Page 26 - MetalForming February 2011

The Four Streams of Your Networking River
A master networker seeks first to help others. Go in with the idea of helping people solve problems and improve their business.
By making friends first you will gain customers later.
Dr. Ivan Misner
Your business strategy comprises elements that work together toward achieving your overall goal, whether that goal is higher sales, greater profit, geographic expansion or something else. Depending on the type of business you’re running, these strategic streams might include a sales plan, a cost-cutting initiative, a training program and other elements.
In the same way, when you’re devel- oping your networking strategy, you need to think of your ideal network as a broad, powerful river being fed by several smaller streams, each providing a distinct set of contacts as well as unique opportunities to make your network deeper, stronger and more diverse. These streams are very differ- ent, just as the Ohio River is different from the Missouri and the Arkansas, but they work together synergistically to create the great Mississippi. Togeth-
This article is reprinted with permission from Networking Like a Pro: Turning Contacts into Connections, by Dr. Ivan Misner, © 2009 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
er they are far more effective at putting you in touch with your best prospects than they would be if you accessed them separately and added up the results. If your network lacks this diver- sity of sources, it will be far less effective as a business resource.
In this chapter we talk about four of these streams, the four we consider particularly important to having a well- developed referral network. We don’t claim these are the only ones that exist. Some networkers, depending on the nature of their business and their own proclivities and experience, prefer to identify other kinds of organizations, such as women’s networking groups and community service organizations, as distinct types. To simplify our dis- cussion, however, we have included these in either the casual-contact or the strong-contact category, depending on their structure and practices.
Casual-Contact Network
You’ve probably attended meetings of some general business groups, and in the course of these meetings you’ve probably met many businesspeople from a wide variety of professions, including competitors in your own field. Such groups typically meet once a month and hold mixers where people mingle and meet informally. There often are guest speakers, special pre- sentations and activities such as break- fast meetings designed to facilitate net- working. They are devoted mostly to discussion of community affairs, polit- ical issues and local business. The pri-
mary example of a casual-contact net- working organization is the local cham- ber of commerce.
Because casual-contact organiza- tions are not tailored primarily to help you get referrals, you have to exert some effort to make them work for you. For example, you can volunteer to be a chamber ambassador, a position that doesn’t cost you much time but puts you in touch with a lot of people. Sitting on committees helps you get to know members better, especially the ones who devote the most time to the organ- ization and are therefore good candi- dates to become diligent, conscien- tious members of your own network. Most of all, you need to attend regularly so you can take advantage of every opportunity to strengthen the rela- tionships you form.
Knowledge Network
Professional associations have been around longer than almost any other kind of group, from the medieval guilds to crafts associations to today’s professional groups and industry asso- ciations. Membership in a group is usually from one specific industry, such as banking, accounting health services, legal services or architecture. Some groups limit membership to their own industry; others are open to all, with vendors and others becom- ing associate members rather than full members. The primary purpose is for the exchange of information and ideas, whether intra-industry or inter- industry.
24 MetalForming/February 2011
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