wrote itself throughout the semester.

 

The goal of the book is to bring the fun and ease back into Networking and to meet interesting people. The book teaches people some techniques to build the natural ease of networking. Too many people hate networking and yet it’s a necessity of life. It’s a necessary life skill as no one gets ahead in life without a little help.

The objectives of the book are to provide:

Techniques to meet more interesting people How to craft a great intro that generates intrigue in you - and avoid rhyming off your entire CV, yup, we all know people that do that. Ice-breaker for all different aspects of your life (that are not cheesy) Remove the stress of small talk Discover different networking approaches & tactics Engage others in a fun way that is authentically you Build mutually beneficial relationships Be seen as a value creator Develop network roadmap, including leveraging social media

I interviewed lots of lots of folks to hear their amazing tips and some horror stories. In fact, some of the horror stories inspired me to write a blog - Am I networking or dating?

 

I thought in this episode I’d provide some tips, so that you can start to really optimize your networking activities.  

 

Less effort, More results! How to take the Work out of Networking!!!! As my gift to you, I created a little cheat sheet - 10 free tips to optimize the networking benefits to start getting immediate results!

 

Networking is so time consuming, so why not make it more effective? Many companies prefer employee referrals for internal roles to help them find new fresh talent and make it more enticing place to work. It’s a win-win for organizations. They save on recruitment costs and employees bringing their network to the organization becomes a great retention tool! No one is going to refer someone that they don’t know a little bit or if they can get a sense of who they are and their values. Then, it’s a bit of a game changer.

 

One key thing is that we often forget that networking is a mechanism to build relationships. We need to let people get to know, like and trust us, before introducing us to people in their network. We are an extension to their brand and their circle of their trust. Networking is a two-way street, a two-way adult conversation.

 

Common Mistakes

Scenario

Consider this

1

Networking only when you need it

Waiting to build your network, when you need it is a common mistake.  Networking is all about relationships. Relationships take time. We should be networking everyday and building this as essential business life skill.

Eating lunch with different people. You can brown bag it

2

Asking for something too soon

When you meet someone for the 1st time, do you ask if they can babysit your kids for the weekend? Or borrow their car for the weekend? Asking for something too soon is frustrating for the other person and you’ll get labelled as an opportunists or a used-car sales person. Networking is the beginning of a relationship/conversation. You need to start by giving before receiving to build trust and rapport.  

Practice your active listening skills and become curious about them, before you ask for things

PROVIDE VALUE

4

Not staying in touch with existing networks

This is an often forgotten about area… your existing connections.  Its human behaviour to want something new, instead of looking at the old.  People move to different companies, industries and countries and they’ve increased their network.  There is that age old saying - ‘your net worth = your network’. So, get in touch with people to see how they are doing.  

LinkedIn - see how your existing network is doing.  LinkedIn provides notifications of updates Did you forget to add people? I.e. Parent’s friends/ Old Colleagues Existing contact gone very cold? Set up a google alert about them and see when they’ve published something. Use it as an engagement tool.

However, people make the same mistakes over and over again. So, I thought I’d create a cheat sheet to help you mitigate this risk and for you to look like a rock star.  I hope you enjoy this freebie and can’t wait to hear your success stories!

 

CLICK TO GET YOUR FREE CHEAT SHEET HERE

 

I really can’t wait to hear your feedback and thoughts.

 

Where to get the book? Amazon of course! The links are in the episode notes! You can get the digital or print version! I’m really excited about this journey!  

 

I’m already thinking about my 2nd & 3rd book and then my dad, even had one that he wants to co-write with me.

 

Thank you for all your kindness and support. I am truly grateful for each of you!  And even more grateful, if you share this podcast with your friends!

 

Best Always,
Sapna