Networking Games - Making Profitable Connections. John Rich

the tender age of 21 years I’ve been in business. I started a computer training centre for women in 1968 and have owned and operated a dozen successful enterprises since then. In 1986 I founded the Australian Executive Women’s Network so I could help women to meet and share their business experiences and knowledge.

      I was co-founder of the National Speakers Association (South Australia chapter) as Vice President with Adelaide businessman, David Griggs as President.

      In 1987 I created the Australian Executive Woman of the Year Award sponsored by Telstra and today my award has become the prestigious Telstra Businesswomen’s Award.

      All of these projects dim in the light of what Austrade has started with its Business Club Australia. John Rich and I want to assist the Club to reach more Australian businessmen and women and those around the world with common interests, hopes and dreams.

      Meet the Cartoonist – Steve Panozzo

      A professional cartoonist since 1983, Steve Panozzo’s work has regularly appeared in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and magazines, as well in trade and specialty magazines including Traveltrade. The International Hospital & Aged Care Journal, National Newsagent and Burke’s Backyard Magazine. During 1999-2000 he was the daily cartoonist for the innovative farmers’ website, farmindex.

      His career began at the age 6, when he was inspired by Zorro to slash the walls with a 6B pencil. His newspaper caricatures first appeared in The Manly Daily in 1985, where he worked as the paper’s first Artist-in-Residence. For ten years Steve worked on a casual basis for Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper empire in Sydney.

      Highly regarded for his corporate presentation caricatures, he has produced hundreds for clients including Channel Nine, NSW Rugby Union, Warner Bros., Telstra, Citibank, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, BMF and AMP.

      His on-the-spot brilliance has enlivened conferences, corporate functions and product launches for clients including Civil & Civic, L.J. Hooker, ABN-AMRO, IKEA, IBM, Samsung and David Jones.

      His cartoons and caricatures have appeared in more than 32 books, and his work has been hung in over 27 exhibitions in Australia and overseas. In 1996, he designed and co-edited The 1997 Phantom Diary for Trielle Corporation. He has designed 11 CDs and Elton John has a Panozzo hanging in his home in England.

      Steve served as President of The Australian Black and White Artists’ Club in 1992 – 1993 and again in 1998- 1999, and was made a Life Member in 1993. In 1994, Steve was among the first Australian cartoonists to be accepted into America’s National Cartoonists’ Society. In 1997, Steve represented Australia at the Guinness International Cartoon Festival in Rathdrum, Ireland.

      Preface

      This book is a guide to successful, international networking. It’s your opportunity to learn how to meet others, gain contacts and turn them into long lasting relationships and future business income.

      Networking Games demonstrates how simple it is to network effectively and follow up professionally. Life long business contacts will be yours if you read and re-read the pages in this book and apply our experience in your life.

      The networking tips in this book apply to any function you attend as once you learn how to practise them they will become second nature.

      Networking is about building relationships with people who will become your business partners in the future.

      There is no more powerful business tool in the 21^st Century than to fully comprehend the benefits networking brings to your business. It is relatively inexpensive to network, you just have to make the time available and include it in your daily activity planner.

      Word of mouth advertising is not only FREE but it creates ongoing REPEAT business. One of the reasons for this is that people prefer to do business with those they have personally met or who have been recommended to them by people they know. Today’s business is being driven by relationships and trust.

      Chapter One

      Casting the Net

      Networking is about making lasting connections with people you have never met in your life. Does that sound impossible? You may think so, but we will show you how it’s done.

      Rehearse Your Story – The first time you meet someone new you have a very short period to make a positive impact and connection. During the first few minutes they will decide whether they like you or not. You need to hold their interest quickly so they will decide to like you straight away. Make sure you are prepared with what you are going to say so you can get to the point quickly when introducing yourself and your business.

      You don’t want them to make a decision on your personality, as you need them to understand what you do. Your introduction therefore needs to be short, to the point and interesting enough to make them want to ask questions about your service or products.

      When I introduce my business I say, “Hi my name is John Rich, I’m a management consultant and rate the financial performance of companies. But that’s my ‘night job’, during the day I organise Around Australia Yacht Race. It’s an event for people like you and me, just ordinary people with an extra-ordinary dream, of one day setting off and sailing around Australia. By the way, what do you do?”

      I try to get the person not only interested in my business but more importantly speaking about themselves and their business so I can listen and ask questions which will keep them talking about themselves.

      When you are new at networking it’s natural to want to talk about yourself and your business; however, you can benefit more by learning about others. To build a memorable first impression it’s important for you to be a good listener, as the other person will respect your interest in them, which needs to be genuine. I do this by asking questions.

      Listen carefully and keep eye contact with the person with whom you are networking. Don’t be distracted by others in the room, as your contact will not believe you are listening to them. By listening intently you are creating a relationship, which will benefit you later. The important thing to know when networking is that not everyone is going to be interested in your services or products. Therefore it’s vital to build relationships, as these people will be happy to refer you to others both in the room and outside.

      Create the right connection and you build a relationship with a person who will sell you and your business to their friends and business colleagues in the future. I often find myself in the situation when a person I’ve met previously is introducing me to other people in the same room or at the table. There is a lot of power in such an introduction.

      Networking is a people business and the best networkers are those who “give” without expecting anything in return. If you can learn about others and introduce them to your friends they will do the same for you in return.

      Preparing Your Business Card – When you are printing your business cards, remember the people you meet when you are networking don’t know who you are or anything about your industry in most cases. Therefore it is a good idea to explain your business in one descriptive line on the card and include your Internet website address, so the other person can satisfy their interest in your company in the future.

      I designed my card so it must be folded. When I hand it to people I fold it first in front of them, this way I create a lasting memory. In their minds I have given the card a personal touch. They feel I folded it just for them.

      Lucille believes it’s important to have her photograph on her business cards and letterhead paper. She says, “People never throw away my cards when I personalise them with my photograph.”

      In the networking game one of the important