Week 56: Network Relationships – #AlphaFemaleFriday

Week 56: Network Relationships – #AlphaFemaleFriday

“ WEEK 56 / 133 – 133 WEEKS TO SUCCESS ”

If you’re reading this, it’s most likely on LinkedIn or via my blog, Alpha Female Society. The fact you’re aiming to grow yourself and connect with others is a crucial need for most people in their personal and professional relationships. This week I’ve been thinking about the importance of using your relationships and networking. Want to know the secret to successful networking? There’s no room for modesty in networking, and the earlier you start the better because by the time you need to have that relationship, it might be too late to call on it.

Start now. Put yourself out there. Nothing replaces that great, old fashioned tradition of exchanging a business card in person. Integrate technology and social media in your networking by using channels such as LinkedIn to meet others for your mutual benefits. When you walk into a room, be proud of who you are and what you represent.

I’ve seen people network modestly and hope people find them interesting. You can’t do that. As blunt and unfortunate as it sounds, you need to give people a reason to find you and what you do interesting because the fact is that there are dozens of dozens of people who do exactly what you do. There’s only one you and there are so many things that make you special. Find out what those special key differentiators are, and sell it!

I’ve also seen people do the exact opposite where they do the painful hard sell. You’re there to do business. We get it, but there’s a time and a place to do a hard sell. When you first meet someone or are getting to know them the first few times, that’s not the time. In the beginning, the most important thing to do is to get to know each other. Networking in business is like dating: you find out each other’s likes and dislikes, see if you’re compatible and have mutual needs and desires, and then if all else clicks, you link up.

Cheers,

Kelly

@AlphaFemSociety tweets by @KellyRGonzales

About:

Each week, I take a tip from Lois P. Frankel’s book, Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office, and explore how each of these tips affect myself and other women in similar positions on the road to becoming the women we want to be. There are far and few between who are a few steps behind me, and many more who are far advanced. I found that Lois P. Frankel’s advice applied to novice, intermediates, and experts alike. It helped me see that I was already doing right, served as a reminder to keep on doing what I was doing and how to keep that momentum going. The book also showed me areas where I could improve, and gave realistic tips to jump on board. There are a total of 133 tips, and explore one tip per week in a program I call: 133 Weeks to Success.

Join the movement using the hashtag #133WeeksToSuccess with posts which are posted every #AlphaFemaleFriday.