Referrals and Networking

Masterful Networking Part 7

October 8, 2019 By Barry

Relationships and Communication

Relationships are at the heart of networking. To build good relationships, you need strong communication skills.

Establish and maintain excellent relationships with the officers, leaders, and organizers of your networking venues. Make requests for introductions to people who these leaders believe are a good fit for you.
Show interest in others and develop masterful listening skills. Try using open ended questions (such as who, what, when, and how) and “layering” the person’s response into your next question.
Be specific when making requests for assistance. Be clear and crisp in your communications, and ensure that you’ve secured agreement where appropriate.
Take a proactive approach to connecting with others. Nothing happens inside your head. Don’t rely solely on social media – give people a real-world experience of you. Most people will be happy that you took the initiative.
Give many referrals to others. You may not be the best person for those who you’re networking with, but if you have a reservoir of resources, you can refer them to someone else.
Network with people with outstanding reputations. Look for people of high character and integrity, who live out their values and fundamental beliefs. These people help give you credibility, and through them, you can make a bigger difference in the world.
Avoid trying to sell people in your network. Be situation-specific and only explore the possibility of engagement when there’s true openness, receptiveness, and desire.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help from others. When you make a sincere and genuine request, people will have a natural desire to assist you.

EXERCISE

Authenticity is essential in our relationships. When you interact with people, you transmit the unique expression of yourself, which is your values. When we authentically share ourselves, and accept and appreciate that in others, we have the basis of a relationship. Next time you have a networking opportunity, be fully present and ask yourself these questions:

How well do I know this person?
How can I know them better?
How likeable is this person?
What are the factors that make me like them?
What is my level of trust?
What factors support this level of trust?

How to Say No – Without Damaging Your Relationships

September 21, 2011 By Barry

A “no” uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a “yes” merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.

– Mahatma Gandhi

One of the biggest reasons why people don’t like to say no is because they don’t want to damage a relationship.

There’s a great book called The Power of a Positive No by William Ury. The basis of this book is that there has to be an underlying yes that causes you to say no. The book gives a three-step process:

Step #1: Uncovering your “yes”

What’s the “yes” that you’re committed to, or that you believe in, or that you’re passionate about? This might be your family, your health, your well being, or doing work that you love.

In order to find a “yes”, it’s really important to understand our values, our beliefs, our commitments and our priorities. If we understand those things, we can make decisions that fit with them. Sometimes, that requires us to say “no” – but it also allows the person on the other side of the “no” to understand our reasoning.

Step #2: Empower your “no”

Use your “yes” as a reason and a justification to help you recognize that “no” is an appropriate response.

Saying “no” is about being present to what matters – and if we don’t say “no”, it costs us.

Step #3: Find an alternative “yes”

Decline the request gracefully, and instead of just saying “no”, offer an additional option or suggestion to help the person solve the problem, without you necessarily being involved.

When I have to say “no” to someone, I acknowledge that the request that they’re making does appear important, valuable, useful and/or relevant. I share the circumstances that prevent me from helping, or that have me make a different choice.

Observe your unhealthy yes’s and unhealthy no’s and reflect on what works and what doesn’t work. For instance, you might know that you need seven hours sleep to be your best, so you don’t want to say “yes” to a friend’s request to have another drink in the evening.

Take a moment to think about the things that you want to say “yes” to in your life. Is there anything that you need to say “no” to, as a result of these?

Networking Venues and Opportunities

August 18, 2010 By Barry

In the final installment of The Do’s and Dont’s of Networking, we are providing a long list of venues and situations where networking for new business opportunities and referrals are both tasteful and timely.

Workshops and seminars
Alumni Associations
Colleagues
Rotary Clubs
Kiwanis Clubs
Chamber of Commerce
Business Expos
Community Service Groups
BNI
Athletic Clubs
Leadership programs
Professional Associations
Religious organizations
Hobby groups
Golf Course
Sporting events
Public-speaking events
Attorneys
Accountants
Realtors
Financial Planners
Mortgage bankers
Coaches
Lions Club
Optimist Clubs
Schools and Universities
Social gatherings
Industry meetings
Community events
Charitable organizations
Social Networks
Others

Want To Add To The List?

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan personal and business coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Developing Your Centers of Influence

August 10, 2010 By Barry

Barry Demp

Centers of Influence are individuals who possess the ability to provide great personal relationships and business relationships. These are the types of individuals that you may aspire to be both personally and in business. Here are some characteristics of people who would be considered a Center of Influence. How many of these apply to your world?

Know everyone who is anyone.
Are very social people – they love connecting people.
Are members of elite networking groups.
Are often experts in their fields, often called upon to speak to groups.
Hold community leadership positions.
Are board members of organizations.

10 Really Good Business Networking Tips

July 28, 2010 By Barry

At first glance, networking appears to be a very easy activity. However, like anything else in your professional life, to be great at it requires a lot of time and effort. In our series the Do’s and Dont’s of Networking, we offer additional tips on how to best approach networking opportunities and functions.

Ask the question “How would I know if somebody I know would be a good prospect for you?”
Focus on others, rather than on your needs, at networking events.
Give many referrals to others.
Network with people with outstanding reputations.
Avoid trying to sell people in your network.
Make a good first impression in your attire, manners, and attitude.
Come prepared with a good pen, business cards, and other materials.
Learn how to gracefully escape from long-winded conversations.
Does your personal introduction pass the “So What?” test?
Cell phones should be left in the car or turned off.

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled michigan business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Be An Outstanding Networker

July 21, 2010 By Barry

Is it terribly difficult to be an outstanding business networker? Some people may say yes, others may say no. However, one thing is true. We all remember and like the really good networkers in our lives. A question to ponder is “How can we help you become the networker that you admire”?

Here are some suggestions:

Your non-vocational interests as opportunities to network.
Meet personally with the majority of individuals in your networking groups.
Attend my networking meetings consistently. Out of sight means out of mind!
Bring other professionals to your networking events.
Make the first move in meeting and engaging others in conversation.
Learn to be masterful at the use of open-ended questions and layering (who, what, where, when, why, how).
Be very well read in your area of expertise and in business in general.
Take a proactive approach to connecting with others.
Be an outstanding listener.
Consider giving speeches to various groups about your area of expertise.

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Traits of Successful Networkers

July 13, 2010 By Barry

What makes successful networkers successful?

Here are some of the ways that top networkers continue to build their businesses from networking opportunities:

Have a well practices 15 or 30 second elevator speech (commercial).
Network with your suppliers and vendors.
Have specific goals for your networking activities.
Following up is your responsibility.
Quality is better than quantity in networking.
Volunteer at civic or non-profit organizations.
Focus on being interested versus interesting at networking events.
Be able to answer W.I.I.F.T. – What’s In It For Them? – when you meet someone at a networking event.
Be focused on a specific set of target markets versus scattered among many.
Build a large quality network of resources to share with others.

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance. For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Networking Tips for Legal and Financial Professionals

March 22, 2010 By Barry

A shift has occurred with how businesses and individuals make their purchasing decisions for legal and financial management services. No longer do prospective clients blindly engage these services without first seeking the advice of a trusted contact or the critical review of third party comments on any social network.

Because of this trend, and now more than ever, professionals in the legal, banking, accounting, and financial sectors in the Detroit metro area are openly expressing the importance for creating a reliable new business development process for their practices.

As a Master Certified Coach in Michigan, I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak to and train professionals in all of these practice areas throughout my coaching career and have found that a formal process for sales definitely needs to be in their DNA.

Some of the key business development needs that I hear about from these professionals are:

Developing more effective networking skills
Having a proper process to use for qualifying prospective clients
Knowing what a good prospective client looks like

Here are some quick, but very effective tips, for to address these business development concerns:

Ask, “What is it that I can listen for that is a good referral for you?” to people that you meet at a networking or social event instead of immediately telling them what you do.
Are you asking enough good, open-ended questions in your discovery process to determine if the prospect is really a good fit for you? In my training sessions we call this technique layer. Learn more here.
Do a 5 minute inventory of your client base. Determine who your favorite clients are and what makes them your favorite clients. It may be that they pay quickly, have a unique product or service, or show great integrity under tough circumstances.

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled business coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance.