5 Ways to Be a Quality Networker Without Awkward Follow-Up Calls, by Adam Chavez

by Adam Chavez

Making a call to somebody you met at a networking event can be pretty awkward. “Hey, we met the other day and I’m the guy who’s launching that social networking 2.5 thingy… so… how are you? Good! How’s your project going? Good. How’s life? Good. You keep in touch now. Ok. Bye.”

Not only is this approach awkward, it is ineffective. I learned from Rajesh Setty, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor in Silicon Valley, that that there is a science to networking. It’s actually quite a simple science though. Actually, I don’t know that it qualifies as a science. It’s just a concept, but a great one. The simple concepts usually are…

You give people what they want to be given.

That’s it. You could stop reading now and if you just wrote that down and applied it you would actually come away with quite the advantage.

Everyone of us has goals. We’re all striving for something — well, most of us are striving for something. Actually, that’s not true because finding people who actually know what they want in life is rare. So let’s say, just to qualify this, that most successful people have goals. I once heard that if you write down a goal your chances of actually reaching it go up 90%. Who knows if that’s true. Like most statistics, this one’s probably wrong, because 90% of statistics are full of hot air. Anyway…

These entrepreneurs, with their goals; what is the one thing that they would really appreciate from somebody else? Other than a free dinner. I love free dinner’s. That’s one of my favorite things about going to job interviews, the food is always great.

The one thing these entrepreneurs would love is to reach their goals more quickly. It’s that simple. Think about yourself. How would you respond if you got this phone call, “Hey we met at the event last night, and I thought of somebody that might be able to help you get that supplier (fill in the blank for whatever your project needs right now, e.g. get on that TV show, find that great biz dev expert you’re looking for, bring in a programmer who eats, drinks, and sleeps mobile app’s). That call would be awesome, wouldn’t it?

If that call brings you information or resources that (a) you wouldn’t have otherwise had and (b) brings you closer to achieving your goal, then you’re going to be stoked.

The person who gave you the connection just got put into the “A” list of your mind.

This is so simple, yet it hardly gets done. The secret to great networking is helping others achieve their goals. And the easiest way to do this that I know of (which I also learned from Setty) is to connect people.

Now what does that mean? To connect people. It means that every time you meet somebody you find out (a) what they have done (past), (b) what they are working on (present) and (c) what they would like to accomplish (future). Then you scan through the rolodex in your mind and think of people that you know who could help them.

You get their card. You call the person who’s in your network. You say, “Hey I met this guy who’s doing this and that. I thought you two could get a lot of benefit from talking.” And you give away contact info.

[What if you don't know anybody that could benefit others? I'll talk about how to get started in a minute even if you don't have any contacts.]

Then, you walk.

You don’t say, “If you guys do a deal, I want a piece of the action. If you form a company, I want 2% of it. If you form an alliance, I have to be a deal broker.” No, no, no.

You just walk. Rajesh Setty says, “That’s when the miracle happens. It might not happen overnight, but it happens.”

Or to quote one of the great authorities on success, “You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want.” Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar. Now that is a cool name. No wonder he became successful. He had to put up with all the nicknames and teasing that went along with that name.

If there’s any other method of networking out there that forgets the simple rule, “Do unto others as you would have done unto you,” be wary of accepting it. LinkedIn and other social networking outlets might be cool and glittery, and maybe they’re fun, but if you’re not giving something of value to others (without expecting anything in return) you’re not really networking, you’re just bothering people.

Networking is really the same thing as building long-term relationships. And just like building a romantic relationship takes a lot of work, sacrifice, and love, so does building long-term relationships in the startup/business world.

If you follow this pattern of networking you will stand out like a sore thumb. You will be completely unique because there are 99 people out there in it for themselves and only 1 who considers others. If you’re the 1, you are instantly different — and people remember different. To borrow from Seth Godin, you become the purple cow.

There are a few rules that you’ve got to master to really become good at this. Below are my top five.

1. Never expect anything in return. Make the connection and then walk. Don’t ask for money, a piece of the deal, or any other favor. (Note: I’m not saying that you can’t ask for favors from people you know, but don’t expect to get a favor that’s directly tied to connecting two people)

2. Connect people often. If you’re not sure what value you can bring, join Help a Reporter and help other entrepreneurs get media. This is a great way to be selfless and help both the entrepreneur that you met at the event and the reporter that’s looking for an interesting story (Caution: Don’t send bad leads to reporters. Not only is this lame, but if you do it enough times they will remember you. Consider that you are establishing your personal brand and what goes around comes around).

3. Start a relationship journal. In this journal write down everything you know about the people you meet. After you talk to somebody, brain dump everything they told you into this journal. You can use Outlook or GMail or GrandCentral as an address book — or just grab a journal and start writing the old-fashioned way. The point of starting the journal is to think about others. Make “being selfless” a part of who you are. It will not only make you happier, but pay dividends if you do it sincerely.

4. Go to all the events in your area. If you’re living near San Francisco, you have no excuse on this one. I grew up there, and now that I’m living in Provo, it’s not quite the same. The startup culture is strong here, but it’s stronger there. Even if you’re not living in Silicon Valley, you still live in America (Well, that’s actually not true because many of you may be in other countries, but sheesh, hopefully you live in a somewhat entrepreneur-friendly country. If not, then get up and get going — I hear Ireland’s one of the best places to start a company, almost no income taxes. Maybe move there).

No matter where you live, you can meet other entrepreneurs. 80% of businesses are small ones — that mean entrepreneurs are nearby you even if you live in Montana (No offense if you live in Montana). Go get to know people. Ask them what they’re doing. Ask them what they need right now, what they’re really looking for. Again, be selfless.

5. Follow up, follow up, follow up. Follow up is crucial. Almost nobody does this. Those who do are reaping the rewards. When you follow up you show others that you are organized, professional, and that you’ve got a good handle on life. This is definitely the impression that you want to give, also — so do it.

About Adam Chavez