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6 Tips for Overcoming Your Fear of Networking

I consider myself a social person. I’m at ease talking to strangers in line at the grocery store, meeting new people at social gatherings and making conversation with people ages 2 to 92. But I have to admit that professional networking makes me uncomfortable. It just feels too self-serving. So for many years I just avoided doing it and rationalized that I didn’t need to network because I got a paycheck regardless of how many people I talked to about my work. Then I did something completely unexpected . . . I decided to leave that steady paycheck to begin my own business.

My first thought: Wow! This is exciting!

My second thought: Uh oh! Where’s my income going to come from now?

My third thought: Oh man! I need to start networking!

The Difference Between Socializing and Networking

Although socializing comes naturally to me, I knew I needed to learn how to network. This is because networking involves strategically sharing information you want a person to know about you and your business in an effort to generate more clients, customers or sales. Socializing is when two people extemporaneously share information about themselves and if work doesn’t come up, no biggie.

Networking is a Skill

Since networking is a skill, I did what I always do when I need to learn a new skill. I researched it, talked to knowledgeable people on the subject and then practiced using the skill. Why all the preparation? Because there is a right and a wrong way to network. And while it takes time to learn the right ways to network, we can all recognize the wrong ways instantly. These ways include talking too loudly or too long, interrupting, not asking about the person you’re talking to and pressing business cards into people’s hands. These tactics make for ineffective networking because no one likes being subjected to the “hard sell.”

Networking Involves Preparation

Successful networking involves preparation. Begin by brainstorming a list of all the people you could network with. And like with any brainstorming session, don’t dismiss a potential contact until you’ve made a complete list. The list should include your family, friends, neighbors, hairdresser, doctor, dentist, dry cleaner, former colleagues, kids’ teachers, people you see at the gym, library or church, and other members of your community. After you’ve completed your list, don’t cross anyone off! Everyone knows someone who needs something. Just because your contact may not be looking for what your business offers, she may know someone who is.

Another part of preparation involves deciding what information you want to convey to people. This could include the name of your business, your professional goals and the type of client you’re looking for. However, I want to stress that preparation is not the same as memorization. So make sure that what you say does not come off as rehearsed.

Finally, create business cards with all of your relevant information. This way your new contacts don’t have to rely on their memory to be able to bring business your way. They can just easily refer to your business card for your business name, location, website, email address, and telephone number.

Where to Network

Networking does not have to be limited to just business conferences! Though of course those are great places to network. There are several other great places to meet potential contacts too. These include picnics, cocktail parties, fundraisers, school functions, golf outings, office parties, coffee shops, gyms, alumni associations, class reunions, and local business associations. Basically, you can network wherever there are people! That said, be sure to keep those business cards with you at all times. Your next great contact may come from somewhere you least expect!

Another place to get new business contacts is a networking group. Frankly, I just joined one myself. See how far I’ve come on the whole networking thing! Anyway, the way it works is that each person in the group represents a different area of business. We meet weekly and take turns educating the other members of the group about what our business provides and the type of contact we’re looking for. Then after we’ve gotten to understand each other’s business better, we begin referring people we know who could use the services they provide.

What You Do After You’ve Made a Contact

After you’ve gone to that neighborhood picnic, casually conveyed the salient aspects of your business and politely handed out your business cards, networking is still not over! It’s very important to follow up with your new contacts with a thank you note, email or phone call. This provides an opportunity to thank them again for their time, tell them how much you appreciated their input and possibly further discuss any possibility of working together.

Then create a system to keep your contacts organized. This could be in a PDA (i.e., BlackBerry), business card portfolio, spreadsheet, file folder or even a bulletin board. Just choose a system that works for you so you can readily remember whom you’ve met, where and what business opportunity was discussed. You don’t want a contact to call you and not be able to remember who they are and what you talked about!

Force Yourself to Network

As you can see, I no longer avoid networking. And although I’m still not entirely comfortable doing it, I can emphatically assert that it has made a significant impact on my professional success. So whether you like it or not, force yourself to network! You’ll be glad you did.

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