‘Don’t bother, networkers are born not made’, that what I was told last week by a CEO of a large company. We made a bet that within one weekend I can turn one of his seniors to become a better networker and build more deep and caring relationships with their clients. I won the bet. I knew which ingredient to add to make it a success.
Let’s face it, for many of us networking is no more than an interaction with another person, and in particular for business purposes. As a result, you may think exactly like this CEO that networkers are born not made. I agree with you. Since networking, according to me, is the ability to build relationship. Everybody was born with this ability. The fact is that each of us has a family or friends or people he knows, so everybody in his own way knows how to build relationships. But EFFECTIVE NETWORKERS are not born. If you want to become an effective master networker, you need to work hard and develop the necessary skills.
Start thinking about networking as the primary way to manage your personal branding and reputation. Your will display to anybody around you, your brand identity by the way you are networking. So if you share it in the right way that could ultimately lead to your next prospect, you’re next joint venture, next employment/career opportunity or the next friendship!
So if you ask me what is one of the most important foundations of effective networking? I will definitely answer: ‘Passion’. I always advise my clients the significant of passion in building relationship. Passion even has an important part in your unique promise of value.
Think about it: if you do not consider yourself as a ‘natural’ networker. If mingling with other people is not such an easy task for you. You need to have a strong internal tool to help you. You need to get passionate. Passion is your ability to be self-aware and build your confidence in yourself. Networkings with passion make a big difference also in developing your personal brand.
Passion for your business or for your work is just as important as passion in a relationship. It keeps things new and exciting and keeps you wanting more. People can see your passion and they respond to it positively, whether they’re employees or clients.
When I speak of passion, I don’t mean it in the romantic way. I refer more to the powerful feeling of enthusiasm we all have inside of us. We are all enthusiastic and passionate about something. whether it’s finance, food or a favorite sport. That enthusiasm is very powerful. When we can combine it with connecting with others, we are setting ourselves up well for achieving true networking success.
To help you up develop more passion in your networking, I gathered the following ideas from my clients and my own practices:
1. Give your Attention
If you want to gain more confidence while networking than shift your focus and attention to the other person needs. If you learn to ask great questions [see my movie about it in my Attentional Networking Channel: HOW TO ASK GREAT QUESTIONS] and listen actively [see another movie recorded by me: HOW TO LISTEN] to each person you meet, you will have no time to deal with your own concerns and they will go away (or at least will ‘parked’ themselves somewhere else in your mind). Your ability to show another person you want to help them is definitely important part in building your passion attitude.
2. Share or Die
Do you share your passion with other people you meet? I used to hide it for many years. This mistake let me ‘die’ slowly inside of me. I powered it up by sharing my passions. I shared it every time, everywhere with everybody. Share information on the answer to the question ‘Why you do what you do?’; talk about your experiences that led you to your successes in life; share about things you like to do.
Do you remember the last time you met a person that shared with you about his passions? Did you see the special sparkles in their eyes? Did you feel how contagious it is?
Try it yourself, it works like magic!
3. Groom or Broom
Would you believe that something as simple as how you dress could affect your attitude and self-confidence? The truth is, how people dress is related in some way to how they feel. Do you remember the last time you were not in the mood or you did not feel well? You probably pulled on whatever was closest to you and dressed the way you felt – not that well.
Your outfit may alter how you approach and interact with other people. It’s no secret that assembling an outfit is like selecting social armor, and that what we wear has power over others. Wearing great cloths, that you like very much and that feel comfortable will boost your confidence and allow you to be more passionate in networking with others. When we feel good we are more likely to feel good inside, have more energy and treat others better.
4. Passion in internal networking
When you know more about the people you work with, you’re more likely to be passionate about working for or with them. Do you know enough about your colleagues? About your personnel?
If you are interested in other people, show them your passion, they will keep ‘paying’ you back with devotion and passion to their work.
Many people spend more time with their coworkers than they do with their immediate family, so why not take the time to get to know them? Go and discover all of the amazing people you work with. Make it a daily task.
5. Harness Your Passion as a Networking Strategy
Consider your passion for your business. What do you love about it? Why are you starting or did you start your business (if you are an employee – why did you join this specific employer? Why do you like your job?)? List 10 reasons why you feel passionately about your business (your job). This ability to use your passion as a strategy for your business will definitely can help you to connect with others with more passion and support your continuous growth
Passion is like fuel to a fire. Passion is an energy that works with all feelings and emotions. That is why you need to be aware of it, use it consciously and use it to your advantage. If left uncontrolled in networking, passion can be annoying. It can consume, destroy, and leave a business with empty relationships. However, when controlled, directed, and focused, it can boost a business’s chance for real connection with other people.
My advise to you – if you want to be a great networker choose TODAY to embrace relationship building with passion and enthusiasm.