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Whether you’re busy building your Dream Business, looking for a job or if you just want to meet new and interesting people, Authentic Networking skills are your key to success!  As many are reviewing their skill set, credentials, and pondering what the future holds for them, there’s one very important question that every professional and business owners needs to assess:  How strong is my network?

It’s great that you have a stack of business cards, but how well do those influential individuals even remember who you are, and more importantly, know how well you perform?

Because effective networking is based on mutually beneficial relationships, developing a solid base of contacts does take time.  But it is well worth the effort invested.  Experts provide several strategies on how you can build and maximize your best opportunity for finding work or customers:

Have a goal and be open

In today’s environment, you don’t want to close any doors on where you can meet influential professionals, but it’s wise to choose environments that work with your personality and style.  After-work mixers can put you in touch with a variety of people.  Having an idea of who you’d like to meet as well as background information on them and their business will help you focus as well as facilitate an introduction.  Speaking at conferences and becoming active in professional organizations will provide others with an opportunity to actually see and hear how you perform.  Those activities will engage others and draw professionals to you.

Have an elevator pitch

Make sure you can convey who you are and why you would be a good contact for someone else.  Remember, the first rule of networking is not what you can get, but what you can offer.  In discussing your background, people will want to know what you do and for whom you have done it.  Your presentation should also be concise, easy to understand, and not sound like a sales pitch.  People who come across as inauthentic have a style that says, “it’s all about me.”  Let your style send the signal that you have something of value to offer to others and that you are willing to help others.

Social networking and face-to-face networking must be treated the same way

Online efforts need to be a strategic as traditional networking.  The focus should never be on just accumulating names and “friends.”  Just like your face-to-face interactions, you want to develop quality relationships.  When using social networks, think of the 90-10 rule.  90% of what you share should be made up of personal insights and thoughts along with a heavy dose of helpful links, while 10% should be made up of messages that more directly benefit you.

Show you care; it’s not all about business

Talking about your interests outside of work can help ease the pressure of connecting with someone new.  It also shows that you are genuinely interested in making a connection with this person.  Volunteering, hosting an event, or serving on a committee are also ways to network without the stress of business.

Do not exclude anyone

We tend to take those closest to us for granted.  Reach out to family, friends, old classmates, and current and former work colleagues.  This is an easy network to fully cultivate, without the same pressures to develop new relationships.

Re-engage

Quickly reconnect with people after first meeting them.  You do not want to wait until you are in a stressful time to build your network.

As time progresses, maintain contact periodically – this could be every month by e-mail, quarterly, or once a year, depending on the strength of the connection.  You can send a newsletter to update your best contacts on what you’ve been working on and ask them the same.

Now go and network!

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” ~ Jane Howard