Networking- Building Your Personal Brand

Networking, and doing it right, is fundamental when you are building your personal brand. Preparation, taking action, and maintenance are part of it, and it is the key to success. It’s hard to know who to network with and how to get the most out of networking relationships. Most people think that networking is all about exchanging business cards and getting favors. But if you do not have a strategy, you'll end up wasting your time (and theirs). Networking isn't just about collecting contacts; it's about building relationships. You need to find people that can help you reach your goals, and you need to be able to offer them something in return. This is what building your brand is all about. Let’s talk about a few important points to consider while constructing your brand.

Who do you know and why is it important?

Not only the quantity, but the quality of who you know. Your network should include anyone who can help you professionally. This includes past and present co-workers, bosses, friends with similar interests, colleagues from business associations, alumni from your university, or acquaintances you have met via online networking services. Reach out to the people who can provide you with the specific help you need. Connect with friends or family members who work in the same field as the brand you’re building. You never know who might be able to help you later, so make sure to stay connected with people working in various industries.

Build off your personal success.

To achieve success, it is important to maintain forward momentum. Do not focus on artificial milestones or deadlines, but instead focus on whether you are making progress towards your goals while building your brand. If you are moving in the right direction, do not get discouraged even if it takes longer than expected to achieve a goal. Again, with the right network of people, which will become your power team, you will see results.

How can you help others?

When creating your brand and what it stands for, ask yourself, “how are you helping others? “What is unique about you and what your brand stands for. A critical part of defining your brand is identifying the audience you are best equipped to help. Being able to articulate your ability to solve a certain range of problems will help make you highly attractive to the right audience. Where there is a match between their needs and your solutions, a relationship is formed. You may have a unique advantage in how you solve problems, the solutions you produce, or something else. You need to be able to identify what makes you different from other people and what value you add. For some people, this is their technical ability. Others are great at interpersonal relations. Still others have a unique perspective that shapes proceedings in ways not possible without them. We all have something that makes us different and contributes to our solutions in a unique way.

Building Rapport.

Building rapport is important because it helps two or more people trust and understand each other. When you build rapport, you create meaningful conversations and strong relationships. People will be more likely to work with you and be influenced by you if they trust you. This is essential for sales and leadership and is the fundamental basis of a sincere relationship with your customers. Rapport helps create a lasting connection with your customers where they learn to trust you and your brand. This can help increase sales, decrease client churn, and lead to priceless customer referrals. If you don’t establish rapport with your customers, your brand becomes yet another faceless and emotionless brand. Customers will quickly abandon your company for one that is cheaper, faster, and friendlier if they’re not connected to your brand through rapport.

Ways you can build rapport with your clients are:

Remember their name
Make a good first impression
Talk less, listen more
Ask questions
Spend time with them
Follow up

Elevator pitch- explain who and what quickly and efficiently

If you want your business to get more new customers, investors, or fans, you need to know how to show off what you’ve got. Today, it’s not enough to simply have a great website. The secret weapon? Your elevator pitch. It’s fundamental to the success of every business, from a hi-tech startup to a babysitter looking for clients. You must know how to sell your brand in a short, clever, and exciting speech. Think of it as a quick answer to the question, “What do you do?” phrased in a way that will make any listener excited about learning more about you.

What do you do?
Who do you help?
What problems do you solve?
What makes you unique?

You must start your pitch with an attention grabber. Then, a quick review of your history and experience followed with your current endeavors. Then get to your main points, the heart of your speech. You will want to close with a question to engage your listener. Here it is in bullet points:

A hook to attract the listener
A review of your background
A clear and concise explanation of what you do
A question to engage the listener

Building trust

Much like building rapport, it is especially important to build trust with your clients. Respect is primarily the best way to accomplish trust with your client. If you treat your client with respect and honesty, they will reciprocate these traits Think about what you would want from a service if you were the customer. If you understand what they are looking for, it will be easier to form a relationship and meet their expectations. One part of respect is proper communication. This means honest, timely, and initiative-taking communication. When talking to a customer, use a genuine tone and avoid using jargon they might not understand. Remember that customers might know truly little about the topic, so explain things clearly and check in with them often to see if they are following along. Remember to listen first and respond later. Know their needs and be impeccable at meeting them. Be dependable, authentic, and always do your best to be available.

Are you ready to start building your brand? I hope with the information given you will feel more confident in doing so. Networking is a long-term investment. Make networking a priority. Regularly, every single day, reach out to interesting people. And always broaden your network outside of your industry. You never know where your next opportunity is going to come from. Do your homework and get to know people. Build rapport, trust, and make sure who you know is valuable as what you are giving back is valuable to them. At Legacy Education we offer many classes, clubs and mentorships that will help you become a better networker as well as help build your brand.

Areas of Review

Takeaway

Big picture takeaway points

Build off your personal success.
Networking is not all about collecting contacts. It’s about building relationships.

Reflection

Self-reflection questions to think more about the content

Who do I know and why is that important?
How can I help others?
What is my mission statement?

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