For over twenty years, during their professional careers, Sylvie & Annick Miquel supports entrepreneurs, teams, heads of private or public bodies. As BNI Executive Directors in Reunion and Mauritius, and as a certified John Maxwell Coach, they want to help entrepreneurs, their families and communities. One of the primordial notions which is at the center of their activity, and which is always the subject of questions, of exchanges and reflections : networking.
To become a truly successful Networker, what would you do first ? There are many suggestions, the courses of action are diverse, you probably have a host of ideas coming to mind, they are certainly all very interesting, but beyond everything, there is only one focus to have, only one course to maintain, a single conviction to preserve and keep close to the body. And once we understood this, then Networking becomes second nature.
Yes OK, but what is it about ?
Simple : it's about relationships.
Wanting to “network” just boils down to “building relationships”.
Network, it's not sales. If a commercial relationship must be established, then it will be the result of the relationship built, this will be a consequence, but that is not the objective. We understand that everything is in the intention. The whole art of networking lies in the intention we put behind each of our words, behind each of our actions.
Et, at BNI, this is exactly what we do. We build strong, meaningful relationships. Building relationships is one of our seven core values on which our business referral organization has built the development of its community of entrepreneurs. Today BNI has become a global network, which has existed for 36 years, distributed in more than 70 countries, and bringing together more than 280,000 entrepreneurs and their families.
BNI, a method based on observation
But beyond a network, BNI is above all a method, a method based on observation, which allow us (For example) to summarize here, synthetic, the main guidelines for “becoming a successful Networker”. Who has never found themselves at a networking party with a thought nagging their mind for hours? : “but what am I doing here ? » ? Who has never experienced a great moment of solitude in the face of a(e) unknown(e) ? Or, who has never thought about this : " I am on(e) only thanks to social networks, I could do better Networking » ? Honestly, to whom none of these situations have ever happened ?
Whatever our motivations, whatever our behavioral profiles, whatever our facilities or areas of progress, we all have reason to find food for thought here, who can help us build our network of contacts. We are firmly convinced that any entrepreneur, all Leader, will know how to grow and grow, by remaining interconnected within a growing network of people with whom sincere bonds will be built. By succinctly sharing here the four fundamental and structuring stages of Networking, we humbly wish to inspire and perhaps concretely help each reader in their current networking practices.
The 10 commandments of Networking
The experience made it possible to model, in 10 successive steps, which allows you to transform a simple network event, in real effective networking situation. This modeling is the result of the reflections of Dr Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, whose work has been published in numerous books.
Of these 10 commandments, we will take two as examples :
-n°2 : Set a goal for the number of people to meet
-n°3 : Act like a host, not as a guest
Know how to read the crowd
When you want to do Networking, it is also important to take an interest in our body language. What does the non-verbal reading of the assembly that meets in a room tell us? ? What signs can we rely on to decide whether it is appropriate (or not) to start a conversation with one of the people here ? For that, we are going to play a game. Imagine you are a fly, that you are fixed on the ceiling of this room, and you look at the scene from above. Then let's look at the position of the feet and shoulders. So what does this body language tell us? ?
otherwise, we also believe that the converse is true. When we attend a networking event, if our goal is indeed to meet new people, so it is interesting to stay attentive to our own body language.
What to say ?
We are not all equal when it comes to speaking. Watching some people do, everything happens as if everything seemed easy. What if there was a system that made it easier for everyone to get out of their comfort zone? ? To overcome your own obstacles and succeed in initiating a discussion ? From our experience, our suggestion here is to go as simple as possible, to remove all these blocking points and stop the litany of reasons that prevent us from taking action. On the one hand by putting our mind in “process mode”, And on the other hand, by simply splitting the situations : I already know this person / I am meeting this person for the first time..
Have a real tracking system
We will never stop saying it and saying it again. Wanting to do Networking comes down solely and simply to building relationships. Too, once the meeting has taken place, during a trade show during a network evening, or any other type of Networking event, it is important to keep in mind that the meeting is only half the way. The entire second half remains to be covered if you actually wish to build your network.
Here again, Dr. Ivan Misner, through his various works, was able to model a real tracking system, allowing you to build a strong network. This system can be summarized in three phases : 24-7-30 (24 hours, 7 days and 30 days). At each of these phases, a specific action is to be taken, with support of different media, without trying to sell anything, always remaining focused on the intention of building a relationship.
For further …
Networking is an art of living, a true second nature, that we can all work on and deepen, in order to build a solid network of contacts. The entire BNI La Réunion and BNI Maurice team will be happy to help you !
Annick and Sylvie Miquel
Executive Directors
BNI Meeting & BNI Maurice
m +262 692 45 84 00
k bnireunion@bnifrance.fr
k contact@bnimauritius.mu
