CPABC – The art of successful networking
Date: September 12, 2015
Name: CPABC – The art of successful networking
Presenter: Sue Clement
Networking is an important skill for leaders to improve their connections in their industries. However, many of leaders are reluctant to network and they are costing them many potential opportunities. The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) Richmond Chapter invites Sue Clement, the Founder of Success Coaching, to discuss how powerful networking can bring to professional. Sue Clement will share her strategies to help leaders to overcome the fear of networking and utilize networking skill to gain advantage in leader’s career and market.
Sue Clement is the Founder of Success Coaching. Clement has the passion to help small business owners to overcome marketing and sale limits. For over 12 years, Clement provides many webinars and workshops to improve business owners’ success and profitability. Clement also published a book called “Insider Secrets to Referral Success” to help business owners to leverage their connections in the business world. Moreover, Clement is a professional speaker who inspires innovative solutions to business problems.
Sue Clement believes networking is a way to make winning connections. Networking skill is important because successful leaders will network all the time. Clement shares she felt it was uncomfortable at first when she started to network for her business. She forced to network and she hated it. She hated the fact many people only talk about themselves. When she began to realize the power of networking can bring meaningful connections, she started to enjoy the process. Later, she became a business coach to teach professionals how to turn conversations into connections and profits. As of now, 80% of her business, resources and connections come from networking.
“Training without application is entertainment”
Sue Clement creates the CASH system to help leaders to network. CASH is the abbreviation for “Connect”, “Ask”, “Skills”, and “Help”.
Connect
Clement wants leaders to make meaningful connections. Leaders must treat networking as life skill in social place. Furthermore, networking is not equivalent to sale pitch.
Good networking comes from good listening. Leaders must always ask good quality questions and show interests. It is important to make leaders feel important. When leaders listen, they will connect. Clement recommends leaders to seek to impress people they meet. By discovering what impress about other people, leaders will able to share conversation.
Ask
Clement believes it is important to leverage networking time. Clement indicates the word “ask” is to present a call of action that might solve other people’s problem with their current expertise. Leaders need to remember to ask for introduction and connections. This will open up opportunity to meet other people’s needs.
The difference between ask and sale is the target audience. Clement emphasizes sale is target on individual and ask is target board and global. Leaders must ask without expectation because the people they meet may know someone in their connections who might meet the ask. Ask is important because it will lead to meaningful connection. Ask will help leader to connect with people who are behind other people’s connections.
Clement encourages leaders to ask because other people might be waiting for leader’s expertise to solve their business problems.
“If you do not ask, you do not get; we do not know who knows who”
Skills
Clement believes leaders must master the conversation skills. One of the conversation skills all leaders must master is to have the host mentality. This means leaders should act like a host, be early and stay late in the networking events. Leaders should make more than one impress on their network to help others remember them.
Clement suggests leaders to mingle by the door or coffee station because that is the area where people appear. Attitude is everything, so leaders should always smile. Most leaders make the mistake to sit down during the networking events. Clement wants leaders to mingle and stay standing as much as possible. Leaders can try to bring other people into the conversations.
Clement provides 3 strategies to help leaders to exit conversation. The first strategy is ask them to walk with the leader to get coffee. While leaders are getting the coffee, they can introduce them to other people. The second strategy is to shake hands and walk away. The third strategy is to let other people know they are taking too much of their networking time and ask permission to connect with them later in the future.
Clement indicates when leaders realize other people are not engaging the conversation within 28 seconds, they should walk away and move on to other conversation.
Leaders must have a compelling networking introduction. Clement recommends leaders not to say what they do and the current position job title. Instead, leaders should introduce themselves by stating the problems and solutions they provide. This is an ability to have more conversation with others, and it will create deep relationship.
Leaders should follow the 4 steps in the conversation.
- State the summary statement
- Tell the story that has problem, what they did, and the outcome
- Do an ask
- Close with tagline
Networking does not just happen at the event, leaders must work for it. Connections in network give leaders more than money itself. Leaders should treat business cards as gold and respect. Leaders can write comments on the card to remind them their common interests. Business cards is a connection point and leaders must do follow up. Meaningful followup will create meaningful relationship and connections.
“The fortune is in the follow up”
Help
Networking is a two way street. Leaders can get help from others and give help to others. Clement believes leaders should stop hunting for prospect and start seeking for collaborative partners. By leveraging the connections, leaders can grow their network. When their network grows, their net worth will begin to increase.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go with others”
Leaders should look for these 3 types of people in the networking events.
- Clients
- Reciprocal
- Ambassador
Clement shares her Referral Success Formula
| Know | Be known in the market |
| Like | Become likeable |
| Trust | Become Trustable |
| Opportunity | Connect with right people |
| Mindset | Have the mentality to give connections |
| Understand | they need to know how to help others |
Leaders should find the “go-to” person and be the “go-to” person. This will increase their creditability in networking circle.
