In today’s connected world, networking plays a pivotal role in career building & growth. Getting good recommendations helps in long way to endorsing your credibility, getting a strong & positive reference for your profile & above all getting your credentials to be passed on to a potentially interested party/professional who is interested/on look out for someone with exactly your skills.
However, networking is a challenging & uphill task. You can end up leaving a negative impression. So how do you make sure that you are following the right networking approach? The following will help you craft a perfect networking strategy:
1) Develop your elevator pitch
Before any networking event occurs, take your time to prepare your elevator pitch. Understand & evaluate your personal brand & what makes you different & unique, share this in a positive way. Let the other person go first & show interest in what others have to say. Express genuine concern & care for others.
2) Do your homework
Before attending a networking event, do a thorough research on host organisation, its mission, board & members. This will assist you in building a conversational platform & avoiding a situation where you look like selling yourself in an unsolicited pitch.
3) Listen more than you talk
Start by building & nurturing relationships that comes more from listening than talking. Get accustomed to need of others & strive to align yourself with their requirements. By clearly demonstrating your value, you do not need to do hard sales or use pressure networking tactics to make people listen to you. Listening puts others first & builds an element of trust.
4) Look for commonalities
Do your ground work, search about the host company’s work/accomplishments & find commonalities. Look out for something that you both care about. Take that cue to display how meeting with you will benefit them. Rather than saying that you like a particular blog written by him, say that you have published an article on similar ground/issue. This helps in building a strong base for developing connection even before you have interacted with them in detail.
5) Appear relatable
Your pitch should strike an interest in someone you meet so that he wants to know more about you. Do not start by telling them what you do, but ask them what they do & create that interest in the conversation by weaving into what you do. Focus on creating an impact. Even if you interact for a brief period of time, your conversation should make an impact on the person & he/she should remember you.
6) Share a relatable story
Generally in a networking event, people share forgettable facts in the same old fashioned & stereotyped style. Captivate your audience by sharing a relatable story that pulls up their emotions. Such stories make people feel things. Story centered pitches always win & create that emotional connect.
7) Keep it consistent
I have come across numerous cases where I have been impressed by professionals but have been turned off when I have looked at their LinkedIn profile since its brand could not align both places. Please make sure that your messaging during a network event/discussions & that in LinkedIn should be consistent
8) Be Authentic
Be yourself rather than trying to be someone else. People can see the fakes clearly & would try to be away from such people. Notice all the things you say to yourself about who you are, what you want to be & what a credible professional should say & want. Then practice introduction with all those “ should”. If you feel comfortable with your introduction, then you are going on a right path.
9) Be specific
Be specific about what you do, how you do & for whom you do it. Unless you are specific, people would not know how to connect with you or how to help you.
