Just what is networking?

Ring any bells?

"Just what is networking?"

This is a question I am often asked as a business person and also as someone who is involved with numerous committees and organisations. There is of course no one answer fits all to this questions and you must find what appropriate forms of networking are suitable for your business, your voluntary committees, your social scene etc.

But if you are in business it is something that you need to build as part of your own personal make-up and as part of your business structure. Failure for any business to network is a failure to cement the very foundations around what your business stands for. Networking is a statement of branding and as such it is the real face of any business and the visible tangible part of a business’s profile.

Therefore it is essential to understand just what all this networking entails.

Some people might advocate that “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but the trouble is I do not know which half!” And with this in mind we know that the marketing landscape has changed inextricable in the last number of years.

Gone are the days when we could literally just stand and shout “Come and buy my products and services!” This type of sales and marketing has once and for all been destroyed as the ever fading Celtic Tiger ran off to find a new home.

A singular emphasis on advertising as part of your marketing mix will lead to ever increasing diminishing returns. We are bombarded with advertisements literally every second and minute of our day. And with our addiction to smart phones and social media we could see between 1,000 and 3,000 adverts a day! With so much information to absorb is it really any wonder that a business needs to find new ways to connect with customers and clients.

TRUST drives our business environment and here are some interesting statistics:

·       66% of the economy influenced by personal recommendations

·       88% of people will buy from companies they TRUST

·       85% of people will not buy from companies they DISTRUST

It is therefore essential for businesses to build TRUST with their customers and clients by being visible and tangible. And the most effective way to do that is by networking with customers and clients.

Cool business card.

So having established that networking is about building TRUST with existing and potential customers and clients we need to set out a few ground rules.

1.     Networking is NEVER about simply collecting business cards

2.     Networking is NEVER about just handing out dozens of business cards

3.     Networking is about converting contacts into word of mouth referrals

In addition to the above we need to be very clear that at any networking opportunity it is never about YOU it is ALWAYS about the other person. You must take steps to communicate effectively with the person you are speaking to and that involves listening, understand and not simply hearing what they are saying to you. Communication is always a two-way street and the very best networkers understand that they have to be an active listener.

At any networking event it is essential that you constantly ask yourself “What is YOUR brand?” Because to be in business today our most important job is to be head marketer for a brand that is called YOU! We need to understand that brand ME communicates our personal story, demonstrates what attributes that sets ME apart, states how YOU want to be positioned in the market place, defines your company/business and clearly distinguishes YOU from other competitors. Brand ME is not about bragging it is about defining YOU as a person other people can TRUST and as a person that people would want to do business with.

An early establishment of goals for any networking event is fundamental. Who are you trying to meet – customers, strategic partners or referral sources? I am here to generate new business over what timeframe? How much time will I allocate to networking? Where can I get the best value for my time?

We have all experienced this!

Once you have established the goals we need to network effectively and to do this we must remember that we are NOT selling the event. We need to start a conversation and therefore you need to be able to introduce yourself. We need to get to know the person, ask open ended questions and we must build trust. One of the most important aspects that people often miss is that you need to have a firm, strong and dry handshake and also carry good quality business cards and not the ones often advertised on TV, that feel like they are made of recycled cardboard. After shaking hands you more often than not give a person a business card and these two actions alone could define whether or not you have found a new customer.

Asking the right questions is also essential as it;

·       Separates the professionals from the amateurs.

·       Shows that you are concerned with helping them achieve success

·       Gets them to tell you how to sell to them

Follow up is essential.

Finally, one of the most important parts of networking that is often forgotten is the post event evaluation and follow up. You must be able to assess the success of an event, should you go back to a similar type of event, prioritise who to contact, decide who to contact within 24-48 hours, who to contact within one week and who never to contact.

Enjoy your networking ad we are all social animals and in general we are hardwired to interact and meet people. There are of course a few exceptions and these people need to be avoided at all costs.

“A brand is no longer what we tell the customer it is – it is what customers tell each other it is.” – Scott Cook.

Everyone must be a brand Waterford Ambassador!

I attended the decommissioning ceremony for the Irish Naval vessel La Aoife. This vessel is in fact twinned with Waterford City. The ceremony took place at 15:00 on Saturday 31^st January, at Forde Wharf, in the presence of the Minister of State at the Department of Defence Paul Kehoe TD, Rear Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, friends and family of the many crew members (past and present of the La Aoife) and many other dignitaries too numerous to mention.

I also spotted representation from the 1848 Tricolour Celebration Committee, Waterford Business Group, Waterford In Your Pocket as well as many of our very supportive local media.

Maybe due to the absolutely bitterly cold wind blowing right down the Suir Estuary, making my eyes run constantly and preventing me from wearing my kilt, that I failed to notice any significant representation from our 32 Councillors. I did see the City and County Mayors (we have two Mayors in Waterford) and two additional Councillors, but very few others. I understand that there was Mayoral Civic Reception held the night before but surely the decommissioning ceremony, in the presence of a Minister of State, with national TV coverage should have been attended by a significant number of Councillors and not the scattering I and many others noticed and commented on?

It was also great to see RTE South East, with Damien Tiernan and his dedicated crew fighting the elements, filming the decommissioning ceremony and managing to get the whole service from the cutting room floor to being broadcast on RTE Six One News only a few hours later. Well done to all.

You simply cannot buy the sort of publicity and branding the La Aoife has generated for Waterford City. The La Aoife has been one of the City’s greatest ever ambassadors and we owe a great big thank you to her last Captain Marie Gleeson, and her dedicated crew, who worked extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure that the La Aoife was decommissioned in Waterford City and not Cork.

We must also acknowledge the work of Councillor Eddie Mulligan who in his capacity as a new public servant and in his role with the Naval Reserve (Waterford) also worked away in the background to bring this vessel eastwards, away from Cork, for her final official ceremony here in Waterford City.

Over the last number of years the La Aoife crew have raised in excess of €35,000 for our hospital and this has been done without fuss or ceremony or publicity. We owe a huge thank you to all those who raised funds over the past numbers of years.

But what of our future relationship with the Irish Navy now that the La Aoife is decommissioned? Will Waterford City be twinned with another of the Navy’s newer vessels or will we simply be forgotten?

I do know that a number of official requests have been lodged and submitted requesting that the new vessel, Le James Joyce, be twinned with Waterford City once the vessel is commissioned later in 2015.

As we are all too aware “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray!”

So we ALL need to ensure that our relationship with the Irish Navy, as maritime City, continues and if readers are interested in continuing this relationship then please lobby your local TD’s and Councillors to ensure that the Le James Joyce does in fact become twinned with our wonderful City and we can continue to see the name of Waterford City promoted and literally carried around the vast seas that surround this island.

On Friday last I had the immense pleasure to spend some time with three Committee members of the Ballybeg Brick by Brick appeal. We got in touch with each other on the back of the Waterford Business Group organising its own fundraising night on the 28^th February, at Kilcohan dog track. The Waterford Business Group unanimously decided at our weekly group meeting to give part of the nights fundraising directly to this appeal. So coming along and support if you can.

The three committee members I met must also be considered as brand ambassadors for Waterford City. What happened in Ballybeg was nothing short of horrendous and yet only a few days later a committee was founded and action plans were being drawn up.

The appeal has been promised the earth, moon and stars by a vast number of political representatives and it will be the responsibility of those who have made these many promises to deliver and deliver within a timescale that is appropriate and suitable for Ballybeg. There are large numbers of community groups relying on a renaissance that must happen within a period of weeks and not over a period of months. The longer the rebirth of this area takes the longer it will simply be forgotten and the citizens of Waterford City cannot allow that to happen.

I saw a determination and drive in the three Committee members that tells me they will make sure Ballybeg rises from the ashes - just like the mythical Phoenix does. But this group will need help, encouragement, guidance, advice and much much more. It is everyone’s responsibility to be a part of the rebuilding process and I would urge that we make the regeneration of Ballybeg a good news story for the whole of Waterford.

In business every staff member is a brand ambassador for that business, whether they like it or not. Even when you are not at work you will always be associated with your company, business or place of work. Like the La Aoife, its crew, and the Ballybeg Brick by Brick Appeal committee we need to work very hard to create the right image and right impression if we are to flourish as businesses. This means being constantly aware how we act and more importantly how we deal with our customers.

There is absolutely no point in Waterford working hard creating a brand image of the City if once you come here you experiences something completely different. Good customer service builds your brand image and bad customer service destroys your brand image.

The businesses across Waterford need to be aware of their brand image and through better customer service we will build a better brand Waterford. In light of this the Waterford Business Group are providing FREE customer care workshops to members starting from Monday 9^th February and taking place in Lady Lane Library every Monday and Friday morning throughout the month of February. See www.waterfordbusinessgroup.com 

Finally, I often find that it is those who work hardest to make a project come to fruition that never seem to get the credit they deserve. Strange but true!