Building real relationships with people who can help you on your way NOVEMBER 24, 2013 BY MUNA ONUZO IYANAM Leave a Comment Muna Onuzo Iyanam | credits: File copy Business schools all over the world have identified networking skills as perhaps the most important skill every leader, entrepreneur and business development executive needs to have to ensure his or her organisation achieves a steady flow of business at every stage of the business cycle. According to an MBA project carried out in 2000 by Iain Edmondson, a graduate of Cambridge Judge Business School who looked at three Cambridge companies and the benefits they gained from networking at three different stages in their business lifecycle, in business, networking occurs in three phases. The first phase is the conceptualisation phase. This phase helps entrepreneurs and business development executives establish business ideas and make initial contacts with possible clients. This is the softer side of networking; the initial ice breaker and foray into business communities or social events to introduce a business solution to prospective clients. The next phase is the start-up. During this stage, there is a shift from the probing and introductory style of the conceptualisation phase to a more targeted approach to leveraging networking opportunities. This stage helps to develop more tangible leads that can be cultivated to achieve a profitable business relationship. This is unlike the conceptualisation phase when the entrepreneur talks to almost everyone about his business solution. The start-up phase employs a more strategic approach to meeting new people and discussing mutually beneficial opportunities. Edmondson emphasised that establishing trust in the organisation and in the product or service during this phase is very important. The final phase, according to Edmondson, is the growth cycle of every business. All through the growth stage there is no role for networking groups in the area of providing the softer benefits, the emphasis for the entrepreneur being on PR, and in gaining new investors, suppliers, customers and development partners. This, needless to say, is the hard side of networking. The acquisition of skills needed to become effective at networking by key operatives, contributes to the rapid growth of an organisation. It is a common goal of entrepreneurs to meet key decision makers especially within industries that their product is directly targeting. Successful business owners budget huge sums of money on business development. It will be of no use to attend events, meet the essential organisations your business needs to thrive but then become tongue tied or shy in their midst thereby losing the opportunity your organisation has in most cases paid for and have worked very hard to create. Developing networking skills thus becomes pivotal to the survival of every business. It involves creating new contacts and cultivating old ones. Networking opportunities occur on different levels; this could be on the social, professional or artificial levels or platforms and business communities such as Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. To leverage on the opportunities these identified networking platforms provide and develop real relationships that will help build your organisation’s vision, everyone involved in client facing activities from the MD to the sales person will need to master the seven critical skills needed to successfully navigate through social or professional events. These critical steps are: Develop your social skills: The first step to becoming sociable is to develop the nerve to walk up to a total stranger and introduce yourself and your solution. Businesses are built on relationships. The more relationships you cultivate, the easier it becomes to find the strategic people within organisations that your business needs to grow. However, do not ask for anything at this stage. This is a strictly introductory stage in networking. The key is to build that budding relationship. Develop your people skills: Ensure that any request made is reasonable. Most people hide behind their computers to send unreasonable email requests and introductions. The manner and tone used in making an enquiry, an introduction or a request will determine how far into the door you can be let in. Always keep the end result in mind. Courtesy and respect will take you very far. Develop your forensic skills: It is bad etiquette to enter any meeting without getting to know who you are dealing with. Carry out a thorough research on the organisations and the key individuals that will be attending the event with you. Identify those you want to speak with. Do your background research to prepare yourself for that brief encounter. Remember; first impressions matter. So, give it your best shot! Develop your communication skills: Individuals react positively to a well-articulated elevator speech. Use positive language when introducing yourself, your organisation and the solution it is offering. This will invariably buy you needed extra minutes to further make your pitch during your conversation. Develop you intuitive skills: This is the ability to identify, as quickly as possible, who will be useful to you. These are referred to as power contacts. The ability to cultivate these people will ensure that their private address book will be opened to you. Develop your business writing skills: Networking is not only done physically. E-mail communication also plays an important role in following up after meetings. If you can get the lingua and structure right, it might be possible to gain a second invitation to meet and further discuss your ideas and solutions. Remember to keep your e-mail short and to the point. Develop a thick skin: Networking veterans will tell you that it is not as easy as it is made out to be. It also takes time to convert a lead into a client. However, developing a thick skin will help you handle the disappointments that sometimes come with the territory. It will also help you to handle an outright ‘not interested’ response which often times is what you get. To successfully put these skills to use, make sure you check the guests list to identify who you want to meet, ensure your elevator speech is ready, arrive early and do an environment mapping to see who has arrived or is arriving. Don’t hug the dark corners. Walk the room and mingle. Above all, ask those whom you have met to introduce you to those you would like to meet. This helps in breaking the ice.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 16:31:59 +0000
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