Chicago
Tribune
MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Networking enters deep new world of relations
By Ann Meyer. Special to the Tribune. Ann Meyer is a Chicago-area
freelance business writer
March 10, 2003
As most small-business owners will tell you, it's not what you
know but who you know that makes all the difference.
Brenda Dunn Kinney, an information technology coach and consultant
in Gurnee, knows a lot of people thanks to intensive networking.
She and five men started a networking pod four years ago to share
ideas. The group gradually expanded to 25, then 30 people.
Today, the Executive Technology Forum attracts as many as 125
people at meetings held the last Thursday of each month at the
Metropolitan Club in Chicago. "We all need other people's
help to succeed. We can't do it alone," Kinney said. "That's
our whole mantra."
The group helps connect people in an effort to build their businesses
or find new jobs. But it also serves as a sounding board, encouraging
members to discuss issues and concerns.
Kinney's group is just one of hundreds of networking groups in
the Chicago area. Here and throughout the nation, the concept
of consciously building a network of resourceful people to draw
on as the need arises is gaining popularity as small-business
owners look for ways to grow their business without spending a
fortune.
As Kinney's network has expanded, so has her business, BDK &
Associates. "I've had more people help to elevate my business,"
she said.
But Kinney's networking success isn't necessarily the norm. Sheryl
Koning, an independent sales-training consultant, said she attended
two to three networking events a week during the past two years
to find new clients in the soft economy. But it didn't work.
"It was just, `Here's a name. Here's another name,"'
Koning said. "But they weren't qualified leads because no
one had connected me with this person."
Koning kept at it despite the poor results. "You think at
some point in time one of these is going to pay off. And you think
if you're not out there talking to people, you're not growing
your business."
The problem with that approach to networking, Koning now realizes,
is, "You're not really building relationships because it's
always just a quick `Hi' and `What do you do?' Even though you
see the same people again and again, there's just nothing there."
In January, Koning adopted the same relationship-building approach
to networking that Kinney's technology group uses, which is based
on a concept created by Melissa Giovagnoli, president of Chicago-based
Networlding.com and author of several business books on relationship
building and strategic alliances.
"If you look at how businesses become successful, it's based
on relationships," Giovagnoli explained.
Her approach to networking is to get beyond the superficial name
exchanges and strive for deeper, more meaningful relationships
that are more likely to pay off in the long run. She encourages
"networlders" to think about what they can do for others
or each other, instead of what others can do for them.
It's a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch your back"
approach, spelled out in detail in "Networlding," a
book Giovagnoli co-wrote with Jocelyn Carter-Miller, chief marketing
officer of Motorola Inc. For networking to be effective, Giovagnoli
suggests, you have to make a connection and form a two-way relationship
that's based on complementary values and helping one another.
Find like-minded people
To facilitate this, she recommends that small-business owners
figure out their goals and values--in other words what's most
important to them--then look for like-minded individuals and share
your ideas.
To find such people, "You can serendipitously happen to
be at a place and make a connection with someone," Giovagnoli
said. Or you can speed the process by consciously looking for
people who can connect you with the right people. In turn, by
helping others connect with the best people for their needs, you
extend the process.
Giovagnoli also suggests a "quality versus quantity"
approach to building contacts, noting that a smaller circle of
quality associates can be far more effective than a large number
of superficial acquaintances who don't really know you or what
you're looking for.
Koning can testify to that. She said she spent time with just
two people at her first networlding event at the Metropolitan
Club. Both turned out to be far more helpful to her business than
the dozens of people encountered at other networking functions
because she shared much more information with them. In addition,
they came to the meeting predisposed to want to help others.
Indeed, Giovagnoli said, good networlders are interested in making
long-term connections. They understand that building a relationship
requires ongoing communication and a commitment to help each other
by passing on information and knowledge and by being emotionally
supportive.
Forming a close circle
Instead of collecting countless, meaningless business cards,
Giovagnoli recommends that small-business owners develop a circle
of 10 associates that they communicate with regularly and can
call on an as-needed basis for advice or ideas. They can be friends,
relatives, business associates, fellow networlders or even customers
and vendors.
Executive recruiter Richard Landman calls Giovagnoli's approach
"power networking." He has adopted a circle of 10, whom
he consults with regularly about his Chicago-based executive search
firm, Diamond Management Group Ltd.
"When I'm about to call on a new client, I'll pick up the
phone and actually do a run through with one of my people, and
they'll pick apart the presentation. They'll be my dress rehearsal,"
Landman said.
Axa financial consultant Robert Sieja says the networlding method
is a lot more rewarding than the type of networking he used to
do, going from contact to contact in a haphazard way. Focusing
on a smaller circle helps you "build up your closest allies,"
Sieja said.
"You have real conversations with them, and you keep them
in your schedule," he said. "Because you have a more
intimate relationship, you're more able to express your needs
and wants. And people are more able to know who your ideal client
would be."
Networlding works because it attracts people who enjoy helping
each other, Sieja said.
"Part of the problem with networking is everyone's out for
themselves, trying to increase their business at the expense of
others," he says. With networlding, "You get back what
you put into it."
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
About
|| Coaching || Consulting
|| Partners
Resources || Products
|| Contact || Home
Ph:
847-855-8731
Fax: 847-855-9014
Email: Brenda@BDKCoachingandConsulting.com
©
Copyright 2001 BDK & Associates. All Rights Reserved.
