Networking Your Way
No matter how long you’ve been networking, I bet you’ve attended at least one event or conference hosted by your industry or joined a structured networking group. Over the years, I’ve been a member of various business networking groups, all designed to help members grow their businesses and make new contacts. In each case, everyone agreed to a group structure and guidelines to follow. Although good came from each experience, it never ceased to amaze me that in the end (and sometimes that end was not long in coming) the groups became static, cliquish, dysfunctional or disbanded.
Your Own Team
For years, I avoided groups altogether. However, I couldn't stop thinking about how I could either find or create a group where the above did not happen—a team with members who really cared about making sure that all individuals received true value. It’s taken me a few years to pull successful teams together for myself, but now that I really understand how to do it, I want to pass along a few tips that might help you.
I recently wrote a publication called the Advisory Team Series. Over the next few blogs, I am going to give you some excerpts from that guide, to help you build a networking group for yourself. Here’s a quick look at the topics I will cover:
QUICK REFERENCE: Forming an advisory team is a lot more than choosing people, creating an agenda and finding a place to meet. There’s a lot to consider. I’ll give you several basics to consider that will make forming a team easier.
LOGISTICS: Logistics are the “What, Where, How and When” of an Advisory Team. Paying attention to these details up front saves time, energy and money. Having this structure in place allows everyone to stay focused on what really matters—in this case, win-for-all networking.
RECIPROCITY: Having an advisory team for networking will give you access to valuable contacts, knowledge and talents. There are ways to stay balanced with giving and receiving, often at little or no financial cost.
TEAM INVITATIONS: Inviting people to join your team can be rewarding. It’s not only important who you ask—it matters how you ask. A well done invitation gives a person all the details they need up front to make an informed choice about becoming a member. I’ll give you some tips on how to do this well.
If you are like most people I talk to--weary of networking events that don't deliver--I hope you'll follow along with my next few blogs on this topic. Networking your way, with your own team, might be your best strategy ever.
