business builder networking

Different generations
require new methods,
tools to schmooze

WHILE EVERYONE knows that who you know is a large determinant of success, many of us don’t know how to build a network of people who can make a big difference to our businesses and careers.

People who made connections in the 1950s and ''60s at the country club moved into official networking groups in the 1980s and 1990s.

Today we’re just as likely to make a business connection on a blog as at a conference. We’re becoming more concerned about maintaining personal relationships as well as our professional standing. Business contacts — and opportunities — are global.

If you want more results for the dollars you spend on associations and conferences and the time you log on business development, you need to update your toolkit and strategies.

Here are some ideas for building your first network or retooling the one you have.

Teams, tribes and technology
At the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) annual conference in Denver this year, Joe Rotella of Delphia Consulting noted the differences in how the boomers and Generation X perceive professional relationships.

Boomers have teams who are joined together by a common goal: to complete a project, make money or build professional status. For Generation X, the connections are more ideological. Shared thoughts and values about their careers and lives build connections more than a single goal. They team less, but work in flexible, shifting tribes.

During a recent event my firm hosted for young professionals, I learned that the newest employees, the “millennial” generation, appreciated structured group interaction as well as a chance to talk one-on-one. As they scoped out the room, they did not shake hands and collect cards. They were looking for connections, but not in expected ways.

Millennials crave group contact and multitasking, according to the book “When Generations Collide,” by David Stillman and Lynne Lancaster. For millennials, technology is networking. They go to their “buddy list” to solve business problems and make connections around the country and even the world.

Consider these generational differences when anticipating the results of your networking efforts. For boomers, teams will come and go as their careers and businesses evolve. They tend to be focused on who they need now.

With Generation X, you may still be part of their tribe even if you don’t connect for a while. Millennials want to stay in regular contact, so make time to talk even if it doesn’t result in an immediate referral. Technology is a big part of their networks, so be willing to connect online.

Tools of the schmooze
Exchanging a few business cards at some event is the lazy way to network. At the very least, business cards should be a point of reference to help you recall the networking encounter, a place to scribble a note about the person and the affiliation to your business goals. It’s what you do before the card appears and how you use it afterward that counts.

Include information on your own business card that explains what you can do for clients, not a menu of services. If you are a CPA, you help them save and manage money. If you are a real estate developer, you help them locate the ideal property. Think 30-second commercial on a card.

If you’ve gathered a stack of cards, it’s easy to plop them into your address book or create a contact database. This is worthless — unless you include a section that outlines your action plan for each contact.

You won’t have an action plan unless you’ve gathered enough information about the contacts to know how they may help you generate business. Determine mutual value, then act on it by a deadline.  It is much better to have a plan for a few people than 500 pretty cards.

Based on that, your action plan might include a thank you note highlighting the synergies with your firm and an invitation to discuss them. E-mail is now an acceptable way to thank someone who uses e-mail, but believe it or not, not everyone does. A personal thank you note is still the best way to go and will make a greater impression.

No matter your generation or your use of technology, it takes a professional with clear goals and creativity to breathe life into a network that generates business. Who you are, how much you are willing to help others, and how clearly you understand what works for your business makes all the difference.

Remember that the best networking is a two-way street. Getting to the top is a whole lot sweeter when you’ve brought other great people along for the ride. And as the world gets smaller, who you know is usually who they know, too.

[contact] Christine Hierlmaier Nelson is a communications consultant with Ingenuity Marketing Group, St. Paul,  specialists in training and marketing for professional services firms: 651.690.3358;  christine@ingenuitymarketing.com; www.ingenuitymarketing.com