Referrals Unlimited Network

Networking 101: Networking Tips from Big Thinkers… 101 of them! (Part 1 of 2)

White I was spending some time today reviewing websites found on my followers’ Tweets, I came upon this awesome article that definitely needs sharing.  I have included the entire article here for you to read, share tips with others and most of all, learn a bit more about networking!  I hope you enjoy this and will comment below!

Part 1 – Tips 1-50 are listed here.  Be sure to also read Part 2 – Tips 51-101 too!

To Your Networking Success!

Carol


By John Exley – John is a great addition and ongoing Guest blogger to the Nextvoice247 team. You can read more about John at the end of his blog.

Relationships have been said to be one of the keys to happiness in life. Networking brings about relationships and is essential for building your personal brand, growing your company, or even enabling a more rewarding life.

Below are 101 1-sentence tips on networking from some of the world?s best people to know, from ambitious college students and fabulous bloggers to successful entrepreneurs and my own father.

Embody these tips and you will be well on your way to becoming a successful networker. Many thanks to all the contributors; your friendships and help have been a key to my own personal happiness in life. Thanks to all the contributors!

1.    Don’t carry any businesses cards with you:  It makes you memorable because it is unexpected AND it positions you perfectly to follow up after you meet since the responsibility for future contact is clearly yours. (Mike Michalowicz, Author of  ‘The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, CEO of Obsidian Launch, mikem@obsidianlaunch.com,www.twitter.com/tpentrepreneur)

2.    No one is special, say hello to everyone! (Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia & host of WineLibaryTV, www.twitter.com/garyvee, www.garyvaynerchuk.com)

3.      Once one is committed to working for the greater good, the most spectacular design of well oiled networking relationships will miraculously appear over and over again. (Amanda Koster, Founder of Salaam Garage) http://salaamgarage.com/, www.twitter.com/salaamgarage

4.   Always be thinking: How can I help the person I’m talking to? (Guy Kawasaki, Entrepreneur and VC, Co-Founder of Alltop.com and Garage Technology Ventures. www.twitter.com/guykawasaki, www.guykawasaki.com, www.alltop.com, guy@alltop.com)

5.    Don’t let the room work you, have conversation exits and circulate yourself. (Larry Chiang,

Author of “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School” http://www.amazon.com/What-Teach-Stanford-Business-School/dp/0615301487/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1250099306&sr=8-2, Founder & CEO of Duck9 www.duck9.com, Blogger www.larrychiang.com, www.twitter.com/larrychiang, larry@whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com)

6.    You just don’t know who knows who – networking makes connections to follow and see where they might lead. (Anita Wagner, Chief Operating Officer of Polaris Library Systems, anita.wagner@polarislibrary.com)

7.   Be yourself, flaunt a little creativity and add value to everyone that you meet. (Sarah Prout, Founder of Sprout Publishing & Award-winning Entrepreneur, http://www.sproutpublishing.com/, www.twitter.com/sarahprout)

8.    When networking don’t hold back, you never know what qualities you have that might be valuable to others. (Tony Ruiz, student at Arizona State, www.twitter.com/tonyruiz, http://www.concepthero.com/)

9.   Always look for ways to make the Networking communication mutually beneficial…do not Network solely for personal gain. (Kent Heyman, President and CEO of Syncables, www.syncables.com, www.twitter.com/syncables)

10.    Stop looking around the room or thinking about what you’re going to say and listen.(Matt Ackerson, www.venturekid.com, www.twitter.com/mattackerson, mmackerson@gmail.com, Co-Founder and CEO of Scrimple, Inc. and BlueSkyLocal)

11.    Your network is like a presidency, how you handle your relations will make the people love or hate you. (Dan Xavier, CEO of Sosponsored, dxaviers@gmail.com)

12.    Ask Intelligent questions, and listen with sincere care. (George Exley, gexley@careforyourproperty.com, CEO and President of PropertyCare, Inc. www.careforyourproperty.com)

13.    Be helpful after doing homework on the person and your connections will be much deeper. (Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, www.twitter.com/chrisbrogan, http://bit.ly/cbbio, blog@chrisbrogan.com)

14.   Start talking. The person you want to meet isn’t going to come over to you, get over there and introduce yourself! (Jared O’Toole, Co-Founder of Under30CEO, www.twitter.com/jaredotoole, jared@under30ceo.com)

15.    When networking do not use people as stepping stones to accomplish what you want, see each person as an individual with whom you may build a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship with. (Shawn Doolen, shawn.doolen@gmail.com, www.twitter.com/dooley34512, Business Transformation Consultant, IBM)

16.    Every person you meet has the potential to drastically alter your life, (you just don’t know it yet), so make the introduction, lay it all out and reap the rewards.(Rob Ianelli, www.robianelli.com, www.twitter.com/robianelli, Co-Founder of Hip Visions, LLC (www.hipvisions.com) and What’s Up Martha www.whatsupmartha.com)

17.    Networking isn’t about exchanging business cards, it’s about building relationships. (Scott Stratten, President of Un-Marketing.com, http://un-marketing.com/blog/, www.twitter.com/unmarketing)

18.    You have to give to get!  Your approach to networking has to be completely selfless–the more opportunities that you find for other people the more opportunities will find you. (Matt Wilson, Co-Founder of Under30CEO, www.mattwilson.tv, www.twitter.com/mattwilsontv, matt@under30ceo.com)

19.    When networking it’s important to just be yourself: the same skills used in face-to-face networking carry over into social media and are your best assets! (Chris Isaac, Founder of www.birdbathBUZZ.com, createbuzz@birdbathbuzz.com, www.twitter.com/birdbathbuzz)

20.    Your network isn’t about what you can gain from it, but what you have to offer it, such that if you focus on what you can give, the “gets” fall into place. (David Macauley, www.twitter.com/threedot, Program Manager for Backup and Recovery at an IT firm; Professional Encourager & Kindness Catalyst)

21.    Make yourself available, approachable and knowledgeable. (Aaron J. Davis, Manager of Consumer Insights and Web Analytics for Kellwood, www.twitter.com/aaronjdavis, davis.aaron@gmail.com)

22.    Networking is never about you, it’s about them – it’s about interacting, engaging, and providing value to others.(Kevin Mandeville, Founder of http://bouncewebsolutions.com/, www.twitter.com/kevingotbounce)

23.    It’s easy to fall into the trap of relying on the internet to only connect with others and build your network, but at the end of the day, it’s the face-to-face interaction that matters most; use the internet (social media) as a networking tool and a springboard to F2F opportunities, not a replacement for the human component of building meaningful relationships.(John Fowler, Authentic Consultant & Coach, www.linkedin.com/in/johnrayfowler, www.twitter.com/johnrayfowler)

24.    Always seek first to help the other person before asking them to help you.(Scott Bradley, www.NetworkingEffectively.com, www.twitter.com/scottbradley)

25.   Don’t half-ass it. You’re customers, readers, and overall audience can read between the lines. Be genuine and be unique! (Matt Chevy, http://www.lifewithoutpants.com/, www.twitter.com/mattchevy)

26.   I’ve never gotten turned down for a meeting I really wanted to get, some you just have to try harder than others. (Derek Johnson, www.twitter.com/thederekjohnson, http://thederekjohnson.com/, CEO of Tatango)

27.    Get your “what do you do?” reply/answer down to one sentence and have it ready at all times.(Troy Monaco, Brand Relations, http://troymonaco.com www.twitter.com/troymonaco)
28.    Be a good resource for people in your network by asking them what u can do for them most of the time, not what they can do for you all of the time, i.e. if someone in your network likes football a lot, and you happen to stumble upon a great football article, you should send the article to him or her!(Nduka Anyanwu, Author of www.HowToCollegeFitness.net & the upcoming www.cufit.net, www.twitter.com/ndukaanyanwu)

29.    A firm handshake with eye contact is crucial because people intuit a great deal from that first brief exchange, and maintaining open body language by never crossing your arms is essential for all networking interactions. (Mike Hanna, Business Consultant and Aspiring Entrepreneur, mhannamj@gmail.com)

30.    A few quality connections are more valuable than hundreds of weak connections. (Brian Shaffer,  Internet Entrepreneur, brian@brianshaffer.com, www.brianshaffer.com)

31.    Networking is as simple as developing a new friend; listen, offer help and enjoy each other’s company…all else will fall into place. (Brian Gates, President/Lead Designer of Design My Idea, LLC, http://www.designmyidea.com/)

32.   Memory retention of a prospect and their business is twice as important as getting their number (never punch a number into your phone or you’ll forget them, get a card, write on it, look at it, comment on it to your prospect); networking without remembering the relationship is called NOTworking. (Dan McClintock, Co-Owner at DNE Records, CEO of Package Web Deals,  CEO of Design-Geeks.com, www.twitter.com/lildanny, www.linkedin.com/in/lildanny)

33.    In networking it is more important to be interested than interesting. (Ty Bennett, Founder of Leadership, Inc. http://leadershipinc.com/, www.twitter.com/tybennett,)

34.   Network with everyone not based on their title because it could lead to an even better group of networks. (Demetrius Williams, Aspiring Entrepreneur, Demetrius.j.williams@gmail.com, www.twitter.com/djwilliams2)

35.    The Internet is faster than your mouth; be selective in what you post. (Josh “The Future” Fogarty, Business Technology Strategist, www.twitter.com/joshthefuture)

36.    Get to know people as friends it’s a much better way to let your goals be known, but before you do, ask and care about theirs. (Bill Griffin, Event Planner, Sales & Marketing Professional griffin92400@yahoo.com, www.twitter.com/bgriffin04, http://bgriffin04.wordpress.com/)

37.   I’m tired of being around people who are not passionate; they are straight up boring, so be passionate and you will succeed at networking…at least with me. (Ben Henschel, Photographer & Aspiring Entrepreneur www.benhenschel.com, www.twitter.com/benschel)

38.    Be interesting, be genuine, don’t go nuts promoting yourself.(Ian J. Spector, Clever entrepreneur, Bestselling author, Creative strategy & marketing consultant w/ interest in online media, www.whatisawesome.com, www.twitter.com/ianjspector)

39.    Everyone knows someone, and that someone could turn you into a Someone. (Anthony Tori, Founder of Jumpness, www.twitter.com/anthonytori, www.jumpness.com, www.twitter.com/jumpness)

40.    Always listen to what the other person has to say, because every detail can be turned into a story for another conversation and conversations are the start of all relationships.(Amitha Kurmala, Chief Editor of Technizzel, www.technizzel.com, www.twitter.com/technizzel)

41.   When going to company sponsored networking events, find out in advance who is going to be there and do your research in order to make a great impression. (Sarah Chuplis, Operations Management Leadership Program for GE in California, http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sarah-chuplis/14/563/23a, Sarah.Chuplis@ge.com)

42.    Register at the business networking site LinkedIn.com. (Dave Miller, Quality & Process Engineering for Eastman Kodak Company, david.a.miller@kodak.com)

43.    When networking online, never forget what your mother taught you; it’s not about you. (Michael Benidt, CEO of Golden Compass, www.twitter.com/michaelbenidt, Michael@goldencompass.com, www.goldencompass.com)

44.   Company sports leagues are good networking, fun, and healthy unless you get pasted in the face with a softball. (Blake Conley, Reaction Value Stream Leader for GE Energy)

45.    Make yourself visible and vocal. (Chase Dearring, Industrial Engineering major at North Carolina A&T, crdearri@ncat.edu)

46.    Always have a hard copy back up of your most important contacts in case you lose a phone or your computer is stolen and never lose touch no matter what; even though it might not seem to matter who or what they are now, it is important to think long term when networking. (Chase Dragoon, Entrepreneur, patrickdragoon@gmail.com)

47.    Always make friends, never enemies, as enemies are worthless, and stay in touch with those friends. (Chris Cerami, Aspiring Entrepreneur at Penn State, cjc5107@psu.edu)

48.    Get out of your comfort zone, dissociate with people that are negative towards what you are trying to accomplish, and associate with people that are like minded and trying to, or already achieving what it is that you want. (Ben McAvey, Student at Clarkson University, mcaveybm@clarkson.edu)

49.   Don’t close any relationships with employers, you never know when they’ll come back to help you out. My old boss gave me a great letter of recommendation and it helped me a lot. (Derek Exley, Aspiring Entrepreneur, dexl0116@brockport.edu)

50.    Don’t be afraid.(Dustin Grzeskowiak, Mathematics Student at Clarkson University, grzeskdj@clarkson.edu)

+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+

John Exley is an aspiring entrepreneur with a unique background who loves his family and friends more than anything in the world. He is a junior Engineering & Management major and is President of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization at Clarkson University in northern New York. Born in Rochester, NY, his passions include fashion, networking, technology, working out, hustling, and helping others to achieve their dreams!

You can reach John Exley at: exleyja@clarkson.edu or on his cell at: (585) 472-0272.

Follow John Exley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnexley
Connect with John Exley on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jexley
Network with John Exley on LinkedIn: www.linkedin/in/johnexley
Personal Website: www.johnexleyonline.com

Nextvoice247: questions@nextvoice247.com

  |  | Subscribe to It!