3 Professional Networking Tips For Making Powerful, Lasting Connections
Last week, the founders here at ThePowerMBA had yet more fantastic news; NBA-All Star and 2x NBA Champion, Pau Gasol, would be joining the team as an instructor.
When I read through the email announcement I was in awe. I mean, this was a guy I’d looked up to and followed throughout his professional career.
Watching him start out with the Grizzlies in Memphis, before moving over to LA, Chicago, Texas, and then finally, up to Milwaukee.
Also, the selfless philanthropic work he’s dedicated his life to, becoming a UNICEF ambassador in 2003 as well as the founding of the Gasol Foundation with his brother, Marc.
How was it possible to recruit such a figure?
But then it dawned on me. At ThePowerMBA, we’ve always been able to attract some of the world’s leading industry figures.
Our instructors include the likes of Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, Steve Chan, the co-founder of YouTube, and Marc Randolph, the co-founder of Netflix.
Aside from sharing the same mission (opening up access to higher business education) with our instructors, networking also played a massive role.
Why?
Because people do business with people. Or better yet, they do business with people they know and trust.
With the current pandemia making face-to-face interactions almost impossible, networking is now more important and challenging than ever.
So, with that in mind, I spoke to our partnerships team who (very kindly) has offered to share with you 3 powerful networking tips they’ve used with great success throughout the pandemic.
Let’s see what they had to say!
#1 Be humble
You might be wondering what humility has to do with networking? The connection between the two isn’t strikingly obvious at first, so let me explain.
Most people approach business interactions with an agenda; knowing what they want to get out of a deal, how they want to “sell” their product or solution, etc.
The problem is, this rarely ever works.
People don’t want to listen to how great you, your business, and its products are. What they’re interested in is, how can you help them?
So eat a slice of humble pie.
Forget yourself for a second, and try listening to whoever you’re talking to. Ask them questions, maintain eye contact, show a genuine interest in what they have to say.
Make a mental note of their interests, concerns, and anything else you think stands out. Only then are you in a position to offer any real help.
Now, it might be that from a business standpoint your product/solution isn’t a great fit. OK, that’s fine, but don’t stop there. Think if you have any connection who could be of help? Someone who is in a better position to offer them a solution?
While you might not have a mutual business interest, you can bet they’ll remember you (for the right reasons, of course!)
So if something should come up down the line, you’ll be top of mind.
#2 Do your research
I’m sure we’ve all received a well-written, perhaps even well-intentioned LinkedIn request or email about a potential business partnership, only to read through the first paragraph and find out…
- They’ve misspelled your name
- Incorrectly addressed your title
- The product is entirely unrelated to your business
- Or just clearly not done their homework on you
If you’re feeling generous, you might even take the time to respond. Let them know that you’re not a good fit for “X, Y, or Z” reasons.
However, it’s more likely to just irritate you, leading you to curse the sender before promptly firing the message straight into the trash can.
If that person had taken the time to identify what you wanted or perhaps researched the industry a little more, they’d quickly have realized you weren’t a fit. The message wouldn’t have been sent, nobody’s time would have been wasted, and you wouldn’t have such a bad first impression of that person or their company.
Because the truth is, everybody needs something.
But before reaching out and connecting, you need to
- Find out what that is
- Uncover if there’s any synergy between your companies
- Make a proposal based on those findings
Blanket LinkedIn messaging and random email targeting won’t get you far. You have to do your research and understand the person you are talking to.
#3 Don’t get too “starstruck”
As I mentioned earlier, at ThePowerMBA we’ve managed to build partnerships with some industry leaders that when you go through the list you think “wow, these are the real deal.”
These are some of the richest, most successful businessmen and women currently plying their trade.
However, you will probably be surprised at how easy they are to talk to.
It might sound silly but at the end of the day, they are just people, like you and me. They want to have regular conversations without the fanfare that follows them around everywhere they go.
This is why it’s important that when striking up relationships it’s important to keep it as normal as possible. Just as if you were speaking to a close friend or family member.
If they see you running in with a selfie stick or pen and paper, it’s going to freak them out a little, and set the conversation off on the wrong foot.
Now, this is easier said than done (especially if you find yourself speaking to an extremely high-ranking industry leader) but remember, their divine status is something put upon them by us, not them.
So treat them as you would like to be treated yourself 😉
