Читать книгу Successful Networking in 7 simple steps - Clare Dignall - Страница 23

If you are under pressure with work or the launch of your own business, you may feel that networking doesn’t feel ‘mission-critical’ enough to waste time in its planning. If that sounds like you, then three simple tools could help you manage your networking effectively:

 Scheduling: Set aside a time each week or month to plan and review your networking and block this time off in your diary. That way, you won’t feel that you must ‘find’ time amongst your other commitments – you already have it set aside. Schedule these sessions for days when you know you’ll need a break from other projects; thinking about networking and the opportunities it can bring can be a good motivator if other things aren’t going your way. If it’s in your diary, you won’t be tempted to skip planning either – networking without clear goals can be haphazard and costly.

 Funding: If you are starting your own business, or are networking for personal development, it’s a good idea to factor in a monthly allowance for networking. It’s positive to think of this as a necessary start-up cost, rather than an expense you can ill afford – you want to be able to catch up with contacts for coffees and lunches without feeling that you are dipping into earnings. If a once in a lifetime opportunity comes up, having some travel funds in place means you can enjoy the experience, rather than arrive stressed-out about your bank balance and resentful of the whole affair.

 Measuring: Critical to your networking planning is finding a way to measure how you’re doing. Which network events result in the greatest number of active contacts? What are my monthly networking expenses against new business generated directly from it? Which contacts do I spend most time with and are we deriving mutual benefit? Does local networking yield more useful contacts than travelling to events further afield? You may ask any number of questions like this to identify how your networking is ‘delivering’, or combine them to interrogate your results effectively. Over time, you will build up a picture of the events, places and people that are most useful to you now, and others that may become more useful later. Asking questions helps you get the ‘big picture’ of the path you are taking through your networking career, and crucially, how to take charge of planning it.