Goal-setting applies to Networking as well

Recognise these New Year clichés?

‘Failing to plan is Planning to fail’ – Alan Lakein / Benjamin Franklin;

‘Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one’ – Brad Paisley; and

‘New Year, New You’ – yep, that’s a personal yuk from me too!

 

January is often the month of planning with New Year resolutions being set for both business and personal reasons.

So, are you a believer in New Year resolutions? Personally, I’m not a fan. And by that, I mean I’m not into limiting myself to a January expression of intent when I could focus on the whole year and goal-set more realistically over an extended period of time.

Goals and tasks surely need to be set daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly; bite-sized plans that make them achievable and longer-lasting, especially applicable where something audacious or habit-changing is applicable.

 

If it’s a time-based trigger point that’s needed though, why pin aspirations on a January start-date when there are so many other New Year markers to grasp hold off – calendar (January), financial (April), academic (September for the UK), Accounting (your business’s own), religious, and many more.

Let’s assume though, that we’ve got past the debate about when and how frequent goals are set.

What about networking goals?

We all set goals in our personal life and in our businesses, whether or not they are fully-structured or organised. It’s an accepted norm, isn’t it?

Why then would you not set networking goals as part of your relationship-marketing and business development strategy?

 

Here’s just a few of the many suggestions that I cover in my networking skills and strategy workshops.

  1. Start with your Networking Why

Setting Networking goals doesn’t have to be convoluted, contrived or sales-y.

At it’s most basic, it’s about thinking about your ‘Networking Why’, having a plan of action as a result and measuring against that plan.

There are many reasons why we network and not everyone’s why is the same.

Before you network, consider why you’re doing it because that will drive the research and planning that feeds into the Who, Where, When, What and How of your networking.

  1. Simplify

Firstly, keep things SMART.

Goal setting is about breaking things into meaningful chunks, hence the other widely used acronym ‘SMART’ goal-setting, utilised in various ways but generally including parameters such as: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.

The same rules apply to networking goals.

Second, remember that ‘less is more’. This is important at different levels when setting your networking goals.

You don’t have to be a prolific, daily networker to be a). good at it, b). successful at it, and c). have a visible networking identity.

Equally, successful networking is rarely about quantity, it’s about quality. Getting good conversations with the right kind of people. Planning and goal-setting will help with this.

  1. Commit and share

We all know that the best way to increase the odds of success with a goal is to record the goal and ideally share it. Committing those networking goals to paper or verbally sharing them offers much more chance they’ll be achieved, and not just become yet more expressions of intent. Goals set on paper, shared verbally, added to vision boards and planning tools have almost 50% more chance of succeeding. Why? Because it focuses the mind on what needs to happen and creates an orderly process from which to take small steps in the direction of that goal. Shockingly, only 3% of people have clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them which means they’re just a collection of intentions and wishes. I dread to think how small the statistic might be for people with recorded networking goals.

  1. Balance

In our post-Covid/online networking era and given the importance of social networking, it is important to consider the three-way networking blend of online, in-person and social networking and how it best applies to both your business and personal networking preferences.

Where physical events are concerned, it’s also really valuable to seek a balance between paid/member groups, PAYG events and free activities as this impacts the kind of attendee as well as your networking budget.

  1. Review and measure

As with any goal, especially the ongoing ones, you need to measure how well you’re tracking towards it. For example, if you’ve invested heavily in joining a membership group, then it really makes sense to track what value (defined in different ways and inclusive of new business) that group is generating for you.

Reviewing past activity and whether it’s time for a change is also crucial too. How many of us get stuck in the same networking routines and groups, notwithstanding the social contact and friendship on offer, because it’s easier that joining new events and talking to strangers all over again. A little bit of reflection on how we spend our time and honest analysis can’t hurt.

  1. Exploit the tools

Do you treat your networking like a business development project or activity? Perhaps you have project or task management tools in place to achieve your business goals. Are your networking goals included in your business development plans and given the same attention? Setting goals is never the biggest challenge. Achieving them is, and particularly if the right structure and tools aren’t in place.

Consider the checklist of areas that need to be planned and use one of the many task management, project planning or CRM apps or tools that exists to organise your networking activities so you can systemise, action, achieve, and track results.

  1. Fun factor

Wherever you network and how ever you decide to organise your activities, remember, above all, to build comfort and enjoyment into the process. Whilst initially there is an element of stepping out of your comfort zone when we go networking, once you’ve settled in, be sure you’ve selected environments where you are comfortable, you’re supported and can develop business friends, even a tribe, and where you will be able to learn and have fun.

Build that fun factor into your networking goals, and it will make your business relationship building speedier and much less daunting and probably lead to fulfilling your goals much sooner.

MORE INFO

Kirsty James: Speaker, Trainer, Connector, Event Host.

Kirsty is a networking, relationship-marketing and connections expert with a track record in supporting people to ‘Connect with Purpose’.

Kirsty specialises in effective business communication and relationship-marketing using the power of networking to enable personal and business growth and community engagement.

Kirsty helps networkers to enjoy networking more and get better results from it. She works with people who want to improve their networking skills, build their personal brand and networking reputation, introduce structure and planning into their networking strategy, and boost their networking confidence. 

She does this by offering networking skills training, personal branding workshops, hosting events for various networking brands and sharing her expertise when speaking at events and conferences.

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