Introduction to Networking | Network Fundamentals

There are plenty of networking tips and tricks you can use to grow your business, but the foundation of all of them is the same: understand what it means to network. For most people, networking conjures up images of fun parties and after-work drinks. While those are certainly part of great networking, there's a lot more to it than that. To build an effective network that will be useful for you, you need to know how they work — and how you can get the most out of them.

1. Step one: understand networking

Networking is all about building relationships with people -- this may seem obvious, but it's important to remember that you're not trying to sell to everyone you meet at a networking event. The goal is to make connections with people who have common interests and who might be helpful to you in some way down the road.

But it isn’t always easy to go out and meet people and build relationships. If you plan to go out networking, here are some tips and tricks that will help you ensure that it’s a successful event and not simply another boring night at the bar.

The first step in a successful networking event is roughly 7 hours in a day in the local area. What do you need to make this event a success? Establish a routine. Networking events often go on for 6–12 hours, so being ready to focus on your routine enables you to be focused on what you need to focus on during the event itself. However, if you’re late to the game with your routine, then things can quickly fall apart as the event comes to a screeching halt.

Most people assume that to be successful at networking, you must bring people together over a long period. However, the reason why this approach can be difficult for some people is simply that they aren’t well-prepared. People that aren’t prepared to spend the time to make introductions, build relationships, and find out what you’re interested in tend to not live long enough to see much success.

One way to ensure that you have sufficient time to build rapport and make solid connections is to ensure that you take care of your personal logistics.

Pre-COVID/early post-COVID, I lived in lockdown, away from the office for about 8 months. I was pretty much-doing everything myself, and it showed. My apartment had to be turned into a guesthouse for several months while my fiance and I lived at a friend’s place.

2. Step two: set goals for your network

It’s important to set goals for your network. If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you’ve arrived? It’s important to set goals with your network that are measurable. Remember, goals with your network are more important than goals with individual contacts.

Set target goals for the people in your network. Still not clear where those goals should come from? Perhaps you’d like to meet and network with executives or thought leaders in your industry. Perhaps you want to develop a relationship with a marketing expert that can help you market your creative work. Whatever your vision is for the people in your network, it needs to be realistic. Your goals need to be complete. If they aren’t, focus on other goals with your network. If you can’t reach all your goals with one person, move on to another.

This isn’t the time to be flippant about networking with strangers. Instead, know how to establish trust and establish the relationship that will lead to an ongoing relationship. Use trust as the primary resource you use to build your relationship with anyone in your network.

Hold yourself accountable. This isn’t a club. You may meet many people through networking, and you don’t have to make new friends at every turn. Instead, hold yourself accountable. Learn how to take action in shared projects that will help grow your business and career.

Connect with someone personally regularly. Otherwise, the networking opportunities will be few and far between. To start, form a list of first names, phone numbers, and email addresses of people in your network. Then go out of your way to learn their names, see if you can get a guest on your podcast, and email them directly - it’s a small investment that helps you build a relationship.

Learn something about them. Take the time to learn about them.

3. Step three: make an investment in your network

Once you’ve gained a good amount of traction with your first two steps, you need to invest in your network. Start thinking about how you can build and strengthen your network. What do you have to offer? What do you want to get out of it?

If you want to get paid for every free lead you bring in, focus your networking efforts on small businesses. Even if they’re new to local search, you can be their first point of contact with a large number of potential customers. In return, you may be able to take a lead or two on a larger project of yours.

Investing in your local community is a great way to generate leads, even if there aren’t any larger projects currently in focus for you. Smaller local businesses can offer big payouts both to job seekers and owners. Start at a local restaurant that’s hiring or a local retailer that’s looking to expand. The more projects you work on with local businesses, the more you can help generate leads. This isn’t the case with larger enterprises — at that point, you need to be looking for more opportunities to bring in your own clients.

At the same time, don’t take every small business opportunity that comes your way. Some will be never-ending, and that’s fine. If you’re focused exclusively on small businesses, be prepared to lose a lot of time. If you’re willing to invest in your network, you’ll find plenty of opportunities that are worth taking.

Whether you’re following a personal interest that’s brought you into the local search field, or you’re trying to grow a business that is abundant with excellent opportunities, expanding your network is an essential part of the process. Networking is a matter of both action and reaction. You can take the first few steps in your career but still fall flat if you don’t understand the net effect of what you’re doing. You’ll wind up wasting a lot of time and energy.

4. Step four: know the most popular networking sites (and which ones you should avoid)

The most popular networking sites are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Each of these has its own strengths and weaknesses, so you may want to use a combination of sites. For example, LinkedIn can be a great networking site if you have something to present (a speech, case study, etc.) and you know someone who knows someone else who has something to present.

On the other hand, if you know someone who works at a marketing company and you've got an idea for a product they might be interested in, promote that idea on LinkedIn. Who knows, you might even persuade them to work with you.

Facebook can be useful if you're local to your city and your friends share similar interests. However, this only works if the people you start a Facebook group with — and get to know through it — also like and share your interests.

You can build relationships with people on other networks — Twitter, Instagram, and others — all while maintaining the skills and expertise that will help you get closer to your goals. In other words, learn from the people you network with, rather than taking what they say at face value.

Expanding Your Network

The first step to growing your networking reach is to determine who you need to network with. When it comes to most networking sites, there is a finite list of people you can connect with. If you've got a list of who you should connect with already, then congratulations — you have the foundations of a great network. You can expand that list and network with new people, but the initiative and networking skills to do so are what you should pursue first.

When you're building a network, you don't just have to connect with those you know. People don't have to know you to take action with you.

5. Step five: find the right people for your network

When it comes to growing your network, it’s important to be very strategic about who you add to your network. When you add someone, you’re essentially saying, "Hey, I think you're pretty cool and I'd like to stay in touch with you. If you want to, send me the link to this publication or my podcast and I’ll consider making a point of mentioning you to anyone I reach out to because, let’s face it, nobody else will even give it a second look until I prove to them that I care about this person enough to include them in my life."

When I started my podcast, I knew that I had to have some external support. For one thing, I can’t write or record on my own. Plus, I wanted early airplay and recognition from industry professionals who would be able to communicate directly with the listeners, not just those in the same city. Without those two things, it’s simply not worth the investment. So, I turned to friends and colleagues and asked if they’d be interested in taking on a supporting role.

Getting submissions for podcast submissions isn’t exactly a novel idea. Podcasting is a popular creative outlet, and many entrepreneurs choose to use it as a stepping stone to their other ventures. But what I found interesting about the way some podcasters approached this piece of the networking puzzle was how much effort they put into finding professionals perceived by potential listeners as being in the know or hell-bent on being in the know. Many of these people are in podcasts themselves, but they only listen to them because they know a lot of other folks that work in the industry.

It’s a lot like how you’d go out of your way to introduce yourself to someone you knew at a networking event. It’s delayed gratification and extra effort — but I think it’s worth it. Here’s why.

When I started my podcast, I knew I had to pair it with a publication.