Networking, iNetworking, What Is The First Rule?
Networking on the Internet is the same as networking in
person, or is it? Let's take a conversational tour together
on this topic. At an in-person networking event you wouldn't just attend
not to network. Or would you? Normally everyone is there
for a purpose, even if they haven't totally defined that
purpose, they have a vague idea why they are there.
Wouldn't that work the same for iNetworking? Yep. Yet... Weekly I receive emails and phone calls how someone wants to
connect with me in some way. Yet... They have no idea on what. No suggestions, no inklings, no
possible thoughts, nada. I'm always baffled when I receive
these. I don't have time to educate people because they
surely do need it. A few emails even add their web site URL
link or suggest that I visit their web site to learn what
they do and "figure it out for them." For the folks reading this who have done this and wondered
why their email doesn't get a response or gets a quick
response of "sounds great," or "you can sell my new product
or become my affiliate if you'd like" -- knock, knock,
anyone home up there. People have told me that when they
receive get these responses back, it confuses them. Talk
about confused, how about the person receiving them. It's so much easier to either don't write or say what you
really mean. Simply, say why you are writing, this is what
you do, this is what I do, and here are some possibilities
for us? You can even set this up in a signature file in
Outlook and make it a quick send. Everything is a mirror. If you want to iNetwork state who
you are, what you offer, or give clues and ideas of
possibilities. Don't place the burden on the receiver to
figure it out. This brings us to rule number one in iNetworking. Be
prepared. Don't be the one that has a great service or
product but doesn't know who the gatekeepers are or who the
buyers and strategic partners are for your products or
services. Gatekeepers are people that know your more of
your buyers, strategic partners are people that you are
going to do something joint and temporary with to provide
better value for both your customers. If you went to an in-person networking event you wouldn't
forget your business cards, or would you? If you attended
an in-person networking event would you not bring the flyers
for your next workshop, not know the benefits of your
product or service, or not know who is your ideal client.
If you did, it would be a social event and not a networking
event. The same holds true with iNetworking. Have your business
card set up for an easy email send, set a signature file in
Outlook or whatever email software you use, have your
workshop flyer in pdf (Adobe) format, in an auto responder,
designed for a embedded text email and HTML email (embedded
means not as an attachment but as the email itself). In
other words, have all the same materials that you would
create for an in-person networking event available for
deliver via the Internet in multiple delivery formats. Last week I was at the Women's Business Center networking
breakfast event. A woman stood up and apologized for not
having her workshop flyer and business cards. She forgot
them on the kitchen counter. Not to be unkind but if this
happens, turn your car around and go back home either to get
the information or do something else more productive. I too
have on occasion during my 20 years in business left things
behind, it only took me once to attend and not have the
necessary material and its embarrassment to learn to never
do that again. Making a pitch via email to someone that can be a possible
gatekeeper, prospect, or strategic partner is important, if
you don't have the time to put into a well written and
clearly presented email, turn the car around and do it when
you do have time. If you never seem to find the time, then
look at your priorities, they sound a little off kilter to
me. I'm not saying you need everything perfect nor have all the
answers but I am saying that you need to know what you want
and say it. iNetworking isn't any different than in-person networking in
many respects. In both, you are building a relationship,
it's just not in person, nor local, it's international in
many cases. You wouldn't say in the first three minutes at
an in-person networking event that you want them to be your
affiliate, or would you? iNetworking is about building relationships. I've developed
some wonderful networking buddies on the Internet over the
years and they watch my back and I theirs. It isn't all
about sales. Yet, each of us knows we need to scratch each
other's back. And we do. But not until after the initial
time together. Let's summarize these points for clarity. iNetworking is
the same as in-person networking in that you need to have a
clear intention or purpose for making contact, even if the
reason is to get to know what each of you do. iNetworking
works its magic best when it includes at least one phone
call after the initial contact. Since I write Internet articles, I set up many relationships
with publishers and editors. I don't hesitate to write
them. I compliment them on what they are doing right and
sometimes give them an idea or two on what other sites are
doing to support their writers. They are always grateful
because they don't have the time to do this. And the
relationship grows from there. I prefer to follow it up with
a phone call or two. I learn about their challenges and I
share the same. It doesn't matter who calls whom, be ready with your spiel.
What you do or provide and how you some possible working
arrangements. There is a list of 100 by my phone. Allow
time to iNetwork but look for people who are ready. Don't make people guess. Spit it out clearly in your email,
edit and edit again if need be. Sometimes I go through six
or seven edits to make sure mine are clear. Give others the
opportunity to network with you. Here's my challenge to
you. Who can you reach out to at this exact moment and
begin iNetworking? They are waiting to hear from you. (C) Copyright, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved. Catherine Franz is an avid iNetworker. She's made many
mistakes over the year and now sees others making the same
mistakes. That is her mission in life, to share information
that will help make the world a better place. For more:
http://www.abundancecenter.com or Catherine's blog:
http://abundance.blogs.com .
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