Are You Networking Online Consistently?
One of the things I discussed during the Online Networking That Gets Results Teleseminar last week was the importance of being a consistent online networker.
Being consistent to me means networking at least once a week (preferably 2-3 times a week), so that people you network with get to know you, learn about you and your business, trust your expertise and ultimately are able to become your clients or refer others to you.
Sometimes during my online networking I meet people who I call drive-by networkers. These are the people who you see networking online once in a blue moon. When they network, the really network. They spend an entire day or two visiting different online networks, making a splash, creating a flurry of activity, chatting with people and then disappearing from the networking radar until the next blue moon makes its appearance.
Drive-by networkers become active in networking when they have a lull in business. Naturally, they come to the startling realization that they need to do some business development. They jump into networking full force, and spend a day (or two, or three) networking online non-stop. Then they get bored or get a call from a client or decide to use alternate business development strategies and disappear until the next time business is slow.
Being a drive-by networker is a complete waste of time and resources for a variety of reasons:
When you network once every few months, no one remembers you. Every time you come to the same online network, you have to spend the time re-introducing yourself, instead of jumping right into networking.
The best way to gain leads and clients while networking is to be accepted as an expert in your field. You must have a public track record in the field before you can be considered an expert. People generally have a hard time remembering your track record if they can barely recall who you are.
A drive-by networker spends days at a time networking. As useful as networking is, this get very boring very fast. This is reflected in drive-by networker’s posts: they show no signs of life and are incredibly dull. This is only natural — imagine spending a few days doing exactly the same thing over and over again.Remember – don’t be a drive-by networker. Instead, network on a regular basis to get to know others and create business relationships that will last for a long time. To learn more about getting results from your online networking efforts, get my Online Networking That Gets Results Audio Recording.
Biana Babinsky