Savvy Saturday Session - Your Golden Rolodex Week 4

How quickly the time passes when you are having fun or doing the things that you enjoy! It is time to finish Your Golden Rolodex: How to Network for Results! by Vicki Austin with a few last comments. Hopefully you have learned something new or been reminded of
something that has worked in the past.

As to social networking, the author loves technology and realizes the importance to staycurrent and to know what is available BUT technology needs to serve us….not the other way around. Building relationships are best done face-to-face with frequent connections.

There is nothing casual about networking. You need to schedule time to make calls. Once an appointment is made, schedule in your calendar, confirm and keep your appointment.

Prepare for your appointment..

1. Know your audience – Use search engines to learn about the individual and
company. Ask others in your GR about the person


2. Prepare questions – your job is to ensure that the networking conversation
stays active.


3. Referrals are the very LAST thing to come up.

If all goes according to schedule, you may have more people and contacts than
you know what to do with. Use ONE calendar, a contact grid and follow up
checklist to help manage the volume. Document each call/visit and highlight
action steps needed. Once an action is completed, remember to document the
follow up, too.

Never let the Golden Rolodex grow cold. Networking should be an integral
part of your routine. Stay connected by …


1. Joining & participating in professional associations or societies (WCR)


2. Continue with ongoing training and development in your field


3. Volunteer for projects as work or in the professional associations


4. Stay involved in alumni associations


5. Block 1 day a month/every two weeks/every week to have lunch or coffee with
people in your Golden Rolodex to keep contacts strong


6. Read articles and journals. Share copies or clips with your contacts.

Savvy Saturday Session - "Your Golden Rolodex" Week 3

Networking can be seen by some as “using” people but Vickie Austin in "Your
Golden Rolodex: How to Network for Results!" contends that everyone prefers
to do business with those that they know. The content of the book is a step-by
-step process of how to network. Last week we started the Networking Toolbox
with your Mission Statement and the Golden Rolodex. Let’s add a few more tools…

3. Your message: the 30 Second Commercial or Your Elevator Speech
It is important not to get “stuck” on your history. The objective is to hear what
others have to say and how they might be able to help YOU. A formula that has
worked for many of her clients:

Past + Present + desired Future (MISSION)
+ Request
(Time, Ideas, Opinions & Recommendations)
= Success
Keep the past factual, short and sweet. The present should also be brief with the two sentences joined by the word “and”. The 30 Second Commercial is an integral part of the campaign that needs to be practiced and refined.

4. The Request …. Remember that the most powerful request is to ask for
someone’s time. You are asking people to help you identify strategies to help
you accomplish your mission…making money is not the objective of your
MISSION statement. Make an appointment and keep it as a formal business
meeting. The ideas, recommendations, and opinions of the individual are
your goals. We know that everyone likes to be asked their opinion. By seeking
their help, we are including in them the process.

5. Time – Campaigns don’t happen by themselves….they require time and
attention. You need to incorporate the activities into your calendar.

6. Commitment – Networking is a way of life, not a onetime event. The
Golden Rolodex must be fed with regularity!

Savvy Saturday Session - Your Golden Rolodex" Week 2

Last week, we discussed the need to network but yet it is certainly not everyone’s favorite activity. Vickie Austin, in "Your Golden Rolodex: How to Network for Results!", promotes the importance— the gold—that resides in your existing database without seeking new people as contacts.

Ms. Austin has created a Networking Toolbox to help you launch a communication campaign.

1) Your mission — create a mission statement, define your purpose and wanting to make a difference. A mission statement is very different from your business objectives. Missions statements usually contain verbs like “to help, contribute or create”. It is never about the money. Your mission is about service to others.

2) Your Golden Rolodex — the key is to identify everyone, set up a system where you can tap into that reserve of contacts. Her criteria for someone in the Golden Rolodex is most interesting.

a) First of all they must know your name. If you called or left word for, they would recognize your name or the name of the person who referred you to them
b. The most important is that they must be BREATHING!

Communities need to be established. Communities are a collection of people who share or have shared a particular time, place or experience. Possible communities are: work colleagues—past & present; alumni & associations; neighbors, professional/industry associations; sororities; individuals with the same hobbies; friends; family; parents of kids’ friends; house of faith, and one of the most important—personal/professional service providers like hairdressers, barber, attorney, etc.

Now that you have established the communities, integrate the information into ONE place. This might be Outlook, cell phone, PDA, Blackberry, Palm or online programs like Top Producer or ACT! It does not matter what you have as long as you keep it current. The entering of data is an ongoing job for you or your (virtual) assistant.

Until next week with the third installment...