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Networking Strategies / Joint
Ventures
Breaking into Email Cliques
By Nancy Roebke
Networking in public forums has it's challenges with how to get into the
small groups that tend to form within the large group. One of the best ways
is to have someone help you with introductions. What do you do when the same
thing happens to you on a list where there is no in-person contact and no
"gatekeeper" to make a way for you?
Here's what happened to me on the very first list I joined with the very
first post I made. I posted to a list on a controversial topic that had come
up. My post reflected very personal material and involved using a member
of my family as an example of why I felt the way I did. I got a response
back from one member of the list saying I should run quickly from my opinions
and that the member of my family was a "lunatic" for expressing the same
sentiments. This response was posted to the list and not to me privately.
I was embarrassed, surprised, humiliated, confused- you name it, I felt it.
That was seven months ago. I am now considered one of the "old" list members,
my name is recognized by most list participants, I have gotten business and
right now sit on the Board for a major project that is underway on that list.
I had all I could do when that post came out seven months ago, not to walk
away from that list and all other lists because of that one response.
How did the change occur? Here are the steps I took to get from that post
to reaping the benefits of list participation:
1. I sent a private post to the sender of the offending post. She never
responded.
2. I received several private posts about how unkind the post from the other
member was and I responded with "Thank You"'s to all of them. In those posts,
I asked questions about the businesses of the people sending me these kind
posts and began to build relationships with them.
3. I never posted a rebuttal publicly on the list. Many people did, and I
also would respond privately to them and ask about their business.
4. I waited a while.. probably a month or two before posting again, and this
time I picked a topic that I knew a lot about and positioned myself as the
expert in that field. I got a few responses and always posted responses publicly
that would help THE GROUP MEMBERS.
5. During my waiting period I sent Virtual Postcards to everyone who introduced
themselves, welcoming them to the group and offering myself to them as a
friendly ear if they needed it. In these postcards, I also asked for info
about their businesses. This was one of THE best relationship-building tools
I used.
6. I would post information I had found on the Internet that might be of
interest to the group. I also posted a few humorous posts. These always got
me private responses that I would also answer in the manner above. These
mass, non-specific, non-threatening posts were probably what started my name
recognition within the group.
7. I read posts from other members and when their opinions or presentations
mirrored my own, I would send a private response of encouragement to them.
I was building a circle of like-minded individuals . These individuals also
only posted to the list with similar information to mine. I noticed that
over time as I read their posts.
8. From this work, I was invited to join the Board of a significant project
underway from this list. This was a direct result of the responses I made
to the like-minded members of the group.
9. I did not get involved in any controversy or flaming on the list - not
even to make an "enough is enough" post about it, even when I felt that
way.
10 To this day, I only post to the list with general info or on a topic I
know a lot about. The rewards from the list from my behind-the-scenes work
more than make up for the rude welcome I received from one member.
The answer to the challenge is in the relationship-building steps that are
taken. A list has a lot of appeal because of the volume of people you have
exposure to. But the chances of building relationships with all those people
are slim and none. The chances of building relationships with a person, one
person at a time are very real, and well worth the effort it takes to do
so.
Lesson 4
Copyright c 1998 Nancy Roebke
Nancy Roebke
Execdirector@Profnet.Org
http://www.profnet.org
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