Archive for July, 2009
Austin City Life recently funded the Clean Water Project developed by Restoring the Way ministries. Together with our friend Aaron Gross, we were able to see 12 Bio-Sand Water filters distributed to the poor across our Texas border. Aaron pioneered this project and will be making another trip to El Plomo, Mexico to deliver more […]
There were a lot of really hilarious things that happened during the week of my wedding. I was a nut, my MIL was a nut, my BFF had SHEARS in her purse to deal with the nuttiness. My husband helped decorate the reception. My mom had the first drink of booze I’ve ever seen her take […]
Over the next three days, The Resurgence will run three excerpts from my forthcoming book Fight Clubs: Gospel-centered Discipleship. I’m excited to announce that on August 1st the booklet will be available in three forms:
eBooklet Download
Print on Demand @ LuLu
Online Viewing
Check out the first excerpt here. Keep an eye out for the Fight Club website. […]
The reason I asked about the face issue was totally that we were going glasses shopping. And we went. And MK still only looks good in bland wire frames. I was hoping we’d discover some new daring style he could take on. I still look totally lame in glasses period. Or, PERIOD.
We both have awful […]
Do you know what shape your head is? It is apparently super important. You need to know this to know what kind of glasses/sunglasses to buy. What hats look good. How to cut your hair. Which way to do your makeup. How to style your eyebrows.
Here’s my problem: They all kinda look the same to […]
Here’s the thing: there’s some company I never want to let go home. We got my brother out here, now I just have to recruit everyone else that I know and love, all the rest of my friends and family. If the beach isn’t your thing, I’ll even consider going where you are. No, wait. […]
This evening we fly out from Kampala, Uganda to Chicago, Il. This two week trip seems like it has been a month and a half, largely because we have done and seen so much, from village to urban African life. Our host, Pastor Gerald, has been very gracious, opening lots of minstry doors for the team. […]
Relationship Networking vs. Visibility Networking
Closed Published by Business Networking in Austin Blog July 27th, 2009 on Business Networking in Austin Blog
Does your networking strategy match your networking need? Do you have lots of acquaintance type relationships or a smaller number of deep relationships?
Depending on the type of business you’re in or your need for networking you may find that it makes more sense to be at one of these extremes or to take a more balanced approach.
At one extreme in order for people to feel comfortable doing business with you or to refer clients to you an exceptional level of trust is necessary. This is especially true in positions where people will be trusting you with large sums of their own money. You probably wouldn’t refer your rich uncle to the financial advisor you met one time at a happy hour last week. For the same reason you can expect that you’ll need to build very deep relationships in this arena to get the opportunities you’re seeking. We’ll call this "High Trust" networking.
At the other extreme you’ll find "Highly Transactional" networking. In this scenario very little trust if any is really required. If someone has a need they’re much more likely to come and do business with you and refer business to you because you’re the only ________ that they know. I’ve seen florists, plumbers and auto mechanics who were active networkers do REALLY well in this space primarily because at the events they frequented you rarely if ever met anyone else in their industry.
You may want to draw a line with the two extremes at either end. "High Trust" on one side and "Highly Transactional" on the other. Now decide where you fit on that continuum.
Once you understand your own position it’s time to make sure your networking strategy matches.
On the "High Trust" side attending lots of networking events is a mismatched strategy. Instead you need to be more focused on developing very deep trusting referral relationships. You can expect that this will take a lot of time, but if you’re trying to be everywhere all the time this strategy will take a lot longer. Simply put; the "High Trust" strategy needs to be highly focused on developing and deepening the right relationships. A huge percentage of your networking time should be spent in one one one meetings.
If your business is "Highly Transactional" then it makes much more sense to be very visible. Being involved in numerous organizations and attending a multitude of events will serve you well. Just being known and liked should create a plethora of opportunities. While deep relationships are important this type of networker will likely benefit more from simple visibility.
Very few of us will find ourselves at one of these absolute extremes. Instead you’re probably somewhere in the middle between the two and need to develop a more balanced strategy. Consider the extreme examples above and give some thought to what combination makes the most sense for your situation and your preferences.
One other item for consideration is your resource network. In addition to simply networking to identify opportunities you should also be networking to identify resources. With a broad resources network you can become the first call your clients and customers make when they have a particular need if you’ve been able to provide consistently good referrals to them in the past AND have proven yourself to know of hard to find resources as well.
So… Does your networking strategy match your networking need?
Happy Networking!
-Scott Ingram
Uganda – Kampala UJV orphans
Closed Published by Jonathan Dodson July 26th, 2009 on Creation ProjectThis blog is written by Tara Jamieson, ACL team member and Austin nurse.
Lord’s Resistance Army
This morning we were blessed enough to visit an orphanage composed entirely of children, ranging in ages from 7 to 18, rescued from the intense conflict in Northern Uganda. This area is terrorized by the Lord’s Resistance Army, who kidnaps children […]
Uganda – Poverty in the City
Closed Published by Jonathan Dodson July 25th, 2009 on Creation ProjectThis blog post is by Amy Scott, an ACL mission team member and Austin school teacher.
I am a city girl through and through this is what intially struck me as we were headed back into the capitol city of Kampala. My team was like you are so giddy and I was. Its not just the […]