conversations

Making Sense of Twitter with Lists

February 29, 2012

Twitter is a fabulous place to keep up to date on all that is new and happening on the Social Web.  It is also one of the most of the most feared online networks by the average ‘networker’.  This is probably because it looks overwhelmingly ‘busy’ all the time, and it seems difficult to make sense of.  All those tweets coming at you from the people you follow make it difficult to filter out what you want to ‘hear’ from the rest.

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Brewing up the right response

February 10, 2012

Sometimes alcoholic drinks can fuel the right kinds of networking conversations! Although I often urge people not to open a conversation with a stranger with the question ‘what do you do?’ the chances are that you are going to be asked it at some point in a conversation. How you respond will often dictate the direction the conversation then takes.

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Introduce Yourself

January 18, 2012

Often you will not have the luxury of someone else introducing you at a networking event, so it is important that you are practised in doing it yourself. What makes this even more imperative is the fact that most of us make assumptions about the people we meet within the very first few seconds of meeting them.  What’s more, that first impression is hard to shake or to change.

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The Fallacy of 1:1 Networking Meetings

January 4, 2012

Pretty much every networking group, organisation and club advocate the need for follow up meetings or one to ones.  BNI are particularly big on this.  The thinking goes like this: Networking is a numbers game. The more people you meet, the more business you’ll get. Relationships take time. The more one to ones you have, the more relationship capital you build. Givers gain. The more people you get to know, the more people you can help.

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How to find time to network when you are really busy

December 30, 2011

If you, like me, are someone who uses networking to find new business then you will know how tricky it can get to make time for networking during those busy times when you have more client work than you can handle. When I was new to networking I just copied what everyone else was doing. I would network like crazy when I needed more work and then when things picked up and client work started to flow, I would cut back on the networking.  The trouble with networking like this is you end up getting caught in the  ‘Feast or [...]

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KIT

December 19, 2011

No this isn’t a blog about David Hasselhoff in the 80’s TV series Knight Rider, and his talking car KIT, it’s about ‘Keeping In Touch’ (KIT). Keeping in touch with clients is so vitally important to your success in business that I really can’t stress it enough. So, if you don’t have a system for keeping in touch at the moment, please put one in place right now.

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Beginners Guide to Social Networks (2)

December 12, 2011

6. To whom do you want to connect? As you start using a social network, have a strategy for connecting with people. This should fit with your goals for the network. For example, if you are looking to raise your profile you might have a more open connection strategy than if you are looking for referrals from your existing network.

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Is LinkedIn a number’s game?

December 1, 2011

I’ve often wondered whether LinkedIn is a numbers game. My networking methodology and philosophy is firmly centred in relationship management. So, surely LinkedIn should be used to deepen and strengthen relationships rather than building up a large number of connections?

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