I am in the process of making this page more interactive.  I hope to have this blog in better working order soon.  You will find the Calendar of Networking Events is constantly being updated, even if my article are on hold.

Finding a good networking event…

Lately my networking time has decreased due to taking on a new full-time position.  Please hold your applause.  Ok, maybe a little applause. The job rocks, but has eaten into my networking time.  So I like to target my networking events to get the most out of them.

For me, I like networking events that have both great contacts as well as good speakers who can help keep me informed with the latest and greatest of what’s new in marketing and technology.

A few of these organizations, whose meetings I really enjoy attending, lately have either really weak speakers, or speakers who talk about subjects not related to the organization.  Because of this, I have avoided attending several events these past few weeks, thinking my time could be better spent doing other things than listening to a dull speaker.

So my advice to everyone this week is to be picky about what networking events you attend.  Make sure that they meet your goals, otherwise you may not be getting the most out of your networking time.

Toastmasters

I wanted to tell you a little about the Toastmasters organization and how it can be a good place for networking.

If you are not familiar with Toastmasters, it is a public speaking club designed to help professionals improve their public speaking abilities.  Skills learned in the club help people give presentations, lead trainings, make sales, and interview.   Most clubs break the meeting into three sections.   The first section is called table topics, where you give a 2 to 3 minute impromptu speech.  Then there are prepared speeches, which last for 6 to 8 minutes each.  The final section reviews the prepared speeches and other aspects of the meeting.

Besides helping you speak better in public,Toastmasters also is a great place to network.  You have a wide variety of people attending the meeting looking to improve their business skills in all industries and professions.

Every club has its own personality.  You will find some are more business oriented while others are more social; some clubs are stricter to the protocols while others are more looser.  There are even some advanced Toastmasters groups.

I am part of Buckhead Toastmasters, a fairly laid-back and social club ideal for beginners.  I also attend Speakers Round Table, an advanced club designed to raise the bar on public speaking.

You can go to Toastmasters International to find a club near you.

LinkedIn Training

In previous articles, you read about how LinkedIn can help you with networking.  Today I was originally going to blog some more on this topic, but realized my mentor for LinkedIn was going to be speaking on this topic all month. So whom better to tell you about LinkedIn than him.  Troy Johnson is a Social Media Expert, whose main focus is helping professionals use LinkedIn most effectively. He has spoken to many organizations and companies on how to use LinkedIn to for sales, job seeking, and networking.

This month Troy is providing a 3-part training on LinkedIn.  Depending on your current knowledge of LinkedIn, you can take all 3 classes or just those that apply to you. The classes are described below:

Wednesday, April 7: LinkedIn 101 – Building Your LinkedIn Profile
This is a basic course that will cover the best way to complete a profile to insure that you can be found by prospective employers or contacts in LinkedIn.

Wednesday, April 14: LinkedIn 201 – Making the Connections You Need
This is an intermediate course that covers searching and connecting to others in LinkedIn.  This is the real ‘meat’ of using LinkedIn to find a job or a warm lead for sales.  At the end of this course you will be fully prepared to take advantage of LinkedIn’s networking power.

Wednesday, April 21: LinkedIn 301 – Answers, Groups & Advanced Features
Perfect if you are all ready good at using LinkedIn and want to be an advance user. In short, this is where you can ‘shine’ by advertising your expertise thru participating in a Group specific to your Industry or Career Field or demonstrating your knowledge in the Answers section.

To find out more about these classes and to sign-up visit http://www.refocusoncareers.com/GEORGIA.htm#GALinkedIN

Networking for Introverts

Are you an introvert or an extrovert, or, to put it simply how shy are you? I talk with a lot of people who say they are too shy to go around networking.  I don’t believe that to be true.  This past week I attended an event of the American Cancer Society of Young Professionals.  My dear friend, Debbie Rodkin, was speaking.  I have mentioned her in the past, as I believe her to be the networking queen.  I would like to pass on a few tips she gave on this subject of networking for introverts.

Her first rule is to get there early.  Talk to the organizer and see if there is a way you can help.  When you have a simple job to do, you will look more confident. You may have a role that allows you to meet everyone when they come to the event, and this will break the ice for when you talk with them later.  I find organizers bring cameras to record the event, but are too busy with other stuff to take the time to capture everyone’s photo. I will ask if I can take the role of photographer, which allows me to meet everyone in the room.

You can also become the host and introduce yourself. If you know the awkward feeling of waiting for someone to come over and introduce himself or herself to you, then don’t you think other people who are standing by themselves are having that same feeling?  Take the initiative and go over and introduce yourself to the other people standing alone.  They will be happy someone came over to talk with them, and you will appear to be the outgoing person.

Finally, look at people’s feet.  If two people are standing with their toes pointed at the other person, then these two people are having a serious conversation and should not be interrupted.   But if the two people’s feet are apart in a V shape, then it is a sign that they are open to having other people join them.  For a larger group of three or more, most people will welcome you to join them by expanding the circle when you walk up to them.  The person talking probably won’t stop, but will visually acknowledge that you have joined the group, and will include you in the conversation once he or she is finished speaking.

Please share your suggestions for people to overcome their shyness in networking.

Is Networking like Dating?

This was a conversation I had last week.  While enjoying some wine at a social event, a participant said she did not get a lot out of networking.  She would meet someone once, and wonder why that person did not want to do business with her.  Being the networking guy I am, I chimed in on the conversation.

I explained that there were several things going on. First she needed to do a better job of picking out where to network.  She needed to find a place that was right for her.  I followed up with the rule about seven touches, which explains how it takes seven different encounters with someone before they are willing to do business with you.  Another lady at the table said that all this sounded like dating, and compared it to how many times you go out with someone before the first kiss.

Our conversation turned to comparing successful networking to dating.  The first lady proclaimed she was a one night stand when it came to networking.  She also believes that you should know in that first meeting if you want to do business with that person or not.  I disagreed.  If you or the person you are meeting is not on their game that night, you might not make that connection right away.  Also, in a first meeting, you may fail to learn enough about each other so that you are willing to do business together, or you do not realize how you could benefit each other.

I would love to hear from you.  Do you believe successful networking is like dating?

LinkedIn Overview

I have found LinkedIn.com to be a great tool, but it took me a while to realize its power.  A friend twisted my arm until I joined LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/mikehimelstein), but never explained the purpose to me.  I hope this article will help you get a basic understanding of what this social network can provide.

LinkedIn is a social network similar to Facebook, which is currently the number one social networking site with about 400 million users around the world.   In comparison, LinkedIn is a lot smaller, with about 60 million users from 200 countries.  According to its About Us page, executives from all Fortune 500 companies are members on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is focused on business connections and business related activities.  As hinted in an earlier article, it is an ideal way to keep track of other people you meet while out networking.  Once connected, when your contact changes their information, you will still be linked to him or her.

LinkedIn’s basic package is free and you only need a valid email address to get started.  You start by creating a profile about yourself, which you will need to keep business oriented.  This is not the place to tell people you like long walks on the beach.  Also you don’t want to reveal any information that you feel could be used for identity theft.  You may want to review the privacy settings for your account.  Once your profile is set up, you are ready to use LinkedIn’s other features.

LinkedIn is also a good way to get introductions to people out of your network, though contacts in your network. This is great for sales people and job seekers.  Why blindly knock on a company’s door, when a networking contact can make a warm introduction for you? For job seekers, LinkedIn can serve as a job board.  Not only does it list available jobs, but it also shows who posts them, and who you may know from the company. The job section can be a blog on its own, and will probably be one soon.

Another feature is the opportunity to join groups. Joining these groups and organizations that are listed within LinkedIn is a great way to stay on top of what’s happening with a particular field or organization.  A lot of groups will list jobs or have discussions on a topic within that field.  A discussion can come from anyone within the group commenting on an issue related to the organization, or from members posting questions, to which other members can provide answers or solutions.  You can even post a question to people outside your network.

The final thing I will say about LinkedIn, though I have only touched the tip of the iceberg, is that it provides profiles with status updates.  This works similar to the Facebook status and Twitter tweets.  In fact, you can tie your LinkedIn status updates to your Twitter account.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about LinkedIn.

Here is a two and a half-minute video on LinkedIn if you want to hear how LinkedIn explains its product.

Paying it Forward

I believe part of being a good networker is being a good connector.  Don’t always focus on yourself, but concentrate on the other person.  What do they want or need?  How can you help them?

If you follow my advice in this blog, have a good elevator pitch, can be memorable, exchange business cards, and attempt to make the “seven touches”, you may still find yourself empty handed,because there is more for you to do, to be a better networker.

Imagine if you were able to connect two people in a way that you solved both of their needs at once?  Do you think both contacts would remember you?  Not only that, you would be perceived as the person in the know, the go to guy or gal.  My guess is the next time you approached these people about something, they would be eager to listen and help you.  I find this not only true with networking, but with other parts of business life as well.

I wish I could take credit for this great concept of Paying it Forward, but there have been countless people who have come up with this idea.  The first time I can recall hearing about it was listening to a tape by Zig Ziglar titled “Over the Top”.  Zig Ziglar said “…You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Since then I have heard other people talking about this concept.  I attended a Re:Focus on Careers networking event a while back.  The guest speaker was Bob Littell, who was talking about this same thing.  He refers to this as “NetWeaving” and has written a book on it.

So the next time you are networking, see how many people you can connect together and see what effect it has on your life.  It’s time to graduate from networker to connector.

Burn Out

Do you ever go to a networking event, and then ask yourself why you are there?  You know why you need to be networking, but why this group, or why tonight?  Though it is sad to say, even The Networker, gets burned out every now and then.  A lot of times I signed up for an event in advance, which usually means I have already paid, so I feel obligated to attend.

So now what?  Well, if you had been practicing your positive behavior and elevator pitch, this should help the networking event run smoother.  Also, I have two other solutions that might help you get through this event.

First, try to focus on one person that you feel would be a good contact, or just someone new you would like to get to know, and have one good conversation with that person.  Don’t try to meet everyone in the room, just make that one good contact and leave it at that.

My second solution is to reconnect with people you already met.  Here the conversation should be a lot easier, as both of you already know each other.  No elevator pitch or switching cards.  Just catching up with the other person and staying connected.  You can put this down as one of the “Seven Touches” if you like.  Either way, it’s more like reconnecting with friends than spending the energy to make new ones.

Remember it’s ok to take some time off and pace yourself.  Being at the networking events and following up require both time and energy, so please manage your time and your networking wisely.  For most people I would only recommend one event a week at the most, or even one event per two weeks.  If you are a job seeker, in sales or a similar position, then an additional one to two events may be appropriate.

Got Business Cards?

So you have been out successfully making new contacts and collecting business cards.  Now what? As I discussed in an earlier blog, you need to follow with people.  (See the blog about the Seven Touch Rule.)  But what about all those business cards?

Are you like me, when I started out networking?  Do yo let those cards pile up next to your computer with a rubber band around them? This is one solution to solving the problem, but you might want to consider a few other options.

If you do not have too many cards, you may try a business card holder.  This will allow you to quickly review your cards and see the notes you wrote on the card.

Though the business card holder is a better solution than a pile of cards next to your computer, it is not easily scalable once your card collection starts to increase.  Using several books may make it hard to quickly find someone’s card.

But never fear- we live in the digital age.  Another solution would be to buy a digital card reader, which lets you take a photo of the cards and then store them on your computer.  Here you can still capture the notes on the card, as well as organize and search quickly on your computer.

One problem with all the ways mentioned thus far, is that they don’t account for when contacts switch offices or businesses.  The cards can quickly become outdated, and a year later when you want to follow up with someone, you have no way of reaching them because their contact information is now incorrect.

The next two solutions address this issue.  Plaxo and LinkedIn are two online professional networks that allow you to stay connected with people.  As long as the person you are connecting with keeps his or her contact information up-to-date, then you will always stay connected.  Both of these networking sites operate differently.  My choice is LinkedIn.  I will talk more about using LinkedIn in a later blog.

If you are using one of these online networks, please note that you still may not find some-one on the network that you are trying to use.  If this is the case, you will need to find another solution.  This may involve being on several networks, or even just using a binder to collect cards for only those people who are still off-line.

I use both binders and LinkedIn to stay connected to people.  Let me know what works best for you.

Elevator Pitch

The term elevator pitch comes from the idea that you are in an elevator with someone you want to get to know, and you have until the elevator stops to talk with that person.  Hence you are pitching yourself or product to that person in the elevator.

This quick pitch also comes in handy almost anywhere since most people’s attention span lasts no more than 30 to 60 seconds.  This is an ideal way to start networking with someone when you need to connect quickly or don’t know what else to say.  Because you will use the elevator pitch over and over, it will come naturally and can save you when your mind goes blank.

The goal of the elevator pitch is to introduce yourself to the person you are meeting, and quickly explain what you do or can provide.  You will start with stating your name slowly, with usually a brief pause between your first name and last name.  Then you will lead with the purpose of the introduction.  If you are a job seeker, you may state that you are looking for a new opportunity doing XYZ, or if you are in sales, say the company you represent and what you do for them.  The content needs to be brief, descriptive and memorable.  As I have mentioned in the past, if you can add a little humor to your elevator pitch, it will help break the ice and you will have a better chance of someone remembering it.  Remember to conclude with your name and possibly your title, company, or service you provide.

Elevator pitches are not complicated, but they do need to be well thought out and rehearsed.  Remember, it is part of your brand and image, so it should tie in well with your business cards, which you should follow up with after you give your pitch.

I will leave you with my elevator pitch I use for my social event company, Mingling in Atlanta.

Hello, I am Mike Himelstein, CEO of Mingling in Atlanta.  That is Chief Entertainment Officer.  I provide mingling opportunities around town.  Types of activities include wine tasting, sushi roll making, guitar hero nights and, yes, traditional happy hours, just to name a few.  No membership is required. We just ask that you bring a smile and are ready to have fun.  Once again, I am Mike Himelstein with Mingling in Atlanta.

Be Memorable

Has this ever happened to you? You go to a networking event and meet a new contact.  By the end of the discussion you can’t remember his or her name.  As the night proceeds, you meet other contacts, and by the end of the night you can’t even remember who the original person was, or what they did.  If you said yes, then would it be safe to say other people have this same issue?

In a future article I will talk about how you can better remember the people you meet, but today’s focus is how other people can better remember you.

The two basic things you can do are to wear your nametag and exchange business cards.  These two ideas should be a given, so let’s get to the three other things you can work on to help be memorable – appearance, attitude and humor.

Appearance is both dress and how you hold yourself.  You need to dress appropriately for the event you are attending.  In addition, try to have one small, unique thing about your appearance.  This should be nothing inappropriate, but something that people can easily remember and possibly comment on.  For guys, this may be a unique tie or handkerchief in their suit pocket.  For women, this could be a small piece of jewelry, a broach, or a scarf.  Also you need to be standing up straight, relaxed and smiling.

This is a good lead to the next thing to help you be memorable, and that is to have a positive attitude.   No one wants to hang around Eeyore, the depressed donkey from Winnie the Pooh.  Think back to the last time you were out meeting people.  Who do you remember?   Was it the one gentleman or lady that seemed like they could do no wrong, or acted like the world was their oyster?  Adopting a positive attitude will help you further than anything else I can tell you.  You may not be the person that can do no wrong, but you need to portray that positive attitude when you are out networking.  You will also find that when you take on this positive attitude, the world will start becoming your oyster.

Lastly, have a little humor.  Humor goes a long way.  It has a way of breaking up the monotony that sometimes happens at networking events.  Adding humor causes the brain to process more of the conversation, which helps make that interaction more memorable.  Adding humor to an elevator speech (a 30 to 60 second description about you and your product or service) will also make you more memorable.

Give these three suggestions a try, and let me know how they work for you.

Seven Touches

People are always playing games at networking events that I attend! You know the game. Maybe you play it too. How many people can I meet tonight?  How many business cards can I collect? It appears as though people are trying to reach out to as many people as they can.

OK, now what?

But if the purpose of networking is to develop professional relationships, you need to do more than just exchange business cards.  So how do you go from meeting people to doing business with them?

It often takes at least “Seven Touches” before a person does business with someone they meet at a random business networking or industry event.  In this case, “touch” does not have to be physical; it just has to be some type of interaction: phone call, email, meeting for coffee, or sending a letter. (More about these below…)

The point is not just to get in front of as many people as possible, but to also follow up with them.  If you are interested in maintaining a strong relationship or want those people to take some type of action, connect with them as soon as possible.

Now let’s go back to making the “seven touches.”  Let’s say you just met Joe. Meeting Joe for the first time is considered the first touch.  If you follow up the next day with an email or phone call stating how you enjoyed meeting him, or providing him with some information he requested, that would be the second touch.  If, during the second touch, you ask Joe to meet up for lunch or coffee, then that meeting would be the third touch.

Now, because you are keeping the conversation going, Joe will remember you.  Sending a birthday or holiday card is another way to touch him.  Making an introduction for Joe or sending him a relevant news article related to his interest or job would also be considered touches.

Once you establish a good rapport with people, you will find they will be more open to taking the actions you initially wanted from them.  And you will be on your way to developing and maintaining business relationships.

Christmas

The Networker is taking the week off, as networking has come to a halt this week.  I will be back next week discussing “7 Touches” and listing upcoming networking events for 2010.

Business Card Exchange

The exchange of business cards in China is a very formal one.  You hold the business card using both hands, with the card facing the receiver. The receiver honors the card like it’s a gift, and the card is never written on.

Since most of us are going to be networking here in the U.S., let’s talk about how things are done in the West.  Here, it is ok to write on cards, and I encourage it.  If you are meeting a lot people at networking events, it can be hard to remember whom you need to follow up with, and what action to take.  Do you make a phone call or send an e-mail?  How do you remember where you met that person?  Make it easy on yourself and make a comment on the business card.  This also gives the appearance that you are interested in the person you are meeting.

If I am meeting someone with whom I want to keep in contact, I will usually write the date and/or the location of where we met on the card.  I may use this information later to remind them how we met, or to help me remember where I met the person if they contact me.

I will also note if I need to add them to my e-mail list if they have given me permission.  Side note, don’t grab cards too quickly just to build your e-mail list; get verbal permission first.  If not, you run the risk of becoming a spammer and having your e-mails blocked.  I will discuss this detail on another day.

The last thing I write on the card is the type of action I need to take.  This might be to follow up with an e-mail, meet for coffee, or make an introduction.

Now if I meet someone and don’t have a pen on me, I use a folding-edge method.  Here I fold the top right corner to follow up with the person, and fold the lower right corner to add them to e-mail list.  Feel free to create your own method, for what works for you.

So now, armed with business cards, you are ready to go out and make connections.

Christmas Business Cards

I have been sending out holiday cards, so they are on my mind, but this week I wanted to discuss the creation of a business card or networking card, as they play a key role in networking.  Now for those of you who use company cards, you may not be able to do much about your card, though you still may want to create a separate networking card if you are meeting and following up with people who are outside of work.

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge Debbie Rodkin, president of Re:Focus on Careers (an Atlanta based professional networking group), as she constantly hammers the importance of business cards.  I am sure some of her words have been interwoven into this blog.

Some tips on creating a business/networking card:

1. Need to have important contact information, i.e. Name, Phone Number, and Email Address.  Possible other contact information could include Mobile Phone, Fax, Twitter Handle and personal LinkedIn URL.
2. Display a Website Address (if there is one) so people can find out more about you or the product or service you are promoting.
3. A simple, easy to read list of things that you can help people with or how they can help you.
4. Cards can have information on both sides, just make sure the information is organized well and that one side offers some white space so people can mark on it.  Also make sure the white side is not glossy.
5. Make sure the card is easy to read.  This includes large fonts, and lettering that stands out from the background.  If you make it hard or confusing for the person to read your card, they will just throw it away.
6. Brand your card.  Your card should represent you or your company.  This means the colors, logo, fonts and layout should be consistent with the rest of the image, even if you are the brand.  I use the same colors and design on my personal business card as I do on my name badge and personal website.

Almost any office supply store can create business cards.  You may want to check out Vista Print online or Thumbnail Resume Cards, which specializes in networking cards.

Tis the Season to Network

The holidays are here, and you may be thinking that people are focused on their families, friends, and what gifts to buy.  You would be right, though people are also attending lots of holiday parties for clubs, offices, and other organizations.  Usually people may be a little jollier than normal and maybe have a lighter workload, as productivity seems to drop down for a lot of companies over the holiday season.  This makes for an ideal time to network.

Because people will be a little more relaxed at parties, this should make it easier to make the first connection and catch people in a good mood.  If the person’s workload is lighter, not only may they be more focused at enjoying the party at hand and meeting people, but also available for a follow up meeting for coffee because now they have the time to meet with you at work.

A few points to keep mind when attending a holiday party:

1. Breaking the ice with strangers is usually easier.  A smile and hand shake wishing them happy holidays usually works well.  This should be followed up by your name.
2. Remember the person you are meeting is probably not there for networking, so a more casual approach may be needed.  I would recommend a little banter, as this is a holiday party, before diving into your networking routine.
3. As with any networking event, a causal drink is ok, but you should not be memorable because you were the drunk at the party.  If you are networking, you will need to stay professional.

As usual, I will keep this short and sweet.  I would love to hear your suggestions and comments on networking over the holiday season.

Handshake

Since this is my first blog entry, I feel it appropriate to discuss the handshake.

We all know the expression about making a first impression; well, the handshake is part of that first impression.  The handshake tells a lot about the person you are meeting.  If the person thrusts their hand out at you, then they are aggressive.  If the other tries to have their hand on top of yours, then they perceive themselves as dominate. On the other hand (no pun intended), if the grip is too weak, we think of the person the same way.

The handshake should always be firm.  This goes for both men and women, though one should never try to break the other hand.  Both hands should be vertical, never having one hand on top.  When shaking hands, always look the other person in the eyes.  I always repeat the person’s name I am meeting and try to remember their eye color as well.  If introducing yourself, say your name slowly with a breath in between your first and last name.

Your handshake and voice should always portray confidence, which will leave a great first impression.

Welcome

Hello fellow networkers, I am Mike Himelstein, the networking guy, here to provide some networking tips on different aspects of networking.  My blogs will discuss issues from the handshake when meeting a new person to tips on how to get he most out of LinkedIn.  I would love to hear your feedback on my tips.  This blog will be updated weekly.

Make sure you also check out the link for the calendar, as I will be listing upcoming business networking events.  The format may change some on this page as I try to figure out the best way to present weekly events.  Feel free to submit a networking event. All events will need to be business related, though I welcome almost any industry.  All events are subject to my approval.

To submit your event, send it to mike.himelstein@gmail.com subject “Please add to calendar”.  Message should include Date, Time, Name and link for more info.