Networking: Part 3 of 8 - Respect

Let us now talk about gaining respect & meeting the right people.

You cannot refer me if you are not respected by the community. Your word carries no weight.

Who do you want to meet while networking? Respected networkers. Why? Because they are established within the community.

How do you get people to continually refer you? Gain their respect.

How do you gain respect?  Follow up promptly.  New networkers will gain instant respect.  People already in your network, maintain their respect.

People that listen to WIIFM (What's In It For Me) radio station are perceived by their network as opportunistic and self-serving. If this is you, your networking days are numbered. You will not be referred.

Do what you say. Know your capabilities and schedule before you commit. If you make a promise but cannot comply, send an email or make a call to commit to a different time.

Be professional – your attire, your speech, your attitude, your mannerisms and your hygiene all matter. If you smell, I’m less likely to refer you.

Thank the person that referred you. One of the best sales tools you have is the written thank you note. You will impress people. My favorite method for this comes from Bob Burg, the co-author of The Go-Giver. He has given me permission to explain his thank you card. The card is printed on card stock with black ink only. If you want to spend the money for color, go nuts. It is 8 ½” wide by 3 ½” tall. This way it fits easy into a #10 envelope. Stacked on the far right are: your company name, your picture, your name, title, phone, email and web address. That takes up about 2” of the width. Running across the bottom is a positioning statement or memory hook like “Increasing qualified leads by 50% - 600%.” Studies have shown that using blue ink & handwriting notes are most memorable. The recipient is always impressed. Make sure to hand write the address and return address with blue ink also. It is more likely to be opened. So why the picture? If you are sending a thank you from a networking event, it is much easier for someone to remember your face than your name.

How else can you gain respect? Provide quality referrals.  Make sure the referral is willing to take and expecting the call.  Make sure you have provided appropriate contact information.

The contacts that you make over time are your networking inventory. STAY IN TOUCH with your contacts. You cannot refer me if you have not spoken to a contact in 3 years.

Networking is about memorability.  They remember you, for the right reasons: you listened; you were professional; and you follow up. But this works in the other direction too: you were the drunk!