Notworking

One of the advantages of being a public speaker is that I am invited to several interesting locations.

A week ago Chronos International hired me to give a three hour networking workshop for their customers and candidates in the Claridge in Brussels.

The reason they did this was that after my workshop there was a Notworking party where the participants of the workshop could participate in. This Notworking party is a kind of after-work party in three parts:
– Networking: 19.00-21.00 (making new business contacts and maintaining existing relationships)
– Notworking: 21.00-23.00 (relaxing)
– Niteworking: 23.00-03.00 (dancing and party)

The interesting thing about this concept is that there is a tool that participants can use before and during the event to get in touch with each other. This tool is a simple, but effective networking platform (comparable to LinkedIn, Ecademy, Xing or Ryze) that is focused on connecting people on the venue itself.

There are PC’s on the spot so you can use the tool to connect with other members who are also present. And you can see who is linked to whom, so it becomes very easy to ask to be introduced by someone you know to another participant. This allows the members to network very effectively and efficiently !

If you work or live in Brussels, be sure to check out one of their notworking events. You can already start to read more at the website of Notworking.

Quentin Pirlot, the co-founder of Notworking, told me that their focus was on bringing people in larger cities together and that they developed the software tool to facilitate the networking, being unaware of the existence of many online business networks. The real differentiator is that the notworking concept is about bringing people from a big city together and not creating a worldwide business community.

The concept has already raised interest from people who want to start with the Notworking concept in Luxemburg and Geneve. I think many other cities will follow because it is a very strong concept !

Have a great networking day !

Jan

Tips to start a Master Mind Group

I have received many reactions to the article about Master Mind groups.

To be clear: I have started one myself, but we are not in the Master Mind group business. Starting groups for other people is not what we do. We do many things about networking (key note speeches and training courses about networking and referrals, consulting how to integrate networking in your sales and recruitment strategy, a book and a CD), but not starting groups.

It is easy to do yourself.

The most important thing to think about is to know which goal your Master Mind group has and which profiles fit best in such a group. If you only know two or three people with that profile, that’s not a problem. Why not? You have a network to help you.

Ask the people you want to invite if they know other people with the same profile who could be interested in joining. And share this also with your network !

I have made a small document with some extra tips about Master Mind groups. It was featured in last month’s newsletter (if you also want to receive this free newsletter, you can subscribe via http://www.networking-coach.com/en-nieuwsbriefinschrijving.html).

Download the article “How a Master Mind Group can lead to unexpected results” via this link: http://www.networking-coach.com/Master-Mind-Group-Unexpected-Results.pdf

Have a great master mind group !

Jan

Belgian Chocolates

Last week I told you how I met Charlie Jones and Jack Canfield at the NSA conference in San Diego.

I also was there to meet other people. Next to working with my two lists (“need to meet” and “would be nice to meet”) I’m always curious who I’m going to meet spontaneously.

For me networking is about listening to other people and looking for ways to help them. And also to be remembered by them. Your network are your ambassadors. The challenge is to do all of this in a very small time frame.

A strategy that works for me pretty well is to bring gifts, especially when I’m in another country. For instance, for the NSA I brought a light version of my network CD “Let’s Connect at an event” containing 8 of the 30 tips of the full CD. And also Belgian Chocolates. I didn’t bring a whole box for every person I met, but I carried one box with me and offered the people I met one chocolate. So this was not a big investment for me.

I’m sure everybody I met at the NSA will remember me !

So this was my strategy for a 7 minute conversation (not necessarily in this order):
1. Listen to the other person and look for ways to help or connect him/her: 6 minutes
2. Offer them a light CD (and tell my Elevator Story when asked): 45 seconds
3. Offer them a Belgian Chocolate (and tell something about Belgium when asked): 15 seconds

My question to you: what can you offer your network without expecting anything in return?

Have a great networking week !

Jan