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What distinguishes master
networker Cindy Baccetti, President and co-founder of
Groupdyne.com, is that she seems to remember everyone.
"Talk to her. She knows everybody in the industry!" is
something Baccetti hears about herself. But she says her
reputation actually springs less from how many people
she knows than from her dedication to introducing them
to one another. "I
don't think I"m necessarily more connected than other
people are," she says. "But I think about connecting
people more than other people do."
Her success starts with posing the right questions and
then truly listening to the answers. Approach every
person you come into contact with as a customer of
sorts, says Baccetti, who is also the principal of
Baccetti Consulting, which provides comprehensive event
management and other services. Ask yourself, or come
right out and ask new people you meet, what you can do
to make their lives easier. "Who can I introduce you
to?" asks Baccetti. "What do you need in your business
right now? What can I do for you?"
"At the end of the day,
networking is still selling," Baccetti explains, "that is,
selling yourself as someone who can meet a need, either
now or in the future. Rather than doing this by talking
about your credentials, investigate your targets' needs
and respond. If you can't meet those needs yourself,
check your database of contacts for someone who can, or
for someone who knows someone who can. And look beyond
their most obvious work- related needs. If the wine
seller you just met mentions needing a mechanic, and you
know a terrific one in his neighborhood, don't hold
back!
"People are blown away by the fact that you take the
extra step to put two people together," Baccetti says.
Your effort and thoughtfulness will come back to you.
Those you helped will remember you and be happy to
return the favor. So go into any interaction thinking
not only about what you have to gain but what you have
to give. |
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"If everybody goes into a
networking event thinking only of what they can get,
it's not going to work!" says Baccetti.
Baccetti's company,
Groupdyne.com, could be a poster-child for networking.
It's an online directory of restaurants that have
private dining rooms, can host large groups or do
off-site catering in more than a dozen cities, including
Portland and Seattle. Baccetti met the first of her
Groupdyne
partner at a trade show in Las Vegas. When she saw on
his nametag that he was from Seattle too, she struck up
a conversation. Fast forward to an October 2006
networking event, when he introduced her to other people
who became involved in the project. By early summer
2007, the group had launched their site. Between them
they have a perfect complement of skills sets for the
venture, Baccetti says, "experience in food and beverage
marketing, software development and dot-com start-ups.
"It was the ultimate example of putting yourself out
there and networking, and having it turn into something
huge."
Here's the moral of
these stories: Networking works, and often in ways that
you least expect. So remain open minded, try to be
helpful to others, and let the connecting begin.
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