Posts filed under 'article'
While this particular article is not directly related to online business networking, it is a very straightforward way to get better at your face-to-face networking meeting. Most of the articles I have read that offer networking advice are quite vague and do not give practical tips on “how to do it”.
The article is authored by Harvey Mackay and an excerpt reads as follows:
Don’t underestimate the value of the personal touch.
Small businesses must know how to network with their customers and prospects by emphasizing a level of personal service and attention that the big businesses can’t.
Read the complete article here.
August 28th, 2006
Well, this is probably the first time that I’ve been “e-published”.
Wacom has launched a Community website for the Asia Pacific region and had asked me to write for their “Pro Column”. I have written an article on the subject of “Business of Design“.
By the looks of it, Wacom is trying the online route to getting customers and it feels like a sincere effort too – there’s a lot of new stuff coming up on the community website and we should be reading more from designers and experts from the Asia Pacific region.
A great thing for the designers on the Asian continent!
July 31st, 2006
I’m extremely pleased to note that openBC is catching up – and how!
They are introducing changes, new features and even a new design at lightning speed.
At the outset, the new design looks fresh and very welcoming as compared to the boxy interface that openBC currently uses. The new look feels more fluid and interactive and easy to use – congratulations to the design team currently working on it. [ openBC has opened up the design challenge to everyone who wants to take a shot at it - they want the profile page designed in three stages - one where the search engines will display the profile page, the other where the owner of the profile will edit it and the other where the profile page will be displayed to openBC members - there's prize money of Euro 10,000 ].
Other changes include AJAX in their “default settings’ where when you are connecting with someone and have to set the sharing of your contact setting, you can now choose the standard format and just click on “Apply Default Settings” – this is very convenient as compared to the previous multiple clicking on the so many check boxes! Excellent thought.
Now you can also search for people in your contact list based on keywords / tags – this is super cool because earlier it was next to impossible to go to your contact list and find the right person – the only way to do that was to use the general search function and put in keywords and geographic location and then sift through the multiple search results.
One thing I’ve been asking for all along is the ability to download all contact details of all direct contacts with one click – this feature has still not been provided and I am not sure why.
Another feature they should/could provide is the ability to sort through personal contacts on the basis of “last date of contact/communication”, “date of direct contact and network connection on openBC” – I feel that would be extremely useful information to allow people to stay in touch with existing contacts and to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS.
Another feature that I suggest is the ability to send an update to all personal contacts with one click – on openBC, currently, you have to send individual messages to each person separately – an additional feature would be the ability to classify personal contacts into groups – and then be able to send e-mails to that particular group.
openBC is definitely getting much better at networking!
July 22nd, 2006
In a recent business meeting [ where I was also showing my portfolio ], someone remarked that I’d done quite a few LinkedIn logos [ logos for LinkedIn India, LinkedIn Socially and suggestions for the LinkedIn Power Women Yahoo Groups ]. I told them that I’d been an avid online networker for about two years and that I’d gotten 80% of my business because of online business networking portals like LinkedIn and openBC.
And their reaction was “Oh! Really? You mean to say that these networks really work?â€
And I said “Oh! Yes they do!â€
And since then I’ve been thinking that it is not LinkedIn’s or openBC’s responsibility to do the networking for me. They have provided an excellent networking field for me and it is upto me to “work†these networking fields and reap the rewards.
You will not get work / business / contact or a job just by virtue of being a member of LinkedIn or openBC [ regardless of whether you are a paid member or a free subscriber ].
In the brick and mortar world, where you strike deals over the phone and in face-to-face meeting, you HAVE TO pick up the phone and make that call. And you have to then create a conversation that makes sense.
Similarly in the virtual world, you have to take the initiative and send an e-mail and that e-mail / message HAS TO make sense – it should NOT be a boiler-plate unless your GOAL is to be IGNORED.
How do you know who to call in the brick and mortar world?
It’s mostly word-of-mouth and referrals.
In the virtual world, it is easier to find information – you have the online business networking portal’s search functions and you have Google. They point you to people’s blogs and website and then it is upto you to create a PERSONAL CONNECTION. Once that is done, connecting on openBC or LinkedIn is just a click away.
It’s netWORKing. You have to work the network to make it work for you!
July 20th, 2006
This one’s been authored by Ilise Benun and can be found on the Go-To-Market strategies resource center. Here’s the link to the article.
The main points being:
- Find low-key learning environments
- Start conversations
- Make contact, not contacts
- Be a good listener
- Arrive early
- Never sit with someone you know
- Look for wallflowers
- Use the food to begin conversations
- Keep going back to the buffet
- Be random about where you sit
- Make notes about the people you meet
- Wear a jacket with pockets
- Wear an unusual accessory
March 27th, 2006
