Latest / Enhance.training / Networking Skills for Managers – 4 Key Ways to Improve Your Networking

Transcript

Networking Skills for Managers – 4 Key Ways to Improve Your Networking · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Networking skills for managers and professionals are important, both for internal networking within your business and external networking.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: All of us prefer to give work to people we know and trust.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: We prefer to buy from people we like.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: We prefer to employ people we are confident we can get on with.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Building personal and professional relationships with a wider range of people within your own organisation and external to it will help you have a better and more successful career.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: You will also have a stronger support network, get more interesting work and have more fun.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of positives.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Once you know what to do and put in a bit of effort, networking is enjoyable and relatively easy for most people, whatever stage you are in your career.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: To help you improve your networking, I'm going through these four ways to build your networking skills for professionals and managers.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: First, aim to build genuine long-term friendships.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Second, focus on giving before asking.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Third, plan to follow up and nurture relationships.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then fourth, tips to approach complete strangers when networking.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And for each, I'll be sharing practical tips to make networking easier and more fun for you.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: In the last section, I talked through the best tips to give them to me so you can confidently approach complete strangers at any networking and events.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a 20-year management career working in amazing companies like Innocent Drinks, EY, Williams Lee, and many others.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhance.training shares people management expertise, resources and courses so you can become a better manager quicker and help your team deliver a lot more.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Do visit us at enhance.training and use the free resources and the free webinars to quicker develop your authentic management approach, build your skills and deliver more from a motivated and happy team.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you find this podcast useful, please share it with friends and colleagues.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Think about when you build friends socially.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: You start as strangers, then you become casual acquaintances before you become friends, and a few of those friends may become close friends.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: In networking, both parties go through similar stages of getting to know each other, liking each other, and then trusting each other.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Only then will you get business opportunities, job openings, etc.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Approach networking with the aim of finding interesting people that you like and are happy to get to know while finding out what they actually do.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Think how are you going to create multiple contact points over time and use these to build professional and personal relationships that will be mutually beneficial.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: When networking externally to your company, be selective in the early stages of networking.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Successful networking takes work and persistence, so don't build relationships with those that you are unlikely to be able to help or who are less likely to be able to help you.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on people that meet your professional criteria and who you have a connection with and enjoy spending time with.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: When building networking skills for employees, I've always thought it useful to get to know as many people as practical within a business, at least as professional acquaintances.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: You never know when you might need to ask for a favour or help, and people are quicker to help those they like.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: A really important networking tips for managers is start networking within your own organisation and be targeted in your internal networking.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Any professional networking with those above you in the organization will be a very good investment of your time.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Building relationships with those that decide on who gets what work and who gets promoted will absolutely help your career progress.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: I started networking in a targeted way after learning the hard way that not doing so will definitely hold you back.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Aim to build long-term friendships that are mutually beneficial for both parties within your company first and then external to your company.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: The second key approach to building networking skills for managers is to focus on giving before asking.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Most people start networking focused on themselves, thinking about what they want and need.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: While it is important to know your goals and what you're offering, focusing on yourself is the wrong mindset to have.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: To be successful and skilled at professional networking for managers and building relationships with others, focus on how you can help the other person.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: What knowledge, skills and contacts do you have that might be useful and beneficial for the other person?
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Only when you've found ways to help the other person and ideally done so more than once should you start asking for what you want.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: This approach utilizes the social law of reciprocity.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: When you've helped others, they feel obliged to help you in turn.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on giving before asking, and you'll be a lot more successful in getting what you want.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Find out what they want and need by asking them, or ask others already working with them, or research their business and their market.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: First, ask them what they are working on.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: You could talk through the challenges they are facing, or you could find out what resources they're missing, or you could ask them what is keeping them up at night, or you could find out what you have that will help them.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: When networking helping others first will build up goodwill and favours so that you can then call upon them in the future when you need help.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Aiming to help first is great to improve your networking skills and is a great way to build good relationships quickly.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Be as helpful as you practically can within the time you have available.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: The third vital action when building networking skills for managers is to plan to follow up and nurture relationships.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Focus the initial meeting on finding common ground and connecting, and then asking questions and listening to understand what the other person is looking for.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you achieve this in 5-10 minutes, say of chatting with a person at an event or after an internal meeting at work, you have done well.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now comes the harder part that many people don't do or don't do very well: the following up and nurturing of the relationship.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: This does take effort and not as much as you might think, and following up should be enjoyable so it won't feel like work.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Diorise time each week or month to devote to following up on your initial connections and nurturing the more established relationships.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: When networking externally, after initially meeting an interesting connection, organise a 20 to 30 minute video call or phone call.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Your goal of this call is to find out as much as possible about the other person and what they want rather than pitching what you offer.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Be clear about your criteria of what makes a good connection for you.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Just remember, great opportunities can come from unlikely sources, so focus on connections that you get on well with as much as what they might potentially be able to do for you.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: You will also need to cover what you offer and who you offer it to as clearly, concisely and memorably as possible.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: When networking within your organization, focus on getting to know what the other person does, where they fit into the organisation as a whole, and what their current challenges are.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: This should give you enough so that you can follow up with some research, some analysis, insights, connections, help, etc.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Anything that will help the person overcome their current challenges.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Then you have great reason to follow up with the other person.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Being helpful in a proactive way will be a great starting point to establishing a professional relationship with that person.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then during your follow-ups, get them talking about their hobbies, interests, and personal life too, so that you're building a relationship at a professional and personal level with them.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: With any networking, work out how you're going to regularly contact the person and give yourself further opportunities to be helpful.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can start working into the conversations what you want.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: How frequently you contact the person depends on the time you make available for networking.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Aim to speak to your contacts at least quarterly and send them something useful to them each month, you know, such as articles, posts, journals, analysis, etc.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Keep up regular contact with all your contacts so they don't forget about you, and this also allows you to remind them what you are looking for too.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Keep your requests consistent and ideally memorable.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Many people find approaching complete strangers at networking events the most intimidating part of the networking process.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: To help you overcome this difficult barrier, let's go through some tips to approach complete strangers when networking.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: The first of my tips when networking in your company is to do your homework before approaching your target person.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Find out enough information to give you talking points with the person that you want to build a relationship with.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Ask around, look at their social profiles, and find out what projects they're working on or are in charge of.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Build up a few questions that will encourage them to talk about areas that they're interested in.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can create opportunities to ask your questions naturally and start the conversation.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: There are loads of events that you can do this at, I mean it could be as simple as at the end of a meeting that you're both attending, or you could even pop around to their desk and introduce yourself, or of course you can speak to them at events or company socials.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: When you have done your homework and have a few areas to talk about, the initial approach becomes a minor step rather than a big deal.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're networking externally and you're in a room full of people and you're wondering who you should approach, look for small groups of twos and threes.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: You're looking for small groups that are partially facing outwards rather than forming a closed circle.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not sure, take a look at their feet and which direction they're facing, it's a really easy sign to check.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: With two people, for example, you're looking for feet that are facing partially outwards, creating V shapes, rather than the feet facing toe-to-toe towards each other.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: People whose feet are creating V shapes are effectively leaving space for others to join the group.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: It was one of the best tips I got when I first started networking.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: So go up to people showing body language that is open for others joining the group and say, while smiling and in a confident voice, please can I join you?
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Or would you mind if I joined you?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Introduce yourself, listen to their name, and then ask them a question relevant for the event you're at.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: For example, it could be, I was really impressed with X Speaker, who do you like the most?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Once you get used to spotting people that are open to others joining them, external networking becomes a lot easier and much less intimidating.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoy your networking.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, networking becomes a more and more important skill as you rise through the ranks at work.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Developing networking skills for managers is a very good investment of your time, and I would say it is an expected skill once you get into middle management ranks and above.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Start networking within your own organization before networking outside of your organization.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Get to know as many people as sensible and certainly those above you.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Internal networking within your organization, in my view, is easier than external networking.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: You have so many more reasons to contact individuals and it is easier to stay in contact.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: As a reminder, we have been through these four ways to build your networking skills for managers.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, aim to build genuine long-term friendships.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Third, plan how to follow up and nurture relationships, and fourth, how to approach complete strangers when networking.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on networking skills for managers, four key ways to improve your networking, please email me at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.