How to manage your time in networking
Let’s talk about how to better manage your time while you are networking!
It is the number one reason people decide to not network. It takes too much time and energy, they rarely have any results. But there are a couple of things you can do to resolve that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Egrk1EOvuU&list=PLkIiM6BCJKwivB4HEA1ZgkoeLkUVLJqYf
1. Have a precise networking goal
Whenever you schedule a networking meeting or contact a person, know how that conversation is fitting into your networking strategy. What is it you are contacting that person for? What can you bring to that person? Be mindful of your time, but also of others. The more informed you are about what you are looking for, the better your chances to get in contact with the right people.
Indeed, so many people have no idea why they are networking. It is especially a mistake for beginning networkers. They network ‘in the wild’ by contacting just anyone hoping that at one point or another ‘someone’ might help them. It ends up in them losing their motivation and their energy. This kind of networking is very tiresome and rarely ends up with results.
Take your free networking training here to identify your goal!
2. Limit your networking appointments to 30-45 minutes
Have you ever wondered why classes are generally only 45 minutes long? Research has shown that this is the sweet spot after which your attention span lowers. It is also a dangerous moment in a networking meeting. You might say or do things you would normally not do (happened to me more than once…) and ruin a successful networking meeting.
It can happen you hit it off with your networking contact. What to do if you would like to continue talking with this person? Never forget this is a networking interview. Keep it professional. Be careful what you say or do. Ask the person if they are still available beyond the initial agreed-upon time. And even in this case, keep your appointment to 1-1,5 hour maximum.
3. Make networking a daily good habit
Think about one of your good habits. For example, you always take the time in the morning to have a decent breakfast. See networking as a similar good habit. One way is to take 10 minutes every day and send one email to a professional or personal contact. The email allows you to touch base with that person, but also to share your news such as you looking for a job or having launched your company.
That 10 minutes might not seem that much. However, at the end of your workweek, you have spent almost an hour on networking and you have contacted 5 people. Multiply this over a month and this amounts to 4 hours and 20 people, etc. Chances are that among those 20 people, there might be someone helping you out or needing your services. But it doesn’t involve more effort than just sending that one email every day.
Now up to you! Will you be using one of these tips? Are you already doing so?
