New Jersey Enterpreneur - Small Business, Entrepreneurs and Venture Capital

At a recent ABA networking meeting one of our members, Mr. Marc Cohen of Performance Stream (www.performancestream.com) was the guest lecturer. Mark was presenting an educational segment entitled "How to Set Your Networking Goals".

Mr. Cohen explained to the group that there are several steps when establishing goals, the fist of which is to write them down, this is a must in order to measure your success. Each goal also should have a target date, a reward, defined obstacles, consequences and an affirmation. A goal should also have solutions to the obstacles you will encounter along the way. And perhaps most importantly, it should have action steps. These steps are a series of specific actions that must be executed to insure a successful outcome. And finally there is reality, are your goals realistic and can success be measured? In closing Mark told the group, if you can follow these disciplines and dedicate a portion of each day toward a goal you be amazed at how successful you will become.

It was a great lecture and as you can see the process seems simple enough. But (there is always a but) as a facilitator I am always amazed that so many people involved in networking lack a plan or have never thought about setting goals. After all this is a business 101. Webster defines Goal as "the result or achievement toward which effort is directed or aimed."

For most companies, networking falls under the heading of Marketing. A plan is set that will map out how you will build your business. The marketing plan is then broken down into segments, each of which has a defined objective. These objectives are evaluated and then measured to establish degrees of success. This is done with every category of the marketing program with the exception of one ~ networking. When it comes to networking the monitoring process is often ignored. For some reason the monitoring is done on they fly ~ an afterthought. It seems remarkable that so many people invest their time, effort and money into building business through networking without ever setting a goal or monitoring results.

It is also unfortunate that many people join a networking group and for some reason feel the only effort needed to achieve success is to show up at the meeting, share a bagel and coffee and voila ~ success will come their way. The only monitoring they do is of their attendance. As we say in Jersey ~ forgetaboutit! You will need more then an ‘A’ in attendance, a big smile, fashionable business attire and a flashy business card to realize success through networking.

Think about it, when you started your business or joined your firm you more then likely had a written plan. A plan is a must for every successful business person and every plan must include goals. Sports teams have a game plan before each new challenge, a pilot needs a flight plan to map out how he is going to reach his destination and each of these plans have a series of specific goals in mind.

So why don’t you have a well thought out plan when it comes to networking? Where is the map outlining your path to success? Have you defined your goals, thought about targets dates for achievement, along with a yardstick measuring income derived from your involvement in networking? Unfortunately most people have not given any of this a thought.

So, how do you measure ‘your networking’?

Before you attend the next networking meeting or event put pen to paper and write out a series of networking goals. Add to the list the steps needed to achieve success. Set a time frame for and monitor your progress. And finally don’t forget to consider the people involved in your network, set goals that target helping them achieve success too.

Then you will have a true game plan, a measuring stick to monitor your success in networking. All that is left to do is to execute the plan!

Want to borrow my pen?