Tag Archives: connections

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Half of Life Is Follow-Up: Networking and Reconnecting

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B2B marketing has changed quite a bit in the past four or five years; Artificial Intelligence has impacted so much—lead generation and scoring, targeting and segmenting leads, content creation and refining personalization are among the functions that AI-powered marketing tools have endowed with significantly more precision and power. It’s all good, but 21st century advancements cannot replace the effectiveness of a marketing tactic that is as old as the pyramids—networking. Life is about relationships and networking—meeting, greeting and connecting with people—has demonstrated that it is an effective way to build relationships that help you to do more business.

In a world increasingly dominated by technology, personal relationships stand out and become more important. While your prospective clients prefer a self-guided buyer’s journey and opt to keep you and your competitors at arm’s length until they are assembling the short list of candidates whose service or product will be chosen by the buyer search committee, those same prospects nevertheless want to work with people they trust, like, and feel connected to. For example, 73% of B2B marketing executives rank word-of-mouth and peer recommendations as the most influential factor in deciding which vendors to consider. Furthermore, findings come from Forrester’s 2024 Buyers’ Journey Survey indicate that 92% of B2B buyers start their journey with at least one vendor in mind, and 41% already have a preferred vendor selected before any formal evaluation.

In other words, if you’d like to get on the radar screen of B2B buyers, it makes a lot of sense to meet a few of them face2face. Getting to know people is how familiarity and trust can develop and trust increases the probability of getting on a buyer’s journey short list that is the pathway to a sale. An in-person introduction from contact that you meet in either a business or social setting can, one day, walk you past the gatekeepers and perhaps accelerate a (morbidly slow) sales cycle. Networking thrives on serendipity and many of the best business opportunities come from unexpected connections made in casual settings. Not only that, but relationship networks are also known to compound; a strong professional network grows and becomes more valuable over time as your contacts advance in their careers. One relationship leads to another; one introduction leads to years of opportunity; one influential connection can open doors to opportunities you never knew existed.

However, keep in mind that healthy and enjoyable relationships are a two-way street. That means, be sure to give your new contact before you ask for any favors—share useful content, make introductions for him/her, offer your expertise—before asking for a favor. Be specific about how you can help: Instead of saying, “Let’s stay in touch and let me know if I can ever help” is less effective than “I have a connection at [company] you should know — would you like an introduction?”

Nurture your relationships proactively by reaching out to contacts new and those with whom you’d like to reconnect before you need anything. Because you want to keep alive the magic of finding a new friend or seeing an old friend again, follow-up within 24 hours after meeting someone at an event. You might want to send a LinkedIn connection invite with a personalized note the next business day. Play a long game: relationships that result in business typically take 6-24 months to materialize.

4 phrases that make you likeable

Finally, let’s launch your networking strategy with four easy-to-remember phrases that will make you stand out as an appealing, smart, interesting (because you are interested in the person you’re talking with) and trustworthy person. Those qualities are the cornerstone of relationship-building. It is why networking is such a powerful marketing activity that should always be included in your business planning.

“I was just thinking about you!” This is a powerful phrase you can use absolutely anywhere. Everyone likes to be remembered. So telling someone, “I was just thinking of you!” immediately sparks connection. It’s a casual relationship-building follow-up phrase that immediately puts someone at ease by reminding them they are top of mind and makes them feel good. 

‘Tell me more!’ Asking people questions, especially follow-up questions, shows that you listen, you’re engaged and interested in the other person’s thoughts and feelings and that responsiveness makes you likable. That you remember what is or was important to that person shows that you value them.

‘You’re so…!’ What makes someone instantly likable? You might think it’s charm or cleverness. But often, it’s this: making others feel valued. In every conversation, people are quietly wondering, Am I being boring? Am I doing well? Do they like me? Your job is to answer those questions before they’re asked. Humans love to be validated for who they are, not just what they do. Frequently. Don’t assume you’ve said it before, or that someone knows how valued they are. We can almost never receive too much validation if it’s genuine. Doing so is simple. If you appreciate something about someone, tell them! Just say: “You’re so…” then you can highlight their humor, charisma, or whatever characteristic that is uniquely theirs. 

“Last time we talked, you mentioned…”Do you want to persuade someone you’ve met before to reconnect? Try saying, “Last time we were talking, you mentioned…” followed by something that lit them up the last time you talked.  You could say, “Last time we spoke, you mentioned you were going to Portugal on vacation. How was that?” Or ask about the big project they mentioned, or a show you both love. 

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Adobe Stock Images

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When Your Client Goes Hybrid

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You’re a Freelance consultant and well aware that continually demonstrating your value to clients, prospects and potential referral sources is an ongoing must-do. You may agree this is especially true when you recently arrive at an assignment. Your new client may throw a curve ball, maybe as a test or maybe because s/he is crazy busy. Whatever the motive, you’d better not fumble.

Increasingly, the ability to function effectively in a hybrid work environment is a competency that Freelancers and company leaders and their teams must acquire. Those of you who specialize in process improvement might even be hired to help a client institute systems and protocols designed to enable a hybrid team to operate well. Others may discover—-surprise!—-that you’ve arrived at a gig where the team is in the midst of going hybrid. Don’t be surprised to see that it will be up to you to figure out how to interact with both at-home and office-based staff and still hit your milestones and meet the deadline.

So in your back pocket it’s a good idea to have a road map to guide you through the hybrid landscape, a blueprint designed to minimize any awkwardness or missteps between the at-home and in-office crews and you. The objectives are to demonstrate your project management and political skills, produce the deliverable you’ve been hired to produce (on time and on budget) and, most of all, increase the odds of getting called back for another project. You can do it.

Martine Haas, Ph.D., professor of management and organizational behavior at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School, notes that the most common challenges resulting from hybrid teams originate from what she named 5C Challenges: communication, coordination, connection, creativity and culture. You can study her 5C guideposts as you prepare to encourage hybrid team members you’ll work with to bridge the divide between working from home and working in the office. Do that and you’ll support efficiency and productivity, enhance the success of your project and lower your stress level, too.

Communication

Sometimes, a team member who should be included in an email is accidentally omitted. That little error can result in that person being unintentionally dropped from an important conversation. The error might also result in that person being excluded from an important decision. This type of unfortunate consequence is disproportionately borne by those on the WFH shift.

Freelancers might consider developing a list of primary and secondary contacts and stakeholders and making note of who is present or absent from communications and also when decisions will be made. Politically savvy and practical Freelancers take steps to ensure that all who can contribute valuable work and perspectives will participate when you need them most.

More often than in-office teams like to admit, WFH team members are also prone to be omitted from informal discussions and minor decisions made by those who are working together in the office. The problem lies somewhere between out of sight, out of mind and the logistics of bringing WFH folks into the conversation.

Connection

In addition to technological and logistical coordination, the importance of the team’s social interactions should not be minimized. It’s vital to also encourage social connections between in-office and WFH crews, although composition of each may vary depending on the day of the week. Life and work are about building and nurturing relationships. Our networks contribute quite a bit to the success and happiness we achieve. There’s a reason that most people consider networking to meet peers or potential mentors, partners, investors, or sponsors so important.

Because a WFH schedule physically separates coworkers and has the potential to isolate and cause relationships to wither, occasional informal videoconference meetings could provide a helpful balance. Freelancers should be able to schedule an informal video meeting or two without appearing to over-reach. Nurturing relationships within your working team will make the experience better for all. Speak with your primary contact and propose an ice-breaker introduction video call designed to bring your project team together and set the stage for positive 5C experiences.

Coordination

Hybrid teams bring a greater risk of snafus than working face2face. The most common downside is the gradual onset of a rift between the in-office and WFH crews. Freelancers would be wise to apply extra effort to coordinate and follow-up with team members who work remotely. Without diligence, WFH team members could slip out of the loop.

That could result in the WFH crew not being completely on board with certain assumptions or adjustments that the in-office crew has agreed upon, for example. Freelancers working in a hybrid environment would be wise to take whatever necessary steps that bring in-office and WFH crews into agreement and on the same page. Freelancers usually depend on certain information, access, approvals, or actions to reach project milestones. Agreement and coordination are essential to success and must be enabled.

Creativity

It was probably discovered a few centuries ago that conversations spark creativity. It’s becoming apparent that teams working together in the same physical space experience a sort of collective creativity that arises organically when co-workers spontaneously begin to discuss a problem or opportunity. Scheduling a videoconference to conduct a brainstorming session is just not the same. It’s so much better to bounce ideas around with others or work intensively on solving a problem together. If it’s possible to bring WFH team members into the office once or twice during the project timeline do so. All 5C metrics will get a boost.

Culture

The phenomenon known as The Great Resignation, which was discussed in the September 7, 2021 post, has had a profound effect on working in America. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that in February 2022, U.S. businesses had nearly 12 million unfilled jobs.

That means once cohesive teams are in danger of weakening as people exit. When experienced employees leave and new ones arrive, another challenge of the WFH era is how to onboard newcomers and integrate them into the company’s culture, the expression of its brand and respect for its values. If a fluid but essentially constant percentage of a company’s workforce will remain in WFH mode, rarely or never working side-by-side with colleagues or spending time together to talk shop, how can a company’s unique “personality” be maintained or communicated? Back-channel, off-the-record. tellings are powerful. Institutional memory is a precious resource.

One fact is clear about the future of work, at least in the near term and that is, the hybrid workforce will be the norm for many organizations large and small and we’d better learn to navigate them.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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LinkedIn Profile Refresh

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Happy Year of the Dragon!  The New Year vibe is still rolling,  so I wonder if you’d like to keep-up the self-improvement kick and take a fresh look at your LinkedIn profile?  Usually,  I revisit mine about once a year.  Last year,  I pared down my rather long and complicated summary section. 

 I realized that in certain instances,  less is more and simplified my statement.  About  every 12-18 months,  I think it’s useful to make sure that my LinkedIn profile aligns with how I’m positioning myself and what I’m saying in the verbal package that is my elevator pitch.   So let’s do a little housekeeping.

Purge the clutter

Comb through your job history and weed out or streamline whatever does not support and enhance your professional goals.  Retain several years of your employment history,  but limit non-aligned jobs to title,  company and a one-sentence description of your responsibilities.  Use you employment and volunteer experience to reflect your brand and professional aspirations.

Add keywords

The headline of your profile is the critical factor in search results.  Choose your most relevant keywords carefully and add to your headline.  Be mindful of the subtle difference between keywords that are vital for your business / career and terms that are frequently searched.  If you provide services for a select market those keywords should reflect that market,  even if they are searched less often. 

 Judiciously embed relevant descriptive keywords that are associated with your business category into your headline and summary sections.   Visit Google Keywords Tool and identify popular keywords that will attract a sufficiently broad audience in local searches and then drill down to target your niche by discovering keywords that industry insiders might  search.

Add apps

Install Slide Share and upload a Power Point presentation to your profile that will communicate more specific details about your services.  I use WordPress Blog Link to invite connections and visitors to my page to read weekly blog postings.  I always write an excerpt that I hope connections will find tempting when LinkedIn Updates announces the arrival of a new post.

As of last week,  visitors to my profile will now find the app that was rolled out just a few months ago,  the Skills App.  The nice feature about  Skills is that you’ll receive data on groups that focus on that skill;  companies where that skill is common;  posted jobs requiring that skill;  and the size and growth trends of other professionals who hold that skill. 

Other free apps that may serve you well include Events,  that will let connections know the meet-ups and conferences where you will speak;  Portfolio Display,  that allows creative types to showcase their work;  and Reading List,  that allows you to share with connections the professional development books you’ve read and get ideas on additional books that you might find useful.  All of the apps will appear on your profile page.

Get recommendations

Recommendations are testimonials that provide third-party verification of your expertise and further support your professional goals and brand.  Ask a professional colleague who can vouch for your work to detail your contributions to a project that went especially well. 

 Specific,  quantifiable information that highlights your impact on company objectives enhances your credibility and is more believable than effusive compliments that merely tell people how talented you are.  Always return the favor and write a recommendation for those who produce testimonials for you.  In fact,  get the process started by  “spontaneously”  writing a recommendation for a colleague so that you can receive one in return.

LinkedIn is about creating and nurturing relationships,  so do your part and engage in conversations.  Congratulate your connections when an update comes through that heralds an achievement.   When you invite someone to join your network,  tell that person why you’re inviting them.  When someone invites you,  take the time to thank that person for his/her consideration.

Join groups appropriate for your skill set and goals and become known for posing good questions,  leading discussions and sharing timely and useful information.  Visit the  “Answers ”  forum and contribute thoughtful responses to questions that will allow you to showcase your judgment and expertise.  Utilize the free resource that is LinkedIn to position yourself as a go-to resource in your niche.

Thanks for reading,

Kim