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Episode Description:

In this week's episode, Beth discusses the way she has approached networking throughout her career. You’ll learn how to strategically network for each facet of your career, while developing and strengthening your own personal brand.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Podcast:

The Type A Plus Podcast Instagram

Host:

Beth Lawrence LinkedIn

Beth Lawrence & Company Instagram

Beth will be back each week, delivering bite-sized tips (15 minute episodes or less) on how to optimize your life and work.

Episode Transcript can be found below:

Hello everyone. And welcome back to the Type A+ podcast. I'm your host, Beth Lawrence. And this week, we're going to be talking about my strategies for Type A+ networking. first thing networking is incredibly important. I would never be where I am today in my career. If it was not for networking, I always say that. Your education, your resume, your experience. That's one facet, but your network is a huge component of how you build success. I graduated into a recession. I really was at a place where I needed to find a career position and I had a full resume, but I didn't really know how to get to that next step, so I found positions whether they were part-time or full-time internships.

I looked at them as networking opportunities, opportunities, not only to build sales and revenue for whatever company I was working for. but to simultaneously build my personal brand. So people knew who to call on when they needed an event planned. It's very important to me that people associate Beth with excellence in events and not specifically Beth at such and such location or working for such and such company.

And over time I built what I refer to and many people refer to as your personal board of directors. And those are the people who've always advocated for me, no matter what my job title was, or what company I was working with. In my case, they are people from inside my industry that has been with me since the beginning, they are advisors and friends who happen to have outside experiences or expertise, contacts from partner organizations, volunteer opportunities that I've had, or even a formal mentor.

All of those folks are part of my personal board of directors. and one thing to remember is these are not Supreme court justice seats. Thank goodness. They're not lifetime roles. Right? So just like any board, you wanna continue to diversify and analyze your board to see if there's still a fit for you at each stage in your life.

And honestly, vice versa. If a mentor-mentee relationship runs its course. Totally. Okay. But it's good to note that there might be a vacancy in your network and look for someone who has the skill sets that you'll need at that time. I started compiling a list of all of the companies and organizations that I've networked with. And I found that there were five main categories of organizations that I like to pull from when it comes to looking for networking opportunities virtually or in real life within my ecosystem. The first organization first type of organization is a business development organization.

And obviously, that's any group where your target customer goes to the network. Coming from someone who's starting out in sales, this was very easy for me. And it was the first type that I really mastered. Because even if you're selling yourself, you're still in sales, right?

So the second is an industry-specific networking organization. Now that's any group that offers continuing education or networking opportunities, or community gathering opportunities to those within your existing industry. So for me, those are organizations like the national association of catering executives or, the international live events association the list goes on and on. Those are all types of industry-specific organizations that I have networked with to gain not only contacts but knowledge within my industry.

The next category is a geography-specific organization.

Now, obviously in your virtual business world options are kind of limitless now, but if you have to, or you want to limit yourself to geography, whether that's the market where you live, or the target market, where you're looking to sell to pick that target market and really get involved.

Now, this could be a local chamber. Or something less formal, like a meetup or even, a list serve or a slack group. Pick what mediums work for you. If you are not someone who wants to go to, you know, a bar and get a drink and talk to folks, there are definitely virtual networking opportunities for you that are still geography specific.

So definitely look out for those. 

The fourth type of networking organization that I want you to consider is a common interest group. So are you someone who likes to do needlepoint or play kickball, or maybe take a group fitness class, you know, personal development groups like this are great because you're getting to know one another on a different level; it's not just a business card exchange? It's really getting to know more of the person. Connecting on a level that is outside of business, but really building that relationship that could be mutually beneficial in all aspects of your life.

And then the fifth and final that I always recommend is a philanthropic group. Volunteering has been a huge part of my career. Again, many of the positions that I've held are because of contacts that I've made through networking. So volunteer for a charity or civic organization that you yourself are passionate about. It's really an incredible experience not only to work toward a cause but to meet like-minded people and sharpen your skillset in an environment that's a little less threatening, right?

It's not the first day on a job it's coming together and saying, look, I have a passion and I have skills and I have time and I want to devote myself to this cause, and then meeting people who. Are meeting you there, they're in the exact same spot as you. You get really to be in the trenches with those people, shout out to, everyone who worked on the leukemia lymphoma societies, man, woman of the year campaign alongside myself and my team, and shout out to the human rights campaign, greater Philadelphia's annual gala team.

Um, those two organizations really helped me to strengthen my skillset and also really give back to causes that I'm passionate

so those are the five types. Let's go over them again. It's a business development organization and industry-specific organization, a geography-specific organization, a common interest group, and then a philanthropic cause.

Let's pause there. I don't expect you to do all of these in one month. I don't expect you to go to five networking events per week. I don't even necessarily expect you to go to five per quarter. This is just giving you an example of how to diversify the types of networking that are on your calendar so that you can meet new and interesting people that can change your perspective and build your community in a different way.

So once you've selected your event, the first thing to do is go and check out the guest list ahead of time and share that you're going on social media so that people can find you. A lot of people skip this part because they feel like I don't wanna do any extra marketing for this event that I'm going to, but it really is a great way to.

Either get people in your network to sign up so that, you know, you'll know someone there or spread the word so that people who are going can find you and connect with you before the event. So that's extra credit. If you can find folks that are going before the event, try to connect with people on LinkedIn who are within a couple of degrees of separation from you.

Meaning. If you have someone one or two people in common with them, make that introduction and say, Hey, I see that. So, so is a mutual contact of ours would really love to chat with you at this upcoming event. I see you are attending, something sincere really goes a long way.

If you're not able to view the guest list if you're not able to do the social media share. At least go on the website and review the executive board volunteers and event speakers ahead of time. That way you get a little bit of a sense of the types of people that are involved in the organization. And if you see any of them at the event and you have good memories, when it comes to facial recognition, you'll be able to introduce yourself to them.

At the event, make sure that you eliminate distractions. If you are on slack the whole time, and you're messaging back and forth to your team because you have a big project due, you're never gonna get the most out of the event. Right. So we wanna make sure to turn off that phone.

And if you came with someone it's always good to have a networking buddy, but make sure that that person doesn't become a distraction, and make sure that you don't spend the entire night in the corner. Right? Keep it moving your objective. At most networking events is to meet people and make connections.

The biggest thing for me is to have authentic conversations. if you are someone who likes to come up and just show a business card and take a business card and leave, that's great. But in my perspective, and in my experience, having an authentic conversation and building that authentic connection, even if you don't have a transactional relationship right away, that may build over time, because they have a more deep relationship with you, you're not just a business card on a pile. They're gonna think of you when they're gonna call you. The next tip that I always say is to connect with people on LinkedIn on site. I see most people are decreasing their usage of business cards. Connecting on LinkedIn is an easy way to keep track of who you connected with and to remember how you know, folks too. And if having a buddy does help you and having a buddy with you the whole night helps you. I recommend bringing someone. Who has a similar goal to you for being that at that event, but isn't going to step on your toes? So for example, when I used to work at a restaurant and I wanted to get people in to have their private dining events, I would do cold calls and go to networking events with a friend of mine who sold vending machines and office coffee to offices in the city because we have similar goals and similar target audiences, but we're not selling the exact same thing. Theoretically, someone could buy from me and buy from her. So a little bit of a tip.

After the event. This is where most people lack, I think is the follow through. So first things first follow up with each person that you met in a genuine way.

Mention something that you talked about and schedule one on one sessions with them as needed. So whether that's going to get coffee or just having a quick phone call, solidifying that connection is super important, especially the day or two after when everything is top of mind. 

Also, evaluate the event. The event, meet your goals. Did it exceed your expectations or was it the type of event that was great to attend once but maybe not necessarily attend again and repeat that process right? Every time you find a new networking group to join, it's really important to make sure that it's meeting your goals.

If your goals are to get business for your startup, and you haven't gotten any business from. It's time to reevaluate where your networking is unless that can serve another purpose and be your philanthropic cause. And then, you know, maybe you find another organization for business development.

So it's a continual process you always want to evaluate and move forward.