June 2003
The Monthly Newsletter For Business Networking & Opportunities
Published by OpenMoves Inc. for more than 4,700 subscribers!
NetworkMoves is your free monthly source for professional-networking interviews, news, opportunities, and success stories. Please pass it along to friends and colleagues. Tell a friend about NetworkMoves
In This Month's Issue:
- Opening Moves: Stop Networking Like It's 1999!
- Interview: Managing Massive Mailing Lists with Andrea Nierenberg
- On The Move: Mitchel Shapiro's Volunteer Army
- Network Group Spotlight: Networking for Professionals Moves It Online
- Networking Tips: Be Specific With Referrals; Protect Your Privacy Online
- Archives: The Best of the Past
- Subscribe: Manage Your Account
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Opening Moves
Stop Networking Like It's 1999!
In today's tough economy, you need a new approach to networking, to making—and maintaining—crucial professional contacts.
For more than a year, this newsletter has been publishing interviews with leading lights of networking. Now we're ready to condense what we've learned into a new networking methodology.
What does this new-style networking look like? It features activities that just a few years back you might not have considered "networking." Public speaking, writing for publication, and volunteering are among the activities that will set you apart and help you make new and valuable professional contacts. Most important, they will help you achieve your professional goals, whether those include finding a job, getting a promotion or raise, or landing a client or customer.
In fact, your 2003 networking kit should contain no fewer than eight tools: "basic" networking, public speaking, writing, sales, public relations (PR), volunteering, research, and attitude. Let's take a quick look at each:
"Basic" networking: This includes everything you're used to thinking about whenever someone says "networking": collecting and distributing business cards, working a room, attending networking events, making efficient use of telephone calls and e-mails, and, if your profession calls for it, building and maintaining a decent Web site. Yes, this is old-school networking, but just as you shouldn't build a house without first laying a solid foundation, neither should you do new-school networking without first mastering the fundamentals.
Public speaking: It's not just standing in front of an audience and delivering a speech. Talking on the phone is public speaking, too, as is talking with your company's CEO in the elevator. Do you have your 30-second commercial ready? No? While you're searching for the right words, you're wasting precious time.
Writing: The written word, especially in print and on the Internet, is one of the most powerful tools for connecting with others. There's e-mail, for starters, but why stop there? Post on industry-related discussion boards. Launch your own e-mail newsletter as a way to stay in touch with your inner circle of key contacts. With just a bit more effort, you can write opinion columns and how-to articles for in-house newsletters and trade journals. And if you're a job seeker, don't forget cover letters and resumes; that's writing, too.
Sales: Even if you don't work in sales, you can use the techniques of top closers to supercharge your networking. When you network by phone or in-person, practice the art of active listening. Don't just wait for your turn to speak. Instead, ask probing questions to make sure you really understand what's been said: "So am I right to understand that...?" or "Do you mean....?" are good examples. Good salespeople are great listeners. You should be, too.
PR: If you don't toot your own horn, who will? Start by thinking of yourself as a brand. What does that brand represent? Is it true to who you are? Is it something your organization really needs? Do you communicate it in the way you dress, work, and speak?
Volunteering: The starting point for all networking is giving. You give value now and take reciprocated information (contacts, leads, and other benefits) later. Where better to give than to local not-for-profit and charitable organizations? It's a great way to meet other businesspeople in your community in a setting of good works.
Research: Good networking requires good information. If you're looking for a job, who's hiring? If you're looking for a pay raise, how much are people with your title getting paid in other industries? The good news is we live in the information age. Remember? Using the Web, your local library, and your network of contacts, there's very little you can't uncover.
Attitude: Effective networking requires a positive attitude. We don't mean Pollyannaish, pie-in-the-sky optimism. But nattering negativity will never win the day. "Fake it till you make it" isn't the worst advice we've heard; if you act as if you are confident, successful, and self-assured, one day you will wake up genuinely feeling that way.
None of these tools promises a quick fix. If you're desperately out-of-work, six months behind on the mortgage, and your spouse has one foot out the door, then addressing the local chamber of commerce about "Ten Ways to Improve Oral Hygiene" isn't going to dig you out of your particular hole. But if you need to make changes in the next 6 to 12 months, this newfangled networking is your ticket to the highway.
Anyone for a ride?
Interview
Managing Massive Mailing Lists with Andrea Nierenberg
Think you've got a big contact list? Andrea Nierenberg probably has you beat. President of the Nierenberg Group and author of Nonstop Networking: How to Improve Your Life, Luck and Career (Capital Books, 2002), Nierenberg maintains a list of 2,500 contacts. NetworkMoves asked her how she manages so many contacts—and why she bothers.
Q: How did you end up with 2,500 people on your contact list?
A: In addition to the people I've worked with and met socially, my contacts include people who have requested my newsletter or have been in one of my seminars. Obviously, I'm not in touch with all those people all the time. But even the ones I hardly know get my [print] quarterly newsletter regularly. And I always take the time to scribble a note on each one, even if it's just a smiley face and "All the best, Andrea."
My list keeps growing. For example, this week alone, I gave four speeches, and a lot of people gave me their card. I will send each of them the newsletter one time. I won't keep sending it to people who give me no feedback.
Q: In your book, you talk about your A-, B-, and C-lists. What are these?
A: My A-list is my core network of about 100 people. I make sure I have regular meetings and contact with them. I send out three handwritten notes a day, just to touch base with people. I track who I'm reaching out to, to say "thanks" or "how are you?" or "here's an article." And I send out three extra e-mails a day. I'm always checking to see who in the core group I haven't been in touch with lately. I contact them—sometimes by mail—to arrange a lunch or a breakfast, mentioning certain things about them in my invitations. I know these people—their birthdays and their special hobbies. A lot of them are my best referral opportunities.
Q: Who's on your B-list?
A: That's the next tier. These are 50 people who have been in touch with me. I make sure to send each of them a note at least every six months. Plus the newsletter, an e-mail, or a call. I just don't concentrate on them as heavily as I do on the A-list.
Q: How do you physically manage all those contacts?
A: Everything is in my database, which is very simple. I put it together, and I'm not at all technical. So it doesn't have anything popping up. Instead, I just go through my database every month, scanning my top 100 to see who I've spoken with lately, who I've had lunch with. I know, month by month, who I've spoken to. Of course, I do all this on top of my regular, day-to-day work.
Q: How much actual business does your network generate for you?
A: From tracking my newsletter—the one that goes to 2,500 people—I can tell you that I get at least six new pieces of business every quarter.
I make sure to stay in touch, and I do a lot of giving, too. For example, I might call someone and say, "You need to speak to so-and-so," or "Here's an opportunity for you." Then, all of a sudden, just by having those friendly, touch-base reminders, things happen. For example, just today, somebody opened a very big door for me into a new area of work, and that has already turned into eight workshops. I immediately went to Tiffany and bought him a nice clock for his desk. He's somebody, by the way, who hasn't always been on my A-list. He was just somebody I had gotten to know over the years.
Another example: Somebody I worked with 15 years ago has become a huge advocate. For years I'd been running into him at trade shows. So when my book came out, I sent him a copy even though we hadn't really been in touch, and I wrote, "I hope you're well" on the flyleaf. Well, I just got off the phone with his company's head of strategic planning, and we're talking about my doing a two-day off-site seminar.
Q: What's your top networking advice for our readers?
A: You've got to be out there, and you've got to be visible if you want people to know you, remember you, and keep you on their radar screen. Your network may be smaller than mine. That's fine, but you should still have breakfast with your contacts. You can't do this all the time, but you should meet with your best contacts quarterly.
What I do is only common sense, but it's not common practice. Somebody said to me, "This book seems so simple." I said, "It is—just like the Ten Commandments. Put it into action."
Write Andrea Nierenberg at: andrean@selfmarketing.com
On The Move
How Mitchel Shapiro Built a Volunteer Army by Networking
You probably know that volunteering for charitable and nonprofit organizations is a good way to network. Do you have any idea how good?
Mitchel Shapiro does. He and his team of volunteers have raised $700,000 to help cure blindness. They've also inspired similar efforts around the country.
Shapiro's group, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, is an outgrowth of his personal experience. Shapiro has Usher Syndrome, a nasty disease that can leave its victims blind and deaf. But Shapiro is not one for self-pity. "Life is not over when adversity strikes," he says. "It's not what you don't have that counts; it's what you do have and making that work for you."
Shapiro is making it work. He's a volunteer, fund-raiser, motivational speaker, an active member or board member of 10 business organizations in Long Island, N.Y. He is also the driving force behind two annual fund-raising events. The next "Blind" Wine Tasting Gala will be held this coming September 22 at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, N.Y. It will feature food, an auction, and, of course, wine. And the "Blind" Tug a Jet Challenge, which attracted 600 attendees this past April, is a competition among teams of six people, all blindfolded, who race to drag a Learjet a distance of 100 feet.
Shapiro's foundation operates with a volunteer-only staff of 200, the result, he says, of eight years of networking. Not only do the volunteers get the satisfaction that comes from raising money for a good cause, but they also enjoy personal friendships, business contacts, and lots more. "It's all about building relationships," Shapiro says. "People see who you are and what you're capable of, and then it comes back. To get, you've got to give first."
Write Mitchel Shapiro at: mshapiro@cureblindnessnow.com
Do you have a personal story you think would make a great On The Move story? Tell us about it at: editor@networkmoves.com
Network Group Spotlight
Networking for Professionals Moves It Online
A year-old organization called Networking For Professionals is building a way to help its members find networking partners online. "We let our members choose their own relationships," says NFP founder and president Amanda Nissman, who is based in Brooklyn, N.Y. She's quick to point out that unlike some other networking groups, NFP is strictly for business. "People may choose to socialize, but that's not our reason for being."
NFP currently has approximately 450 members, about 200 of them in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area. For those in the tristate area, membership costs $20 a month, although the first month is being offered as a free trial; for everyone else, membership is free.
To start networking, NFP members fill out an optionally anonymous online profile. When they want to network, members search these profiles for potential partners and use an anonymous e-mail function to invite other members either to meet in person or to talk on the phone. Members who receive these invitations can check out the profile of the sender before deciding whether and how they will reply. (Anonymous profiles are searchable using a unique ID number.) "It's great for introverts," says Nissman, who, with a doctorate in cultural studies, should know. "Unlike live events, our Web site lets you browse the profiles before you network."
NFP membership also provides such benefits as discounts at the New York Plaza Hotel, ZipCar, SocialCircles, and the Association of Internet Professionals.
The NFP weekly newsletter offers networking tips, a calendar of networking events, and a Member of the Week feature. Nissman's to-do list includes networking lunches, a club, and online networking events. And she's hoping to attract corporate memberships.
Write Amanda Nissman at: AmandaNissman@networkingforprofessionals.com
Do you belong to a networking group you'd like to see featured in NetworkMoves? Tell us about it at: editor@networkmoves.com
Networking Tips
When You Seek Referrals, Be SpecificBy Catherine Wright
Looking for referrals for new business opportunities? It's easy once you've gained people's trust and they feel comfortable helping you make connections. But to get effective referrals, you have to be as specific as possible. Who precisely do you want to meet? Don't make the mistake of saying "everyone is a potential client." Remember instead that the more focused you are, the more likely you'll prod someone's memory to come up with names, numbers, and connections.
Being specific means having clearly defined criteria for your target: company size; the industries in which you do or aim to do business; the issues and challenges your clients are expressing and experiencing; company job title or position with whom you want to meet; and even the values that are most important to you. Don't worry. Being precise won't limit your options. On the contrary, this approach will lead you to ideal clients and promote prosperous business connections.
Catherine Wright is Vice President at Legend Development Services, an affiliate of the Sandler Sales Institute.
Seven Ways to Protect Your Privacy Online
By Scott Allen
If you become well known in your field, your life will become much more public. Have you typed your phone number into Google lately? Odds are it produces your name, address, and a map indicating where you live. Unless you are committed to guarding your privacy at all costs, you might want to strike a sensible balance through which you take reasonable, low-effort precautions against aggressive invasions of your personal life.
I chose this option for three reasons: First, even before the Web, my contact information never really was private; it just took a lot more work to make the connections. For example, reverse telephone books have been around for years. Second, although the Web makes it easy to find personal information about me, it makes me no more likely a target than anyone else. Third, it's at least as easy for criminals to target me in the real world as it is online. Most cases of credit card fraud are committed by thieving store clerks, not hackers.
That said, here are seven simple ways to maintain a reasonable degree of online privacy:
- Make sure your home phone number is unlisted.
- Don't list your home address or home and cell phone numbers in online resumes or other publicly viewable Web sites.
- If you're job hunting—especially if you're currently employed—think twice before posting your resume on the large job boards like Monster.
Scott Allen is coauthor of the forthcoming book Online Business Networking. An archive of his networking tips is available at Online Business Networking
Share your professional-networking tip with NetworkMoves' more than 4,700 subscribers! If we use it, we'll also list your name and e-mail address, helping you network with others who could use your help. Send your proven networking tips to: editor@networkmoves.com
Archives
Read these past NetworkMoves interviews for more networking ideas:- Network Online with Cynthia Typaldos (May 2003)
- Supercharge Your Job Hunt with Nick Corcodilos(April 2003)
- Develop Your Personal Brand with Craig Frank (March 2003)
- Finding Better Work with Julie Jansen (Feb. 2003)
- Adjust Your Attitude with Siobhan Murphy (Jan. 2003)
- The Year's Top Networking Tips with past experts (Dec. 2002)
- Profitably Speaking with Kirby Tepper (Nov. 2002)
- The "Write" Way to Network with Mindy Ferrantino (Oct. 2002)
- Volunteering to the Top with Melissa Giovagnoli (Sept. 2002)
- How to Get Hired when Jobs Are Scarce with Gordon Miller (August 2002)
- How to Be a Free Agent with Dan Pink (July 2002)
- PR: Do the Opposite of Obvious with Peter Shankman (June 2002)
- To Close the Sale, Nix the Sales Pitch with Richard Isaac (May 2002)
- Networking in an Age of Layoffs with Donna Fisher (April 2002)
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Advisory Board |
| Ronen Yaari Publisher, NetworkMoves ronen@networkmoves.com |
Dan Lennon Manager, Chernoff & Diamond dlennon@chernoffdiamond.com |
| Peter Krass Editor, NetworkMoves peter@networkmoves.com |
Ellen Volpe President, ABA info@aba-ny.com |
| Genta Nakahara Designer, NetworkMoves genta@networkmoves.com |
Jeffery Levy President, Corporate Authority Comms. jlevy@corporate-authority.com |
| Elyse Friedman Copy Editor, NetworkMoves elyse@networkmoves.com |
Rich Isaac President, Legend Development Svs. richardi@legend-development.com |
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