Networking enters deep new world of relations

As most small-business owners will tell you, it’s not what you know but who you know that makes all the difference.

Brenda Dunn Kinney, an information technology coach and consultant in Gurnee, knows a lot of people thanks to intensive networking. She and five men started a networking pod four years ago to share ideas. The group gradually expanded to 25, then 30 people.

By Ann Meyer. Special to the Tribune. Ann Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance business writer

Today, the Executive Technology Forum attracts as many as 125 people at meetings held the last Thursday of each month at the Metropolitan Club in Chicago. "We all need other people’s help to succeed. We can’t do it alone," Kinney said. "That’s our whole mantra."

The group helps connect people in an effort to build their businesses or find new jobs. But it also serves as a sounding board, encouraging members to discuss issues and concerns.

Kinney’s group is just one of hundreds of networking groups in the Chicago area. Here and throughout the nation, the concept of consciously building a network of resourceful people to draw on as the need arises is gaining popularity as small-business owners look for ways to grow their business without spending a fortune.

As Kinney’s network has expanded, so has her business, BDK & Associates. "I’ve had more people help to elevate my business," she said.

But Kinney’s networking success isn’t necessarily the norm. Sheryl Koning, an independent sales-training consultant, said she attended two to three networking events a week during the past two years to find new clients in the soft economy. But it didn’t work.

"It was just, `Here’s a name. Here’s another name,"’ Koning said. "But they weren’t qualified leads because no one had connected me with this person."

Koning kept at it despite the poor results. "You think at some point in time one of these is going to pay off. And you think if you’re not out there talking to people, you’re not growing your business."

The problem with that approach to networking, Koning now realizes, is, "You’re not really building relationships because it’s always just a quick `Hi’ and `What do you do?’ Even though you see the same people again and again, there’s just nothing there."

In January, Koning adopted the same relationship-building approach to networking that Kinney’s technology group uses, which is based on a concept created by Melissa Giovagnoli, president of Chicago-based Networlding.com and author of several business books on relationship building and strategic alliances.

"If you look at how businesses become successful, it’s based on relationships," Giovagnoli explained.

Her approach to networking is to get beyond the superficial name exchanges and strive for deeper, more meaningful relationships that are more likely to pay off in the long run. She encourages "networlders" to think about what they can do for others or each other, instead of what others can do for them.

It’s a "you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back" approach, spelled out in detail in "Networlding," a book Giovagnoli co-wrote with Jocelyn Carter-Miller, chief marketing officer of Motorola Inc. For networking to be effective, Giovagnoli suggests, you have to make a connection and form a two-way relationship that’s based on complementary values and helping one another.

Find like-minded people

To facilitate this, she recommends that small-business owners figure out their goals and values–in other words what’s most important to them–then look for like-minded individuals and share your ideas.

To find such people, "You can serendipitously happen to be at a place and make a connection with someone," Giovagnoli said. Or you can speed the process by consciously looking for people who can connect you with the right people. In turn, by helping others connect with the best people for their needs, you extend the process.

Giovagnoli also suggests a "quality versus quantity" approach to building contacts, noting that a smaller circle of quality associates can be far more effective than a large number of superficial acquaintances who don’t really know you or what you’re looking for.

Koning can testify to that. She said she spent time with just two people at her first networlding event at the Metropolitan Club. Both turned out to be far more helpful to her business than the dozens of people encountered at other networking functions because she shared much more information with them. In addition, they came to the meeting predisposed to want to help others.

Indeed, Giovagnoli said, good networlders are interested in making long-term connections. They understand that building a relationship requires ongoing communication and a commitment to help each other by passing on information and knowledge and by being emotionally supportive.

Forming a close circle

Instead of collecting countless, meaningless business cards, Giovagnoli recommends that small-business owners develop a circle of 10 associates that they communicate with regularly and can call on an as-needed basis for advice or ideas. They can be friends, relatives, business associates, fellow networlders or even customers and vendors.

Executive recruiter Richard Landman calls Giovagnoli’s approach "power networking." He has adopted a circle of 10, whom he consults with regularly about his Chicago-based executive search firm, Diamond Management Group Ltd.

"When I’m about to call on a new client, I’ll pick up the phone and actually do a run through with one of my people, and they’ll pick apart the presentation. They’ll be my dress rehearsal," Landman said.

Axa financial consultant Robert Sieja says the networlding method is a lot more rewarding than the type of networking he used to do, going from contact to contact in a haphazard way. Focusing on a smaller circle helps you "build up your closest allies," Sieja said.

"You have real conversations with them, and you keep them in your schedule," he said. "Because you have a more intimate relationship, you’re more able to express your needs and wants. And people are more able to know who your ideal client would be."

Networlding works because it attracts people who enjoy helping each other, Sieja said.

"Part of the problem with networking is everyone’s out for themselves, trying to increase their business at the expense of others," he says. With networlding, "You get back what you put into it."

Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune

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