With you is a powerful phrase!
Do you have people in your network who would run along with you before you got tackled?
Rugby and networking can be a team sport if played correctly.
Networking with other people is a skill you often don’t realize is important until you notice you don’t have a powerful network you can count on. Maybe you don’t have the sales results you want or you can’t seem to get an appointment with a company you would like to do business with, this is where your network can assist you. Your network is your extended team. I call it your ALLSTAR100 network.
I grew up playing touch football with the neighborhood kids. It was fun. I then stumbled into playing rugby in college. While it wasn’t a game I was familiar with and the ball is shaped a little differently than a football there was an offense and defense, called the line and the scrum. No pads. No helmets. No coach. But a big sense of team was always present on and off the rugby field.
One of the more exciting moments in my rugby games was when our team had the ball and the other team would come running to try to tackle us. All of the teammates would yell “WITH YOU”, especially the people who played on the line. They yelled this phrase so you would know your teammates were near you. By hearing the phrase with you, you knew that if you were tackled, before you would crash to the ground and possibly lose the ball, you could throw the ball backward or lateral to your teammate on the line and then they could keep running. This might happen several times and then you would keep running down the field and score a try, not a touchdown!
The idea behind the phrase “With you” can provide you peace of mind as the person holding the ball that you are not alone and as a teammate when you yell this phrase you know that you are supporting another person.
Fast forward to the coaching work I do with salespeople and business owners and I show people how to surround themselves with their networking team to accomplish better results with quality people.
Through my years of networking coaching I have seen people struggle to build genuine networks and their results reflect this. They are fake. They are unfocused. They are afraid to ask for what they need. They fly solo and often lack confidence or alternatively show up with too much confidence and turn people off from wanting to be on their team/network.
One of my most recent clients Jim, started working with me at the insistence of his sales leader. Jim was worn out of meeting people and had attended 100’s of networking events yet he wasn’t closing all the sales he wanted. When we first met, he showed up and explained was tired from “excessive giving” and posting comments on Linkedin and taking people to lunch. He couldn’t comprehend why he wasn’t closing sales or getting more referrals. He had a nervous habit of talking about how much things cost and he would brag a bit without really backing up his client results. He was a nice man but something in his style wasn’t genuine and he wasn’t building attachments with quality people in his network.
Build an Allstar network.
We began to develop his ALLSTAR100 network and take inventory of his list of relationships. Who was he meeting with, why was he meeting with them and what did he hope to accomplish for both parties? Relationships aren’t about keeping score but identifying who will be helpful to you and your network of business professionals. Think back to the rugby team metaphor and who is “With You” as you’re running down the field of business.
2. Conduct a networking audit.
Jim also did a networking audit and made a list of all the events he went to and organizations he was a part of and realized he was a half-hearted participant in most of these groups. Often not showing up to events that he had signed up for. The goal of his new networking habits was to build deep relationships with 2 or 3 associations so that he was a leader and a community player. He was beginning to think of his network as his team of ALLSTARS that he was going to win business with.
Focus your online behavior.
His online behavior was equally as exhausting. After evaluation he realized he had to manage his engagement on Linkedin on focus on the inner circle, of relationships or what I call the ALLSTAR100 network. He shifted from posting a thumbs up on many people’s posts to actually making a comment and tagging other people. Each of these behaviors shows genuine support and connection.
He also revised how he introduced himself and talked about what his company could do for other people and the results they could provide. Instead of naming 5 clients right away upon meeting someone, he listened to what the other person was saying and them named one that was relevant and meaningful to their business challenge. Quality over quantity.
By building a team of people around him, his network became more focused and mobilized to provide him with referrals, business and quality relationships. And he valued his network’s commitment to him and he prioritized doing the same for his network. Much like the rugby team and running alongside of people before getting tackled, he was able to ask for business from his network because they all knew he was “with them” and more sincere and focused on a win/win scenario.
You can build your ALLSTAR network and develop relationships where other people are WITH YOU.
Rock On,
Cathy Paper
p.s. If you want to conduct a networking inventory, complete a networking audit or talk about your Linkedin habits, sign up for an intro call to learn more.