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<span class="provip_member_name">Dan McComb</span>
Dan McComb
Filmmaker
Seattle, Washington
Biz Talk » Business Advice »
Posted by Dan McComb, Seattle, Washington | Sep 16, 2007

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If you search on the term "business networking" in Google, result #7 is currently www.businessnetworkingadvice.com, a blog that's run by Biznik member Josh Hinds. He recently interviewed me, asking me questions like "how do you define business networking?" and I'd like to share a link to that post here as a way of kicking off a discussion about business networking in this forum: Dan McComb on business networking.

So, how do you define business networking? And how do you approach it? What strategies work best for you? Any big successes or blunders you care to share?

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4 Bizniks have posted replies

  • Social Business and Competitive Intelligence Everett, Washington Barry Hurd
    Posted by Barry Hurd, Everett, Washington | Sep 17, 2007

    Okay... well here I go.

    How do I define business networking?

    Business networking (according to the world of Barry) is connecting the dots between personal and professional. It is learning to express items of emotional context that relate to business objectives and leveraging relationships on both sides of the fence.

    For me, I look at it as degrees of separation from an relationship asset that I need. I locate individuals that serve as "nexus" points or "hubs" of community involvement, discover personal reasons to interact with them, and expose myself to an already existing life-long network.

    As an example... I once used ClassMates.com to locate everyone I went to high school with in a four year period. Without any other relationship, I contacted over five hundred people based upon where we went to high school. Some were people I knew, some were surely people I mindlessly passed in the hallway. Ten years later however, I converted nearly 20% of them and also managed to wrestle myself into helping do a ten year reunion that wasn't even my year.

    People, by nature of being human, want to connect. Business networking successfully is about providing just one reason.

  • Speaker, Trainer and Coach Tuscaloosa, Alabama Josh Hinds
    Posted by Josh Hinds, Tuscaloosa, Alabama | Sep 17, 2007

    Dan, thanks for sharing your interview with everyone in this topic. I'm looking forward to seeing what advice is shared in this forum topic as well. I know there are going to be some terrific thoughts shared.

    Barry, you shared some great points above. I particularly enjoyed the example of how you were able to become a connector (in the form of helping to put together your 10 year reunion). Talk about creating value in the eyes of those you come into contact with/re-connected with.

    I'm looking forward to keeping an eye on this topic :-)

    All the best, Josh

  • Internet Sales Consultant Seattle, Washington Howard Howell
    Posted by Howard Howell, Seattle, Washington | Sep 17, 2007

    Dan.. Thank you for sharing the interview with Josh. And, thank you Josh for doing it. Very good information. And, Barry, you are very insightful. I really enjoy your up-to-date concept of business networking.

    How do I define business networking?

    It's knowing - who you know - what they want - what you do - how to connect - and doing it

    For about 30 years I had enormous success networking through trade shows and trade associations. That was during the years that I sold products. Now that I am selling ideas, I'm learning a whole new method, thanks to you folks.

    Biznik is the best tool I've found so far to simplify doing it.

  • Poet Bainbridge Island, Washington Gary V. Anderson
    Posted by Gary V. Anderson, Bainbridge Island, Washington | Nov 12, 2008

    I have done it by getting in front of people in a Seminar. As I was growing my CPA firm, I brought in, on average, one new client every business day for three years.