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Leveraging Your Leveraging Your NetworkingNetworking

……..……..for Career & Business for Career & Business SuccessSuccess

Dayo Olomu, Chair, CIPD Lambeth Dayo Olomu, Chair, CIPD Lambeth Group, South London BranchGroup, South London Branch

HR Ambitions….Moving Up @ Jury’s Inn HR Ambitions….Moving Up @ Jury’s Inn CroydonCroydon

Saturday 26th November 2011Saturday 26th November 2011

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What is Networking?What is Networking?

• Networking is building and maintaining productive personal, business and professional relationship that benefits both parties

• It is a long-term strategy based on trust, sincerity and reciprocity of relationship – (Williams, 2000)

• Experts say networking is about exchange and building relationships

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What Do You Want From What Do You Want From Networking?Networking?

• To find employment• To achieve goals• To find opportunity

for growth• To build business

contacts and associates

• To expand your network

• To increase market share and customers

• To find new ideas• To find new

colleagues/friends• To pursue a hobby or

interest• To gain new

perspective on topics of interest to you

• To go into business for yourself

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Is Networking Worth Is Networking Worth The Investment?The Investment?

• The phenomenon of business networking has been studied for the last 25 years, but recently, there has been a renewed interest. There are sound, peer-reviewed studies from US, Germany and China that have positively linked networking to:– Salary Growth (Wolff H.G, et al, 2009)– Increase promotions (Michael J and Yulk G.H, 1993)– Perceived career success (Langford P.H., 2009)– Job satisfaction (Wolff H.G. and Moser K, 2009)– Production of creative ideas (Zhou J. et al, 2009

(Byham, W.C , 2010)

• One of the four key essential leadership skills is relationship building/network building – Developing Business Leaders for 2010, in The Conference Board

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Result of My Result of My Networking Networking • Started a Music & Movie magazine -

2003• Motivational Speaker - 2004• Founding President of Croydon

Communicators Toastmaster Club – 2005

• TV Presenter - 2007• My audio CD “You Got The Power”

was sent to more than countries – 2008

• Spoke at Westminster Hall - 2009• School Governor - 2011• Chair, CIPD Lambeth Group - 2011

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Networking Networking FrameworkFramework

Stage 1

You

Stage 2

Networking

Stage 3

Contact

Stage 4

Leveraging

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You! You!! You!!!You! You!! You!!!• Effective networking demands that Effective networking demands that

you know what you want and how to you know what you want and how to effectively communicate it when effectively communicate it when networkingnetworking

• In order for you to get where you In order for you to get where you wish to go in your career or business, wish to go in your career or business, you need to know where you are you need to know where you are going in the first placegoing in the first place

• If you don’t know where you are If you don’t know where you are going how will you know when you going how will you know when you get there?get there?

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Which Kind of People Would Which Kind of People Would You Like to Attract to Your You Like to Attract to Your

Network?Network?

For yourself your career oryour Business

Your Bank Manager

Your Supplier PR

& Marketing

Headhunter

Solicitor

Trusted Employee

ValuedClient

AccountantMentor/Coach Manager

Your Line Manager

or CEO Investors

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How Can You Expand How Can You Expand Your Networking & Your Networking &

Contact?Contact?• Join a career related organisation• Become a board member of an active

association• Volunteering• Join a public speaking club• Join your old student association or Alumni• Join social media – E.g. Linkedin or

Ecademy• Go to a Networking Event

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Questions TimeQuestions Time• Do you make opportunities to meet new

people?• Do you regularly attend meetings at work

or socially?• Do you introduce yourself to speakers at

training courses, conferences or dinners?• Have your contacts grown in number over

the last few years?• Do you talk to peers in other organisations?• If you needed urgent help with your career

or business, do you know people who would be prepared to help?

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Action Cures FearAction Cures Fear

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Networking Essential Networking Essential SkillsSkills

• Public Speaking/Self Promotion• Research• Listening• Nurturing• Building rapport• Persistence• Organisational • Ability to follow up

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What Is An Elevator What Is An Elevator Pitch?Pitch?

• An Elevator Pitch is a concise, carefully planned and well-practiced description about you and your benefits

• It is the basic introduction of who you are, what you do and what you are looking for when networking

• It is something you should practice and perfect

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Creating Your Elevator Creating Your Elevator PitchPitch

• A “Hook” – Grab attention• Keep It Short & Simple (KISS

approach)• What Is In It For Me? (WIIFM)• What do you want them to do for

you? • Not more than 90 seconds

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Where Networking Can Where Networking Can Take PlaceTake Place

• Social Gathering• Product Launch• Award Ceremony• Religious Gathering• AGMs/Conferences• Networking Event

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How Can You Prepare How Can You Prepare For a Networking For a Networking

Event?Event?• Venue• Time• Cost (if any)• Attendance• Dress code (if any)• Will you be expected to introduce

yourself to the whole group? If yes, for how many minutes?

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Networking - Ready To Networking - Ready To GoGo

• Practice your elevator pitch• Dress for success - make sure you

present a good visual image• Take a supply of your business cards

in your wallet/case• Put on a smile and go to the event• Arrive Early

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At the Networking EventAt the Networking Event• Use all your networking skills• Use your ‘elevator pitch’• Meet new people• Build trust by listening• Arm yourself with common ground for

conversation• Be there• Leave them feeling better • Collect business cards and keep them safely • Have fun

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Starting a Conversation Starting a Conversation At Networking EventAt Networking Event

• F – From/Family: Where are you from?• O – Occupation: What do you do for a living or what

is your profession, what do you enjoy most about your profession or how did you get started? Or What is the best thing about your job?

• R – Recreation: What do you do for fun or recreation?

• M – Motivation: What motivates you to do what you do or which one sentence would you like people to use in describing the way you do business?

- Power, M.P, 2009

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After the Networking After the Networking EventEvent

• Evaluate the event. Was it successful? Should you have done things differently

• File the business cards information you have collected

• In golf as in networking it is the follow-through that count – Nigel Risner

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Networking to Contact Networking to Contact

• Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is SUCCESS – Henry Ford

• Communicate regularly – once a month or week

• Nurture and build relationship with contact

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What is Leverage?What is Leverage?• Leverage is the ability to use other people’s

money, expertise, technology, time, ideas or network to achieve more, with less effort.

• Leverage =Speed=Goals – (Hansen & Allen,2002)

• What really distinguishes high performers from the rest of the pack is their ability to maintain and leverage personal networks. – “The Social Side of Performance”, MIT Sloan Management Review

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Leveraging Your Leveraging Your NetworkingNetworking

• Leverage Other People (colleague, headhunter, business partner, mastermind group, joint venture or a mentor)

• Leverage Other People’s Contact (their friends & network)

• Leverage Other People’s Systems• Leverage Other People’s Knowledge, Skills &

Time• Leverage Other People’s Platform (e.g TV,

Radio etc)• Leverage Other People’s Money (borrowing or

tapping into their financial resources, VC & BA)• Leverage Other People’s Customers (e.g. a

customer database, Mailing List)

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Leveraging Social & New Leveraging Social & New MediaMedia

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Network StatsNetwork Stats

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Honey & Bee ApproachHoney & Bee Approach• My belief is that “knowing” someone has

less value than “knowing” you. It is what you are known for that counts – (Cope, 2010)

• Positioning – yourself as an expert in your field

• Be Google- able & Be Web-Famous – (Priestly, 2011)

• Become an author• Attend high profile events and connect• Appear on TV or radio to speak on career

related topics• Write articles for specialised journals

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The Myth About The Myth About Knowledge Is PowerKnowledge Is Power

• How many people believe that knowledge is POWER?

• Knowledge is not POWER• Apply knowledge is POWER• ACTION is POWER• Regular Activity is true power• Regular Activity is constant and consistent

action until the outcome has been surpassed

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You Got The Power!You Got The Power!

• You are a marvelYou are a marvel•You are uniqueYou are unique• YOU ARE ENDOWED WITH THE SEEDS OF YOU ARE ENDOWED WITH THE SEEDS OF GREATNESS – (Olomu, 2005)GREATNESS – (Olomu, 2005)

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Contact DetailsContact Details

• Email: dayo@dayoolomu.com• Website: www.dayoolomu.com• Facebook: www.facebook.com/dayo.olomu• Twitter: www.twitter.com/dayoolomu• Blog: http://dayoolomu.blogspot.com• Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/dayoolomu• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/dayoolomu

References/Further References/Further ReadingsReadings• Barrett, A and Beeson J (2002) Developing Business Leaders for 2010, a

report from The Conference Board• Byham, W.C (2010) Business Networking Can Be Taught, Training &

Development, May• Cope, M (2003) Personal Networking: How to Make Your Connections

Count, Prentice Hall• Cross, R, et al (2003) The Social Side of Performance, MIT Sloan

Management Review, Oct 15• Hansen, M.V & Allen, R.G, (2002) The One Minute Millionaire: The

Enlightened Way to Wealth, Three River Press, New York• Olomu, D, (2005) 4 Indispensable Strategies for Success, London• Power, M.P (2009), How To Become An Irresistible Networker, London• Priestly, D (2010) Become A Key Person of Influence, Ecademy Press,

London• Risner, N (2009) You Had Me at Hello: The New Rules for Better

Networking London• Williams, T (2000) Networking As A Way of Gaining Business for Training

Consultants, Industrial and Commercial Volume 32, No 5, pp 169-172