By:Jason Jacobsohn
Building and growing relationships is a main facet of what networking is all about. Whether it’s a personal or business relationship, you need to view them as equally important.
Quality relationships are more important than having a quantity of people in your network. Spend the appropriate time nurturing your existing relationships (especially the ones you consider of high quality).
Keep Your Friends in the Loop
People can sometimes take their friendships for granted and they may not keep in touch with friends on a regular basis. As you get older and take on more responsibilities in life, it can be a challenge to get together with friends as much as you did in the past.
At a minimum, you should keep your friends in the loop with any major milestones in your life (such as a new job, an engagement or a new baby). If you don’t have the time to call each person, then send out an e-mail.
Your communication to your friends will show them that you were thinking about them and still consider them to be an important part of your life. Because of your actions, your friends will hopefully reciprocate the communication (unless they have already been doing so).
Holiday times are a great way to keep in touch because you can send a holiday card and personalize it by including some information about your life. At the same time, make sure to acknowledge birthdays by sending a card, e-mail or making a phone call.
Finally, make plans to see your friends periodically (whether it is for dinner, to celebrate a birthday or to catch up). Getting together is an important part of any friendship. Make sure not to neglect this part of the relationship.
By keeping your friends in the loop, it may lead to new opportunities. Your friends may be connected to people who could benefit your experience or people who could help your career.
Keep Your Business Network in the Loop
People can sometimes take their business relationships for granted as well. It is important that you remain in touch with your business network so the relationships you do develop will last.
Make sure to keep in touch with your network by letting them know about major changes in your career (such as a new job, a promotion or new contact information). People will appreciate receiving this information so they can update their Rolodex with your new information.
With some of the information you want to share, a group e-mail to your network is appropriate.
For other information or certain people, it is more appropriate for a personalized e-mail or a phone call. Depending on how strong your relationships are with certain people, you need to decide the best way to contact these people.
Another effective way to keep in touch with your network is to create an e-mail distribution list in which you share relevant information to an entire group. For example, you may want to let people know about a helpful workshop (such as a business plan workshop by Ground Floor Finance, which was held on Dec. 21).
Whatever you want to share, make sure it provides value.
It may be helpful to sort your network into different e-mail groups (such as industry contacts, business partners, service providers, media and entrepreneurs). By doing this, you will then be able to send targeted messages to certain groups. This will show that you have carefully thought about what you are sharing.
Just like your friends, it’s important to keep your business network in the loop because it could also lead to your new opportunities. People in your network are connected just like you. Take these relationships very seriously.
Be Proactive, Offer to Help, Provide Resources
With any relationship, it’s important that you provide value. Be proactive and offer to help others. Your existing relationships will be enhanced with your generous efforts.
Make sure you have an understanding of the needs and interests of people in your network so you can provide them with referrals, important information, job and business leads or resources. When you meet people and build relationships, take good notes of your conversations so you have some information to reference.
Whatever information you decide to share, make sure you send it to the appropriate people. By targeting certain messages or resources, your network will appreciate your thoughtfulness and remembrance of their needs.
By helping others this way, they should return the favor in your times of need or if they come across any resources that could benefit you. By being proactive, you are showing your network that you value the relationships.
Final Thought
It’s important to always meet new people and incorporate them into your network. Spend time building and growing your existing relationships.
You want to have some quality personal and business relationships in your life and you should make the effort to maintain these relationships. Always make sure to find ways to keep them in the loop of your life and career.
