The Catalyst #3: Networking

Building your safety net

The most coveted word these days making rounds across LinkedIn and social media around is none other than "Networking".

So in this edition of The Catalyst, lets understand networking in deep and how to make use of networking to grow alongside each other.

What is Networking?

Networking refers to the exchange of ideas & information in often an informal context, usually in social setting, between individuals or groups of individuals sharing some common areas of interest, similar professions or having alike aspirations.

As they say, networking begins with a common ground.

How does networking help?

Networking can help individuals to

• learn more from those around them that share expertise in their area of interest
• seek help in terms mentorship, coaching or assisted learning & hand holding
• offer to collaborate on opportunities that benefit both sides
• volunteer for events that align with their experience, skills & interest areas
• gain visibility & credibility for the expertise in the domain
• open new doors for opportunity creation & business partnerships

While networking offers tons of benefits, doing it the wrong way brings nothing more than frustration. And not to forget the time spent, is time gone.

So what are ways to effective networking?

Strategies for Effective Networking

1. Identify the goal & purpose of your networking - Knowing the "what you want to achieve" with networking & "why do you want to network" is key before initiating networking. You don't want to appear as a desperate person sending connection requests to everyone on the radar & wildly reading, linking & commenting every single post that appears in your feed. So what some of the goals could be - job referral, building a network to up sell something down the line, to get visibility, to drive engagement to build credibility & so on.
2. Plan your networking strategy - Since purpose of networking would differ, so would the strategy for it. The networking strategy for someone looking for a job will not be the same as that for someone looking to sell their services. Obvious, isn't it? Find a common ground. Narrow down on few profiles or accounts you want to follow or you want to interact with. Engage with their content through reactions, comments & discussions. To take things a step further, send them a DM expressing your interest to connect with them, mentioning reasons for doing so. Personalize your message. Respect their time as much as yours.
3. Build long term relationships than one night stands - Well not literally one night stands but point is to focus on building stronger connections & deeper understanding with individuals resulting into long term relationships as against focusing on temporary, short term, goal oriented networking. While its best to start networking with goals in mind, limiting it merely till goal attainment or ceasing to do so in case of non fulfillment is not the best way to approach networking. "Shallow networking" as I like to call it, will make you redo the whole process, the next time you consider to network for another goal of yours. And this time, it will be even more difficult even to get you previous connections on board with it.
4. Use time wisely - Time is precious. Spending hours behind networking is not going to yield results early. Instead, allocating certain amount of time each day with a plan of how you want to utilize that time to make the most of out it with networking is the key. For e.g. A planned 30 min of networking activity is more fruitful than countless hours of unplanned scrolling through content feeds & engagements.
5. Have patience - Understand that networking is not a magic wand (at least not when you are starting it or when you are mid way). In order to build a network that reciprocates, supports, upvotes & helps you in your efforts to achieve your goals, you first need to put in a lot of hours & efforts at it. And by lots of hours I don't mean, 10 hours a day or so. But rather, 30 minutes each day for over a span of 6 months to 1 year at least before some results start to show. If you are lucky, results show earlier than that but they could even show later than that. So be patient. As they say, "Give time, some time".
6. Evaluate your strategy - With the goals set & strategy in place, execution of it should be simple. Doing it consistently will start to show results. However, its important to evaluate your strategy at regular intervals. You may want to evaluate - Is my strategy connecting me to right set of individuals? Am I spending too much or too little of effort as against what is planned? Am I progressing towards my goal?

Wonder how I would approach someone to network with? Let's take a look -

Goal: Getting Connected

Approach: Hello XYZ, hope you are doing well. I have been following your content & posts since about 6 months now & I find it relevant & sensible. It also aligns with my area of interest - ABC.

I would like to connect with you here & be part of each other's professional network. I look forward to more interaction with you through knowledge & experience sharing thereby contributing to our growth. Do accept the request if you feel alike.

Thanks.

Goal: Job Application

Approach: Hello XYZ, hope you are doing well. I came across your post for hiring for XXX role with ABC. While I would like to express my interest in the role, I would be keen to discuss in detail how ABC can benefit from my experience & skills. Do you have some time so that we can connect & talk through this? PFA my resume for your reference.

Thanks.

Busting few myths in networking

#1: You have to agree with the individual in order to network

Best connections are built even when the individuals disagree but respect each other's perspective & collaborate together over a common ground & appreciate genuineness

#2: Larger the number of followers, higher is the credibility

Credibility is built by what experiences you share, what value you bring to your network. Credibility is built by genuineness. Large number of followers is not a measure of credibility. People are known to follow the herd. What started as 500 followers slowly builds to 25k & more due to this. Don't go by follower count, go by the genuineness of the person & the value they bring.

#3: Networking is one time activity

Not at all true. Networking is an ongoing activity. And is probably a never ending one. Which is why, the need to narrow down on few profiles/people to connect to start with.

#4: You need to like, comment, share, repost in order to build network

While not completely necessary, doing it occasionally when you agree with the thoughts shared, or doing it when you think it will add value to your network or give visibility to the person's efforts or content is definitely a good thing to do. Having said that, it is not a must do for building a network. Valuable engagement is more important than doing it as part of formality.

#5: Networking sells without you having to do anything

Have you come across posts or one liners that start by "60000+ subscribers read the newsletter? or 240k followers and 5M impressions?". Well, that is just a number. Not really that all those subscribers read the newsletter. Moreover, impressions are different than engagements & engagements are different than "valuable" engagements. So while people brag about networking to the extent telling that Networking sells without you having to do anything, trust me, its a lie.

You have to do your part & networking will support you if its mutually beneficial at that moment or you are expected to support them in future. That's how it is. Networking is a win win for both sides. Very very rarely, it is "grant me the 3 favors in return for nothing".

What next after networking?

Nurture it.

Strengthen it.

Grow it.

Build your safety net.

As Poter Gale rightly said - "Your network is your net worth".

So build it wisely.

Did you love the tongue twister from the last edition?

Here's one for this week

"Not working on networking while working will leave you working on networking when not working"

And if you have built self belief from the last edition, this 5x challenge should be pretty easy. Let me know.

New Addition

For anyone who missed the previous edition of this newsletter or would like to hear it, instead of reading through, please find episode embedded from the podcast. Feel free to subscribe to podcast if interested.

I like to call networking "A trampoline".

A well built network help you bounce higher.

In this edition of The Catalyst, we absorbed what “Networking” is & what are the strategies for effective networking. We also busted open some myths in networking.

Absolutely, no rocket science there.

I hope this edition was helpful in giving you practical insights to effective networking and will help you build your safety net.

If yes, consider spreading the word & sharing this with your network.

And remember, Networking is not just about connecting to people, but about connecting people with people, connecting people with ideas, & connecting people with opportunities.

Still have questions on how to get started?

Need guidance or hand holding with networking?

DM me on LinkedIn & let's see how I can help you.

#networking #thecatalyst