A New Year Should Mean New Networking!

It’s practically a national tradition; during the first few days of a new year, we all think about what we want to do differently. We pledge to get healthy, get organized or get rich. We promise to spend more quality time on our family and ourselves. We commit to being better wives, mothers, friends, bosses, or business women. Or all of the above.   

Whether or not we actually stick to these resolutions is another matter. The important thing is that we go through the process of reflecting on our successes and failures of the previous year and deciding how to do things differently in the coming year. 

I'm guessing that few women include networking in their new year resolutions. But January is actually the perfect opportunity to review how successful your networking was in 2008. Chances are you need to revise your networking strategy in order to see meaningful results.

So how do you get started? Five simple steps will get you on the road to an effective and achievable personal networking plan for 2009.

Step one: Review your status.

Begin by honestly assessing your current networking practices. What organizations do you belong to? What events do you attend? What process do you use for building and leveraging business relationships? Identify your strengths and weaknesses in networking, being as specific as possible. For example, you might be a member of two great organizations, but only attend events or interact with other members sporadically. 

Step two: Set your goals.

In order to set networking goals, you have to determine your REAL reasons for networking. What are you hoping to achieve by networking?   Be sure to set both short-term and long-term goals, and be as specific as possible. For example, instead of saying “to meet new people” say “to interact with leaders within my industry.” Also, drill down to identify tangible results. In other words, why do you want to interact with leaders within your industry? Are you looking for a mentor, a new job or customers? Or are you trying to build a reputation in order to be known as one of those leaders? The more specific your goals are, the more likely you are to accomplish them. 

Step three: Research your options.

Once you have set your goals, research the best ways to help you achieve them. In your networking plan include the most relevant organizations and events in your community, profession or industry, as well as a strategy for making the most of your membership or attendance.  It is also important to identify individuals (internal and external) who should be in your network. Don’t be afraid to reach for the stars, so to speak! Finally, you need to consider ways to build your personal brand. Publicity and leadership opportunities will help you to build name recognition and credibility as an expert. Examples of personal branding are writing a column for a local or industry publication, or serving on a committee or board of an organization.

Step four: Make the commitment. 

Networking is an investment in your career, and it takes a commitment of time and money. It is important to establish realistic time and financial commitments. Don’t plan to attend three networking events per week if you know you travel regularly for work. Likewise, don’t decide to join five organizations if you know your budget won’t cover the membership dues. Set yourself up to succeed by making commitments you can actually stick to.

Step five: Set an evaluation process.

While a new year is an obvious time to evaluate ourselves, you need a more regular evaluation process. I recommend that you evaluate your networking plan in April, September and January. You should determine if the organizations, events and people you prioritized are giving you the results you want – while being realistic about how long it sometimes takes to get results. You also need to decide if the time and money commitments you made were reasonable. If not, don’t hesitate to adjust your plan in order to ensure you are getting the most for your networking investment.

Look at January as an exciting opportunity to adjust your networking plan, or to create an entirely new one.   Following these basic steps will help ensure you are proactive, strategic and successful in networking in 2009.  

Marny Lifshen is an Austin-based marketing communication consultant, author and speaker.  She is the author of Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Women.  Marny specializes in professional services marketing and public relations.  She has also contributed articles and columns to many print and online publications on networking during of her career. Marny is an experienced speaker, and has been speaking specifically to women's organizations for more than ten years including Women in Technology International, Women in Communications and the Young Women's Alliance.  Marny can be reached at www.marnylifshen.com.