6 Networking and marketing yourself

Whatever your current job, whatever your career goals, you can always benefit from networking and marketing yourself. Business today is driven by relationships. Networking and marketing yourself require you to build strong and meaningful relationships—many that will be long term and some that may be extremely helpful as you look for promotion opportunities.

Before you plunge in, ask yourself the following questions:

Why am I networking? What’s my personal or professional goal?

What are my strengths that will help me to market myself?

What organisations or events will be valuable places for networking?

How much time do I want to spend on networking, and when will I do it?

How will I know when I’ve been successful?

Step one: Find out more about the ideas behind networking

The more self-effacing amongst us feel uncomfortable about the idea of networking. If you’re one of those people, try to see the positive benefits of putting yourself ‘out there’. For example, research has shown that people who have a good network of contacts, who are involved in professional and community activities outside the normal job, and who look for opportunities to be visible are more successful in their careers and contribute more effectively to the company they work for.

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Once you start to build your network, you’ll find that it becomes a way of life and is something that you do all the time and instinctively. As you build professional relationships, be constantly thinking: ‘What can I offer this person?’, ‘How can I be of help?’. The more you try to be of service to others, the more people will want to do things for you.

Step two: Be clear about the purpose of your networking

There are many reasons why you might want to network and market yourself. Our main focus here is looking for a promotion, but, if you’re looking for a new job or even hoping to gain support for a major project, networking can help you too. Your efforts will be much more effective if you know exactly why you’re building these relationships and what you hope to accomplish. Everyone has limited time, and this will help you to decide how to prioritise your networking activities.

Step three: Make a list of your strong points

It’s important to have a sense of who you are and what your strengths are when you’re networking and marketing yourself. Think about:

your special skills and abilities

any unique knowledge you have

experiences that other people may find valuable

characteristics and beliefs that define who you are

Knowing your strengths will give you a confidence boost and also help you to remember that other people will value what you have to offer.

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Never network from a position of weakness. Networking from a position of strength—and always having something of value to offer others—means that people won’t see you as an annoyance. Also, try as far as you can to begin networking before you need anything from other people. People will be much more inclined to help you if you join or create a network to build relationships and do what you can to help others or the organisation.

Step four: Make a list of helpful organisations and events

Once you know your own overall goals and what you have to offer others, you can make a start on getting to know people who can help you.

First of all, find out about professional organisations and events that may be helpful to you in your career or with your project. Look for special interest groups, like those for ‘entrepreneurial women’, for example. Take the plunge and get involved!

When you’re at professional events, like conferences, make sure that you attend social functions, that you join people for dinner, and that you seek out volunteer opportunities. Don’t hide in your room and hope that people will come and seek you out.

If you’re aiming to network within your current workplace, find out whether there are any special interest groups or social groups to join. If not, start some! Do a bit of ‘market research’ beforehand among your colleagues, and, if they’re willing to come along, ask each of them to bring along someone else that the other attendees won’t know—that will widen your pool of contacts. You could also look for committees to be involved in. Don’t be shy about asking questions and making suggestions.

Step five: Create a contact list

Keeping in mind your reasons for networking, come up with a list of all the people you know who might be of help to you. Next, prioritise the list according to who is most likely to be helpful. Think about people you’ve done favours for in the past who might not be of direct help but who may know someone who can be. Once you’ve spoken to each person, ask him or her if they know of anyone else who might be able to help you. That way, your network grows larger at a stroke, and you have a personal recommendation to boot.

Step six: Create an action plan with a schedule

Take your list of organisations and events and your contact list, and put together an action plan for making connections. Schedule networking events in your diary, along with organisational meetings, conferences, and so on. If you’re really determined, you could set up a timetable for making a certain number of calls per day or per week to the people on your contacts list.

Step seven: Meet up with people and attend events

It’s now time to step out from behind the telephone or e-mail inbox! Meeting people and attending useful events is probably the best way of making the most of your network. Beforehand, review your list of strengths and focus again on why you’re networking and marketing yourself in the first place. All of this will help you visualise a successful outcome, a very useful technique that can banish any last-minute nerves or self-doubt. Be friendly and professional, but most of all, be yourself.

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Always spend time connecting with people on a personal level before you ask for their help or share your reason for networking. If you’re meeting in person with someone on your contact list, always bring a gift—something they can remember you by.

Step eight: Market yourself

Marketing yourself goes hand-in-hand with building a network, and the two can complement each other powerfully. The strategy you use to market yourself will depend very much on your own personal goals but, as a general rule, think of yourself as a brand: ‘Brand You’.

For example, when marketers are marketing a product, they look for the ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ (USP), something relevant and original that can be claimed for a particular product or service. The USP should be able to communicate ‘Buy our brand and get this unique benefit’.

If you’re marketing yourself, you need to use the same principles and define who your ‘customers’ are and what your USP is. Your list of strengths above should give you some clues, but the best USPs are short and snappy, such as ‘I solve problems quickly and simply’ or ‘My leadership brings out the best in others’. The people closest to you can often give good suggestions if you get stuck.

Step nine: Keep an eye on your progress

It’s always a good idea to keep track of your progress and of where you are in your action plan: a notebook or simple planner is all you need. It also helps to have someone as a sounding board, such as a friend, a family member, your boss, a mentor, or a professional adviser. When we feel accountable for our actions to someone we trust, we’re much more likely to follow through. It’s always a great boost to be able to celebrate your successes with someone else.

Step ten: Always say ‘thank you’

As you build your network, many people will offer you information, opportunities, and valuable contacts. In your notebook, keep track of the favours that people have done for you and make sure that you write each one a short and simple thank-you letter or e-mail. People are always more willing to help someone who has been appreciative in the past.

Step eleven: Be patient!

Networking is a long-term activity. Steven Ginsburg of the Washington Post describes networking as ‘building social capital’. You may not see results overnight, and at first should expect to give more than you get. But stick at it, because over time your network will become one of your most valued assets.

Common mistakes

You don’t want to bother anyone

Remember that people love to help others. Make sure, though, that you don’t take up too much of someone’s time and that you come well prepared. Be specific: say ‘I’d like 30 minutes of your time’, and then stick to it— don’t outstay your welcome. Whenever you meet up with someone, always be thinking, ‘Is there something I can do to help this person?’ Create a win-win situation for everyone concerned.

You come on too strong

Networking isn’t about selling someone something they don’t want. You’re looking for opportunities to create a mutual relationship where there is give and take. For networking to be successful, you absolutely have to be interested in developing a long-term connection rather than grabbing a quick answer to a problem you’re facing. Remind yourself that your focus is on relationship building, not on immediate results, and not exclusively on you.

You don’t come on strongly enough

If you put yourself in networking situations, but never talk about your needs or interests it may be that you’re still not entirely sure why you’ve embarked on this route. Or maybe you’ve ended up networking for reasons that aren’t as important to you as you thought they may be. If you’re at all in doubt about what you want to achieve, go back to step one and clarify your purpose.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

Understand that networking is an excellent way of building strong, long-term professional relationships that benefit everyone concerned, not just you.

When you first think about networking, make sure you’re absolutely clear about what you’re hoping to achieve. Knowing your own goals is just as important as finding people to help you reach them.

If you’re naturally a shy person, you might feel uncomfortable at the prospect of putting yourself ‘out there’. If you can see it as a key step towards reaching your career goals, though, it should become a much more attractive proposition.

Make a list of your strengths to remind yourself of the skills, experience, and knowledge you have to offer others.

Try to build your networks before you need to ask others for help. This will show that you’re interested in building helpful alliances rather than just your own interests.

Create a contacts list of all the people who might be able to help you, starting with those for whom you’ve done favours in the past.

Put together an action plan of who you plan to contact when and which events might be useful to attend. Keep a track of your plan and your progress so that you can change tack if you need to.

Think about how you can market yourself as well as network. Take a step back and see yourself as a ‘brand’ for a few minutes. All successful brands have USPs, which set them apart from others. What is your USP?

Never take advantage of other people’s willingness to help you. If you say you’d like to book half an hour with someone to ask his or her opinion about something, stick to that time limit. Make a point of asking your contacts if you can help them.

Always, always, thank people for their time and help.