Get Free from the Feast or Famine Cycle

How to find time to network when you're busy.

From BNI SuccessNet, by Richard White

It was a Catch 22 of sorts: I would network like crazy when I needed more work; then when things picked up and client work started to flow the very thing that brought in the work—networking—I would cut back on.
The trouble with networking like this is you end up getting caught in the “feast or famine cycle” – I bet you know what I am talking about! One minute you are maxed out and dreaming of having more time to yourself, and the next minute you are wishing you were really busy again.
Riding this rollercoaster a few times, I finally realized I could not afford to stop networking during busy times. I began to look for ways to ensure that the sales leads would keep coming in during those busy times. Here are five strategies I now use to network, even if I am ridiculously busy with client work.

 
Click here for Richard’s advice.

Business Networking and Sex

(It’s not what you think)

BusinessNetworking and Sex—Not What You Think, by Ivan Misner, Hazel Walker and Frank De Raffele is about gender differences in networking. I've have the good fortune of knowing all three authors.

Here’s a bit about the book: one co-author (Frank) focuses on the man’s perspective, one (Hazel) on the woman’s perspective, while Dr. Misner took the networking expert’s perspective.

One of the important questions the book addresses is “Are men and women really so different?”

Both men and women want business from networking and both are willing to work hard to get it. But they approach it in different ways, and could benefit from learning the style of the opposite sex.

Here are some tips for women dealing with men:

• When asking for help, communicate clearly what you want
• When speaking to men, try to impress them and share your accomplishments
• When spoken to inappropriately, speak up immediately. Don’t accept it.
• Convey an image that you’re a serious business person at all times.

For men dealing with women:

• Slow down. Build the relationship.
• Don’t assume that women don’t take their business seriously.
• Edit what you’re about to say. Filter out anything that’s not business-appropriate.
• Remember that women are at networking events for the same reason you are: to get business.

Expanding Your Sphere of Influence

In order to evaluate your sphere of influence, you need to take inventory of the people you know. When was the last time you really went through your complete contact list? Check your e-mail address book, your mobile phone directory, and your stacks of business cards.

Who do you know? Who have you forgotten that you know? Where are these people in the VCP process? Visibility, credibility or profitability? Are some of them still at the pre-visibility stage? Do you want to move the relationship along? Invite them to a BNI meeting. Invite them to a chamber of commerce meeting.

Don’t be afraid to include your friends and family in this. While you should never be pushy, think how you would feel if they bought services you provide from someone else, just because they didn’t know you offered that service.

For all the details: here’s the podcast.