Smart networking tips

By Divina Paredes | Thursday, August 13 2009

Your network is your personal brand, you should grow it regardless of the economic situation.

Your network is the amount of people you know. That is your personal brand; grow it regardless of the economic situation, advises former Merrill Lynch stockbroker turned strategic communications consultant Mark Jeffries.

At last week’s SAS Premier Business Leadership Series in Singapore, Jeffries shares what he calls the “three Rs of networking” – radar, reach and reward.

He then discussed how conference delegates can apply these strategies to networking within the business environment:

Radar: After meeting someone of interest put yourself on that person’s radar. For instance, reach out to that person within a week of the meeting. An example is sending an email to the person you met at a conference or a work-related situation.

Reach: The next step is to add a personal note in the email, saying where you met and adding some detail of a conversation you had, for instance, on sushi.

Reward: You “reward” the person by adding a link to a great website on sushi.

At the very least, says Jeffries, you should get a reply and you never know when you will need a new connection.