Linked to success
Networking is critical to business success but it’s a skill the experts say is easily learned — and one that has very little to do with turning up at endless events and flashing business cards
Monday, February 08 2010 || Features || BY Melanie Cooper
“At some point you have to reward your networks for helping you. It might just be a little thing like a handwritten thank-you note and a copy of a great business book you read lately, but it shows you’re invested in the relationship.”
Having enticed Lark to see him, Wilde made a strong impression illustrating the capability of his software, what it had done for HP and what it could do for Dell in less than the five minutes he had asked for.
Wilde had also ‘planned the pass on’, something Lark says is a powerful networking tool.
“He had thought about what needed to happen next. He knew the four people he needed to talk to at Dell, he asked for an introduction and he had pre-written the email he wanted me to send them.”
Wilde’s story ends very well. He impressed Lark, who introduced him to a handful of key executives in Austin, Texas and earlier this year Dell released its new all-in-one-PC bundled with Unlimited Realities’ Fingertapps touch software.
Given the potential rewards — and the risks of being without strong networks — Lark says the puzzle is how many companies don’t invest in networking.
“There are entire industries built because people have failed to build good networks. Recruitment, for example, especially of key executive roles, is not something you should need to turn over to another company.”
More people would network if they realised how straightforward it is, according to Jeffries, who talks about the “three Rs of networking” — radar, recall and reward.
Within a week of first making contact, Jeffries suggests getting back in touch to put yourself on their radar.
When you re-establish contact you can use that as an opportunity to show you valued what they said to you by recalling a particular detail.
“If they told you they love trying new steak restaurants when they travel, write in your email to them ‘Hey John ... great to meet you recently at ... I remembered how you felt about steak restaurants, so here’s a little something that you may find useful ...’ and offer them a link to a website devoted to steak restaurants.”
Providing them with a little something upfront, even if it is just a link to a website, also fulfils the ‘reward’ component of networking.
