Networking: It’s What You Do AFTER the Meeting!

by Dayna Steele, Vollmer Community Manager 

As an author and a speaker, I am often called upon to talk about networking -- like there’s a big secret to how it’s done.  It’s actually quite simple.  Networking is not about getting out and meeting people. Networking is about what you do after you meet people, the follow-through and keeping in touch.

Speaker, author and Help A Reporter creator Peter Shankman likes to tell the story of Paramount Pictures executive Barry Diller. Barry used to go through his Rolodex every day and call 10 different filmmakers and others, just to touch base and find out what they were working on and how they were doing. These filmmakers and others often thought of Barry first when they had a hot project. Many credit the huge success of Paramount Pictures during this time to Barry’s daily calls.

You may not be Barry Diller, but there is no reason you can’t do the same thing he did. Successful relationships, business or personal, take time and nurturing.

Here are just a few things that should be a part of your networking repertoire:

• Write a personal note after an in-person meeting – either to say thank you or a simple, “It was nice to meet you (or see you).” An email is fine, but a handwritten note stands out more.
• On Facebook? Check each morning to see who is having a birthday and leave a message on their wall or actually make a personal call.
• See an article or blog post that makes you think of someone? Copy the URL and send it to that person with a note: “This made me think of you.” We ALL like to know others are thinking about us.
• ALWAYS write a thank-you   note when anyone does something nice for you – an introduction, a client lead, free tickets to something, a meal, whatever.  If you are doing things right, you should be writing at least five thank-you notes a week -- if not more.
• Did you talk about a specific thing or information the other person needed that you had?  Follow through with that promised information or item within 48 hours, even if it’s just to say you are still gathering the information.
• Go through your network – your address book, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – and touch base with several people each day. This keeps you top of mind just like the  aforementioned Mr. Diller.

Here’s a recent example of how I work.  Earlier this week, a local food critic invited me to join her at one of Houston’s newest restaurants.  Management wined and dined us thoroughly. (It’s always nice to go to a restaurant with a food critic).  I followed up with a thank-you note and a copy of my book to the restaurant manager. The food critic and I had talked about my husband’s new novel, so she got a thank-you note and a copy of the book, Specific Impulse.  I posted the pictures of the food and information on the new restaurant on Facebook, with links to the establishment and the chef.  Not to mention, I’ll be back – the food was amazing!

Networking is not for sissies. It takes work and it takes work on a regular, daily basis. Who have you networked with today?

Dayna Steele works with Vollmer Public Relations as a media consultant, Community Manager and editor of the Vollmer e-newsletter, Vollocity. She is the author of Rock to the Top: What I Learned about Success from the World’s Greatest Rock Stars. Her new book, I’m With the Band: Network Your Way into Anything, Anywhere, Anytime!, is scheduled for release in January 2011. AOL has called her “…one of the foremost experts on career networking.” For more information, visit www.daynasteele.com or network with her on Facebook on the Steeleworkers page!

Ten Steps to Improve your Networking Ability and Effectiveness

by Helen Vollmer, Vollmer Public Relations CEO and Founder

  

1.  Be prepared.  Think about what you may have in common with those you’ll be seeing and prepare to talk about that.

2.  Don’t wait—initiate.  Head for the host or the group that’s the noisiest.  Stand on the periphery and smile; someone will save you. 

3.  Introduce yourself clearly and in context.  Say your name and why you’re there, then ask for the same from your listener.

4.  Shake hands properly.  Firmly and web-to-web.

5.  Be specific when describing your services or products your company offers.  Don’t just say, “I’m in computers.”  Be as specific in as concise a way as is possible.

6.  Organize your introduction.  Have a 15 second elevator speech.  If what you do is complex, use an example or case history to quickly illustrate what you do.  Stories, if kept to the point, can maintain and help create listener interest.

7.  Inform, don’t sell.  When in doubt, low key is always better.

8.  Be yourself.  Learn all you can about what makes people receptive, but remember there’s no substitute for authenticity.

9.  Truly listen.  Don’t plan your next line of dialogue while the other person is speaking.  Listening helps build confidence and trust.

10.  Exit gracefully. If someone is glancing at their watch or looking beyond you, it’s time to go.  If you’re trapped, thank them for their time and then walkd a quarter of the room away before starting another conversation.

Follow up.  Get their business card and send a personal note.  If they say, call and set up lunch, do it.

What I Learned from College Admissions

by Julia Weede
Vollmer Public Relations New York City

Recently Sue Schellenbarger, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, retook the SAT on a dare from her high-school aged son. She wrote about the eye-opening experience , and how it gave her a new appreciation for him and for the rigors that kids endure as they prepare for their next step in life (“I Took the SAT Again After 41 Years,” May 27, 2009). She said the stress instantly sent her “back into a tailspin of adolescent regression and procrastination.”

My first reaction? Not for a million bucks. Funny how the whole college application experience follows you for the rest of your life.

But it got me thinking. There is probably not an adult alive who would willingly relive that first college search. But there are some pretty great life and career lessons you can take from it even if you have left the halls of your alma mater.

I live in an education household. My husband is the “enrollment guy” at Butler University, and I spent years in college admissions. So I posed the question during a long car ride. If selecting the right college is such a big deal, what are some lasting truths you can learn from the whole process?

Here’s what we came up with:

• You can do this. Whether it is finding a college, getting a first mortgage, or launching a brand, you’re rarely the first to face an overwhelming process. Find someone who knows the path. Jump in and ask questions.
• Hard work matters. It shows.
• So does following your passion. Choosing a major, career or business opportunity based solely on money, or someone else’s expectations, usually backfires.
• Grammar matters. Texting friends is fun, but important decisions are made based on how well you communicate big ideas. Pay attention to the craft of communicating.
• Be open to opportunities. Focus is good, but don't walk past the road less traveled. You don’t have to go where everyone else is going. If you are open to unexpected options, you'll be surprised by life.
• Be nice. It matters and people notice.
• Fit is important. If you are facing a difficult choice and quality is comparable, go with the people you like.
• Don't let cost be the only deciding factor. You usually get what you pay for. Go for the best you can afford to give you what you need most.
• Give back. If you went to school on a scholarship, it’s probably because someone donated the money. When you can, throw the rope back to the next generation.
• Breathe. Even if you are afraid of making a decision, remember your future includes great things you can’t imagine and options that haven’t been invented yet.

So just do the very best you can today. It’ll all work out. Really!

What has Your Association Done for You Lately?

by Christina Felton, Vollmer Public Relations Austin 

You may ask yourself: Why should I join a professional association? Are associations worth my time and the cost of the membership? The answer is yes. There are many benefits to joining and participating in associations specific to your occupation.

Many are surprised to find that the costs to join associations are minimal and are often combined with discounts on event registration, continuing education courses, complimentary newsletters on industry news and a multitude of networking opportunities. Most importantly, professional organizations are formed to unite and inform industry professionals who work in similar occupations about critical changes and updates to their specific areas of practice.

For instance, the heated healthcare debates have left many professionals feeling uncertain and concerned about potential changes to their occupations and, more specifically, to their industry licenses. With critical changes lurking around the corner for many practitioners, healthcare associations fight for the rights of professionals through education and legislative advocacy.  Two of our clients are great examples.

The Texas Podiatric Medical Association (TPMA) and Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) are both committed to ensuring quality care is made available to the citizens of Texas. With more than 600 members, TPMA promotes the understanding and awareness of podiatrists and seeks to secure the enactment of fair laws for the practice of their members through regulatory and legislative processes. For many Texas podiatrists, TPMA has been an essential part of the growth of their practices.

Likewise, speech-language pathologists and audiologists who join TSHA benefit from the ability to maintain their Texas state license through continuing education opportunities.  TSHA members also can regularly monitor the issues that affect their jobs, licensure and reimbursements. For members, TSHA serves as a voice at the Texas Capitol, advocating to legislators to promote their professions and the consumer’s right to quality care.

Another key benefit to belonging to an association is networking with your peers at association meetings and social events. Aside from the opportunity to meet individuals who share a common interest, membership can also spark new connections within your industry.

For businesses and practitioners who rely on referrals and recommendations, an association membership can become a great source of new business, simply as the result of attending events or having a listing in membership directories. Many association directories are distributed outside the core network, further increasing business opportunities.

The bottom line is that professional organizations are worth the investment. Whether you are a small business just getting started or an established practice, a well-run association can provide the information, leadership and support necessary for greater personal and professional success.

Back to the Future or What I Learned in the PR Wars

by Helen Vollmer, CEO Vollmer Public Relations

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Er . . . what I meant to say was, “Wow, the world of PR is completely different than when I started in this business.”

So, am I talking out of both sides of my mouth when I tell you that both of the above statements are absolutely true when it comes to my profession and the role it plays in the world around us?  Perhaps, but hear me out.

First, the way we operate in public relations is completely different than when I was a young whippersnapper starting out at Ruder Finn more than a few years ago.  With content now in the hands of the public as much as, if not more than, in the hands of traditional media, the rules of the game are changed forever.

We don’t talk so much about media outreach anymore as we do influencer outreach.  Our communication strategies are guided by an ever-expanding universe of individuals, associations, social media applications, policymakers and, yes, journalists who have the power to change the course of a discussion and impact outcomes in powerful ways.   Transparency has forced better, more consistent and more dynamic communications.  It also has given public relations and public affairs experts a seat at the C-level table, as captains of industry have realized that leadership is as much about communication as it is about knowledge of their business.

The world has become flat through technology; however, communicating to a host of important audiences via a myriad of distribution channels is extraordinarily complicated.  And, frankly, this makes the role of a public relations practitioner more important and relevant than ever before.  Public relations counselors must understand the nuances of a situation and be able to dig at a granular level, as well as offer views from above the storm clouds.  This is what good PR people have been trained to do:  address individual niche audiences and develop communications techniques for specifically addressing their needs.

This is where I started, literally, in this business.  Public relations is and always has been about developing means for communicating in meaningful ways targeted to make a difference in outcomes. Of course, what is meaningful today is different than it was 5, 10, 15 years ago.  Typewriters and liquid paper may have gone the way of the dinosaur, but surveys, sampling events, grassroots promotions and brokering meetings with people who can help your cause are all still effective PR cornerstones.  The means for reaching people via these techniques has evolved, but what tugs at the human heart for a change in perception or a purchasing decision comes from an old-fashioned understanding of what’s important to whom.  And communicating effectively, whether it’s via Twitter, the editorial page or on stage at a trade show, is all about the audience, not the sender of the message.  Some things never change.

Reputation CPR

by Tony Shelton, Shelton & Caudle, the Communication Training &  Crisis Counsel Division of Vollmer Public Relations


CPR and crisis communication have the same goal – survival.

A while back, the American Heart Association updated its guidelines for CPR.   The old guidelines were good, but the new ones emphasize the need for harder and faster chest compression to increase victims’ chances of survival.

A crisis planning and training program can be thought of as the CPR of company survival.  An important part of that program has to do with communication. Companies that want to increase the chances their reputations will survive when the worst happens must know how to communicate even quicker than before.  Also,  they have to know how people are communicating today.

Here are four steps you can take now to make sure you’re not still looking for email addresses when the world is tweeting about the downfall of your organization:

• Do a Vulnerability Analysis - Where are your weaknesses, not just in the operation, but in your reputation?   What have your customers complained about?  What are the near-misses you’ve experienced lately?  Have your competitors faced any crises?  It’s great to learn from your own experience, but it’s smart to learn from the experiences of your peers, so you don’t have to experience them firsthand.
  
  
• Test Your Internal Communication - Have you smoothed out the communication between management, operations, legal and PR?  The need for speed has always been great, but these days you have minutes, not hours, before your story is being told by others. Make sure your communication won’t come to a halt because a member of the team retired three years ago and hasn’t been replaced on the contact list.
  
  
• Get to Know Social Media -  Whether or not your company “allows” employees to engage in social media, you need to know what’s being said about you. At least start monitoring a few sites, including Twitter, YouTube, Technorati and Facebook, and set up free Google Alerts to come to your inbox.   Use the search features.  You might even discover a small complaint and be able to address it before it becomes a crisis. (Note:  Even email is going out of style.)
  
  
• Update Your Communication Training – Make sure that your crisis-communication training includes a company-specific scenario with a social media component.    You can be sure that the next real-life crisis will.   After the training, use the outcome of the practice to find any holes in the communication chain.

The basics of crisis communication remain the same:  You need to get out there fast and show the world somebody in the organization is paying attention and doing something useful to address the crisis.

What’s new is that you no longer can control the news about your company.  The best you can do is be part of the conversation.  But that’s hugely important.

It can mean the difference between surviving and not surviving when your company’s reputation starts to “flatline” in the digital world.

It's a Small World After All

by Mike Swenson, Barkley Public Relations, Vollmer IPREX Partner

Yes. I know. You now are going to be humming that song the rest of the day. But the song is right. Our world grows ever smaller each and every day. And while all of us basically have access to the entire world via Google or other online resources, it is still nice to know that we can reach out to real people anywhere in the world to help us do our jobs.

That is where IPREX comes in for Vollmer, Barkley and the 80 other offices of our fellow IPREXers around the world. While our two firms have the staff and expertise to develop and execute any public relations program we can dream up, IPREX can be an asset for us.

It can begin right up front with research. IPREX members are only an email away from being able to participate in an online brainstorm to help identify that one, unique insight to build a program around. Or there may be a specific need to understand regional differences in the USA or cultural differences around the world. Again, IPREX members are ready to help us understand the nuances of their area that we might never interpret correctly on our own.

And even though our two firms are staffed to execute any program just about anywhere in the world, it is nice to know that we can tap into 80 offices worldwide and receive support from IPREX pros on the ground wherever we need them. In essence, IPREX makes us global.

IPREX can also be a new business asset. Everything described above in terms of client work can just as easily be applied to helping us win new business. Additional brains to offer strategic insights can be the difference between winning and losing a new business pitch. In some cases, it may be the simple fact that we have global partners that levels the playing field for us against the global holding companies. Or joining forces with fellow IPREX members to pitch a piece of business together can leverage all the advantages of the IPREX partnership and lead to new business for everyone.

The little things matter also. Any of us can pick up the phone, email or even text an IPREX partner with a quick question on day-to-day issues. Or maybe you just need a sympathetic ear on a bad day. These are the kind of relationships you can develop through IPREX.

Barkley has been a partner since the early 1990s. Vollmer was already in IPREX when we joined and Helen, Allen and Carolyn were among the first people I really got to know. It was a comfort to me as we were building the PR firm at Barkley to have people like them willing to listen to my concerns or ideas and receive honest feedback. IPREX also became a good measuring stick to see how we were progressing against some of the finest PR firms in the world.

As with any volunteer organization, your rewards are based on your investment. IPREX requires each of us to give a little so that we can all gain a lot. See how you can get involved with IPREX and I assure you it will be good for your own personal growth as well as for Vollmer.

Mike Swenson is Chief Marketing Officer of Barkley and founder of Barkley Public Relations in Kansas City. He was Global President of IPREX from 1999-2001.