Building and Maintaining Your Professional Network

Who are the key people in a network? How to approach them? How to maintain the relationship without being intrusive? Here are the steps not to be missed and some key techniques that will help you make the best use of your contacts to build and maintain your professional network.

1- Define your objective
Building a network first requires clearly defining your expectations. So ask yourself what exactly you are looking for through the creation of this network and the objective you are aiming for (moving up the hierarchy, developing expertise, expatriation, etc.). Also ask yourself who you are and what you can specifically bring to the professional market because to build a solid network you must be able to give something in return.

2- Choose your network carefully and sort it out
Once your objective is defined, make an exhaustive list of people who could help you in your efforts (former classmates, colleagues, suppliers, clients and of course competitors). Do not forget contacts from your associative or sporting life, as well as your entourage such as your lawyer or your doctor for example. On the other hand, very close people, such as friends or family, should not occupy the main place in your network. Strong ties have difficulty separating things and many perceive these approaches as favoritism. Then, from the list of people you have established, make a selection by choosing a group of 15 to 30 people that you will solicit and try to meet.

3- Prepare the ground 
Once this list is established, you must prepare the meeting. Indeed, before contacting someone you have lost touch with, you need to know how to reach them and what has become of them. A simple Google search on their name or on social networks such as Viadeo and LinkedIn can give you this information. Once you have their contact details, it is time to get in touch. Preferably contact the person directly by phone, but if you don't feel very comfortable you can also send them an email.

4- Approaching your contacts
Whether or not you know the contact, it is necessary to introduce yourself or reintroduce yourself. First, concisely explain who you are and remind them of the circumstances in which you met. Otherwise, specify the name of the person you are recommending to call. This first step gives self-confidence because it encourages the listener to react and helps to break the ice. Then, you need to learn to present your objective clearly and concisely, getting straight to the point very quickly. In your speech, it is important to be impactful while keeping in mind that your contact has many other things to do in their life than help you. You may therefore have to repeat the message you want to convey, but without harassing your contact.

5- Keeping your network alive over time.
A network must be maintained very regularly. You must therefore make it evolve according to your objectives and know how to rejuvenate it sometimes when some of its members retire and also know how to enrich it with the knowledge of contacts you meet. Take the time to contact your contacts regularly, for example by blocking a slot in the week dedicated to making contact, following up, and requesting appointments. Also think about having lunch with someone from your network or suggesting meeting for a drink in the evening after work.

6- Being a good "networker"
Avoid being a "one-way network", a mistake that condemns any networking approach, the basic rule of which is to know how to give in order to receive better later. You must be in a position to help your interlocutor. Also avoid using your contacts for a specific purpose and then "discarding" them once your objective is achieved. Receiving help and showing no sign of gratitude leaves a bitter taste for the person who helped you. Similarly, if you are solicited, which doesn't happen very often in the end, you must be there, even if the appointment you grant is only for half an hour.

7- Be reliable and always leave a good impression on your contact.
Today, not having a network is tantamount to being excluded from professional life. Networking is an integral part of an employee's life, but if you don't know how to "grow it" and "cherish it", you won't get anything or very little out of it. The way you manage your network will either open doors for you or irremediably close them. This applies both when you are trying to manage your career and when you want to develop your business.


Philippe Montant General Manager ExeKutive.biz