Is your networking « notworking »?

Édition : Mulhouse/Sud-Alsace - 10 juillet 2012

2012 : On progresse en anglais ! Chaque mois, Sarah Lesage nous livre une chronique en anglais sur le thème du networking (le réseau).

Both off and on-line networking should be part of any company’s marketing strategy. However you need efficient tools to manage the ocean of contacts and information that this will generate. Sarah Lesage suggests a couple of integrated management tools.

Le périscope, journal économique de Mulhouse et environs, actualité économique alsace | les chroniques de Sarah LesageNo so long ago networks referred to telephones and computers, but now this internationally ubiquitous term means that spider’s web of contacts both professional and personal which defines you and your business in a particular community. It is what connects you to other people and other businesses.

Networking is a far more efficient way to develop businesses

Cold-calling is hard work, often soul destroying and very time consuming. Today it is generally agreed that networking is a far more efficient way to develop businesses. Getting to know companies and people before you meet them is far more rewarding than blindly contacting as many people as possible in the hope that someone may be interested. You don’t go to a conference and hand out your business card to everyone you meet in the hope that someone will say “yes!”

An essential tool for helping you find the people and the companies that you want to meet.

Networking digitally is an essential aspect of building a strong professional network. Companies use it to build an online individual and corporate presence. It is also an essential tool for helping you find the people and the companies that you want to meet and to get to know them before you even shake hands. How much easier is it to strike up a conversation if you have a friend in common or you know you will both be attending the same conference next month ?

Somme efficient networking management tools

However networking both off and on-line is also very time consuming and can produce a huge volume of contacts. It is essential to have an efficient database such as Bigcontacts. com or Nimble.com, which can integrate with Facebook, Twitter etc. to manage your professional network. Linkedin has a great free app, Cardmunch, for Iphones and androids. It takes a picture of a business card to automatically convert them to contacts and to show you the Linkedin profile information and the connections you have in common. Data management tools like these will ensure that you can concentrate on the key people that you need to build relationships with rather than losing time on the peripheral crowds.

Sarah Lesage – formatrice et rédactrice en anglais
saklesage@gmail.com, 06 15 28 43 48

Vocabulary
Ubiquitous : omniprésent
Cold-calling : démarchage spontané
Soul destroying : abrutissant
Time consuming : qui prend du temps
Awareness : conscience
To strike up a conversation : engager la conversation
Crowds : la foule