Networking Is Not Selling

Veronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing Coach

Looking for a gig as an employee or a contractor these days requires more than just an error-free resume or a killer project list; you need to establish a personal brand to set yourself apart from the crowded marketplace of others who have the same or similar qualifications.

What is personal branding? Personal branding is the way you clarify and communicate what is special about you, so that you don’t have to talk so hard (or hope for the right question) to explain exactly why you’re the best candidate for the gig (be it a job or a freelance assignment). With branding, you are communicating more information on more than simply a verbal level.
Your personal brand is communicated through all visual and verbal communication, including your resume, cover letter, portfolio, personal web site, interview outfit, handshake, contact card, and even your personal interests and behavior. If any of these are inconsistent with the image you wish to project, your brand is compromised or at least weakened.

When developing your personal brand, ask yourself these questions:

What do you want people to understand, think, and know when they see you/your resume/your email?

What is the essence of your value to an organization?

What makes you stand out? Your accomplishments, strengths, personal qualities, or just your hair color?

I once worked with a character actor who was wrestling with his personal brand because his primary value to directors was that he had a forgettable face. He is neither handsome nor ugly, tall nor short, and even his hair was a nondescript color. Although his credits are impressive, new casting directors never remembered him enough to call him back, even when they have been very enthusiastic about his auditions.

After we did some work with the questions listed above, we decided to brand him as the “red sweater guy.” Why red? Because red communicates passion, which is how he feels about acting, and the color stands out and is memorable, even though his face is not.

To every audition, he wore a red sweater. On his resume attached to his black-and-white head shot, he wrote in red ink under his name, “the guy in the red sweater.” He began introducing himself as “Chris, the guy in the red sweater,” as well as identifying himself on his phone messages and voice mail as “the guy in the red sweater.”

The result? The guy with the forgettable face became memorable, and effectively communicated his passion for acting by building a brand around a red sweater.

Correctly branding yourself will make you easier to remember, and will communicate much more than you can ever say in a cover letter or even an interview.

Marketing Brand YOU: How to Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd © 2006 Veronika Noize. All rights reserved.

About the authorVeronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing Coach, is the author of “How to Create a Killer Elevator Speech” and “How to Double Your Business in 30 Minutes a Day.” A dynamic speaker and unconditionally supportive coach, Ronnie helps small businesses attract more clients. Ronnie’s web site is a comprehensive resource with free articles and valuable marketing tools for small office/home office business professionals. Visit her web site at http://www.veronikanoize.com/, or call her at 360-882-1298.

by Taylor Ellwood

One of the questions I’m asked about social networking is whether it really creates relationships the way that in-person networking creates relationships. It’s a good question to ask, and is often asked by people who want to determine if they really need to be on these different social networking sites, in order to do business. My answer is that social networking does allow you to create and sustain relationships in an online environment and that some of those relationships can even lead to business. However, just as a relationship in in-person networking needs mutual work from everyone to be successful, the same is true with relationships you cultivate on social networks.

I teach people how to automate their social networks as much as possible, because I think it’s important to know how to manage your networks effectively. But I also think it’s important to spend some time cultivating your online network. It can help you quite a bit in promoting your business and more importantly establishing relationships that can last a lifetime. That last part is more important because your business may change or go away, but the relationships you create and the networks you build can be there for you through all periods of your life, if you allow them to be.

Networking is a relationship building activity. What that means is that some kind of relationship needs to exist in order to make networking viable. People go to networking meetings on the premise that by getting to know each other, they can confidently refer business to each other. The idea is that people do business with the people they know. This principle also applies on online networks. We connect with people we know online, and we do so to either strengthen an existing relationship or to create a new one. So while we can automate our online networks, we also need to balance that automation with some focus on building relationships on those networks.

I don’t think that spending lots of time on online social networks is the answer, even as I don’t think spending all your time at in-person networking events is the answer. But I do think choosing to spend some time participating on the networking sites you find useful can really go a long way toward creating relationships that can help you build your business and also help you out in other situations. To discover what networks are really useful for you, spend time on those networks, even if it’s just devoting a few minutes to post a response or two in the forums. If you find that you get responses, spend some more time on the site. Keep building your presence, and thus your relationships.

As you get to know the people on those sites, don’t hesitate to tell them about what you do and what a good lead would be. They might be able to help you and help someone who needs your services. Remember that networking works because it’s not just people doing business with people they know, but people also doing business with people who are recommended to them by people they trust! Cultivating online relationships in your network can help you and help people that your network knows. Additionally, there may come a time when someone in your online network needs your help and you can help them.

I don’t spend a lot of time on the social networking sites. I spend perhaps two hours, maybe up to three on a given week, but I limit my time on them, because I have clients to take care of, articles to write, and other activities to do, to keep my business on track. But the small amount of time I do spend on those sites is focused on building stronger relationships or creating new ones. And in building those relationships, sometimes I’ve gotten some business, but throughout I’ve never lost sight of the main reason I’m on those sites. I want to help other people out. That’s why I do my business and that’s what motivates me to build a strong network, so that I can help other people and someday they can return the favor if I need help. And the truth is, you are only as strong as your network is, and that includes online networking too.

Taylor Ellwood is the Business, Writing, and Social Media coach. He focuses on teach businesses how to automate their business processes and gets great writers published. Visit his blog at http://www.imagineyourreality.wordpress.com. Visit his website at http://www.imagineyourreality.com

By Kaya Singer

You’ve probably all had the “used car salesman” experience at networking groups. You meet a new person, and doing the normal protocol, you politely ask them what they do. They immediately launch into a passionate pitch about how wonderful their product or service is, and implies that you’ll be dead next week if you don’t buy it. You don’t ask them anymore questions, hoping the conversation will end so you can move on.

This probably sounds a bit judgmental. It’s not meant to be. I know it’s hard to understand the difference between networking and selling. It can come from feeling passionate about your offerings , but if you tell everyone too much it can feel like a sales pitch rather than relationship building.

Here are a few tips that can help even the best networker be better.

1. Play ping pong. Get to know the other person. If you both do that, it will be more like a ping pong game without it getting stuck with one person holding onto the ball too long.

2. Move around the room. Think of yourself as a spider building a web and each person you meet helps the web to grow more beautiful.

3. Ask for business cards. If someone pointedly asks you about your products, then contact them later to see if they want more information. Even if someone says they’re interested they won’t really be able to focus right then.

Networking is about building connections, making contacts and finding possible strategic partners. Once you have done that well, the selling process is half done without you focusing on it all.

Kaya Singer

Small Business Coaching Services

http://www.awakeningbusiness.com/
Helping you clear your focus and grow your business.

Veronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing Coach

What is influence, and why would you want to increase your sphere of it?

Influence is the ability to effect change in the actions, beliefs, and choices of others.

Increasing your sphere of influence will boost the number of people who hear your message, and that alone will have a positive impact on the bottom line of your business. As your influence grows, so does your reputation, increasing your value in the marketplace. More visibility and more credibility add up to more business (and more profits).

The good news is that becoming influential does not require wealth, beauty, or even above-average intelligence. The better news is that the more power, influence, and access to others of influence you appear to have, the more you will have.

The bad news is that becoming (more) influential does require some effort on your part, and it can be elusive for those lacking in personal integrity. Pursuing influence for the sake of self-aggrandizement or the exploitation of others is never a good idea, as people have an uncanny way of divining your true motives, and the backlash can be brutal.

Remember that to have the ability to influence is to wield great power, and that power should never be abused. To quote Spiderman’s Uncle Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Assuming you’ve chosen to use your considerable talents and influence for the greater good, here are my four suggestions for increasing your influence:

1: Connect with established communities. Join local groups, clubs, associations, organizations, and committees to access ready-made networks. Attend meetings, participate in the activities, and make yourself visible within the organization.
Even if you hate networking, you can connect easily with others online through virtual networking groups such as Linked In, Plaxo, Biznik, Twitter, and even FaceBook.

2: Make your voice (meaning your ideas, values, and areas of expertise) heard, through active participation in discussions (live or virtual), blogging, articles, letters to the editor, petitions, public speaking, private conversations, press releases, statements to the media, direct mail, signage, and even advertising. Start by establishing your specific expertise first, and as you become more known, you can add to your message.
Warning: Nobody likes a “know-it-all” and acting like one will diminish your credibility. Position yourself as an expert on a specific topic, and maintain your humility.

3: Cultivate relationships with other people of influence. Influence has a halo effect, so association with others of influence, such as leaders, “movers and shakers,” or celebrities, extends your sphere of influence.

4: Choose to lead, and others will follow. The truly influential generally have “herds” of followers. This in no way implies that the followers are sheep, but that the leader is valued and trusted by a number of people?even those without a personal relationship with the leader.
To start your own herd, create a way for your followers to receive the benefit of your skill set, expertise, or efforts. Volunteer to head up a committee, send out a newsletter, produce an event or series of events, or start a special interest group to begin building your herd.

Keep in mind that you must give to get. The more you have to offer, the more quickly your influence will grow.

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About the authorVeronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing Coach, is the author of “How to Create a Killer Elevator Speech” and “The 30-Minute Networking Secret Complete Toolkit.” A dynamic speaker and unconditionally supportive coach, Ronnie helps small businesses attract more clients. Ronnie’s web site is a comprehensive resource with free articles and valuable marketing tools for small office/home office business professionals. Visit her web site at http://www.veronikanoize.com/, or call her at 360-882-1298.