I met Brent Haseker through Biznik — a wonderful site where people truly get to know one another — and we have developed a relationship over the past eight months. Our relationship truly embodies what Social Networking is all about.

Brent and I would probably never have met had it not been for Social Networking. He is back East and I’m in CA.  Our connection started after Brent commented on one of my Biznik Articles. I then responded to him and offered him my “relationship continuator” — a fabulous tool to help you identify those people who want to continue a relationship with me. The relationship continuator is  a gift subscription to QuoteActions.

Once again, the regular touch that QuoteActions offered, led Brent to respond to me which in turn caused me to set up a phone appointment. During our phone conversation, we strengthened our relationship and connection.  One of the results of tha was an introduction to someone who ended up becoming a client of mine.

The latest ROI of my relationship with Brent is that he invited me to be a guest in his Brent and Brandi Radio Show.  You can listen to the interview here.  I already got two new highly qualified prospects in my pipeline as a result of that show.

The reason I wanted to share this is because, of the power of Social Networking. It is also to illustrate what Social Networking is and what it isn’t. It is a wonderful vehicle to build relationships. And relationships will lead to business down the road.

What Social Networking is not, is a vehicle to make quick sales. Had I tried to sell something to Brent, our relationship would have ended right after our first interaction. Remember Social Networking is called that for a reason. It is not called Social Selling.  Be sure to remember this often. Failure to do this will lead you to one of the 5 Deadly Mistakes in Social Networking and it is extremely costly.

One of the most powerful concepts I have been toying with is the idea that you are only one person away from having someone support you in achieving your dreams. What would happen to your business if someone who is highly influential decided to back you and promote you? Let’s say Oprah or Bill Gates, or maybe the president of an association with thousands of members. Get the picture?

Earlier this year, my company launched a product called QuoteActions. It is a system that allows the small business owner to stay in touch and open conversations with their entire database. We set a goal of selling 200 subscriptions for this year, and we have a good chance of achieving our goal. Our business plan projects 1,000 sales in two years.

However, based on this post’s title, the truth is–there is no reason why this couldn’t happen a lot sooner. All I would need to do is attract one highly influential person who already does business with my target audiences.  This someone would serve the needs of small business owners and/or independent service providers.  If they were to endorse my company and product to their clients, I believe the timeframe would be significantly reduced.

Here’s the interesting part. Last Wednesday I was attending a networking meeting with my BNI group and one of the visitors ended up sitting next to me. We chatted for a few minutes, and he told me that my business sounded interesting to him. We exchanged cards and decided to explore how we could work together in the future.

As it turned out he contacted me that very afternoon. After reviewing my website and my blog, he made the call to let me know that we had something he and his company were looking for. As a business development leader of a successful sales training firm in Southern California, they had been looking for a company that does experiential learning to help their clients. They have a database of over 100,000 members—all are small business owners, entrepreneurs and service providers. Imagine what could happen if his company decides to promote and become an affiliate provider of our product? When you combine the database numbers with the credibility this person enjoys with his clients, we could possibly reach our 1,000 within weeks. Think about it–if only 1% of their contacts respond positively, it’s a win-win for both companies. I’m not saying this will happen, however, it is now a very real possibility.

We have a tendency to project the future based on what has happened in the past. We often extrapolate numbers based on averages from previous months or years. While this approach seems logical, it doesn’t have to be so. Just remember, you are only one person away from blowing those predictions away.

So who is that person and how do you find him/her? Well, in the immortal words of Jack Palance to Billy Crystal in the movie City Slickers — P: “You know the secret of life boils down to one thing.” C: “What is that one thing?” P: “Well, that’s what you have to figure out.”

I don’t know who that person is or where I will meet them, although sites like Biznik.com & Ecademy.com greatly increase my chances.  But I do know one thing, the odds that I will find them – or them find me – are greater the more I believe and trust in this process. The mind works like a missile. Once it locks into a target; it finds a way to get there.

If you are a small business owner, one of the best tools to grow your business is networking. What exactly is networking? It is the exchange of information, support and/or referrals. While many small business owners already do face-to-face offline networking, many are still not using online (Social) networking (SN). This is a major strategic mistake. While I don’t believe that face-to-face networking is going to go away any time soon, social networking is becoming more prevalent.  It can greatly enhance your offline networking.

The main reasons people don’t use SN are: they don’t know how to get started; there are too many choices out there; and it’s too overwhelming. In this article I will attempt to address these objections.

Why use Social Networking (SN)?

Networking is all about building and sustaining relationships. I have found you do this by having quality conversations with people. The more quality conversations you have with people, the stronger the relationships. Another element that helps strengthen relationships is contributing to the success of others. Any time you can share information, support and/or give referrals that will help others, you are building “social capital” that will later allow you to capitalize on for your business. As an analogy, you make deposits into your bank account so that you can later make withdrawals.

SN allows you to do this much faster and more efficiently than face-to-face networking. By engaging in SN you will build a stronger, wider network of people you can serve. This means that you will have a deeper network that will serve you and likewise you them.

SN also allows you to open conversations. Every time you join a new site, invite a new person, share a resource, post a blog, etc. you are inviting others to participate in a conversation with you. These conversations have often led to sales for my products and services. An example of this was a former client of mine who had invited me to join his network–because he found I was already in the community he had joined (see below LinkedIn). His invitation opened the door for me to start a conversation about what was new with him in his life.  This led to a direct sale for one of our courses for both he and his new wife. Prior to this online encounter, I had no current information on him or a way to contact him. Their course registration would not have happened without this online vehicle.

How to get started

I will share with you how I’m doing it. This is by no means the only, nor necessarily the best method. It is just how I’ve done it. The system I’ll outline has some specific elements that anyone can duplicate or use as a model to build their own. One thing that all of the sites I’m mentioning have in common is that they are free. They also allow you to control the amount of information you receive. I’m also sharing them in the chronological order I started using them. If you devote just one hour per week to your SN activities, in time, you will see a significant payoff.

LinkedIn
www.LinkedIn.com

I use this site to build my network of people that will allow me to play the role of “matchmaker.” The people I have linked with are, for the most part, people I feel comfortable referring to others and referring others to them. One of the ways I use this site is with my BNI – Business Network International referral partners. Whenever I do a one-to-one meeting with them, I have them look through my contacts at LinkedIn and identify who they would like me to introduce them to.

Another way I use LinkedIn is by asking my network if they know of a particular individual or vendor that is not in my direct network. This way I can expand my reach way beyond what I could on my own. For example, last week I received an inquiry from one of my clients to see if I knew a videographer who specialized in doing work for websites. I didn’t. However I asked my network in LinkedIn, and I was able to get two different people that came highly recommended.

The third way I use LinkedIn is by building my credibility. Building trust is essential in building strong business relationships. One of the best ways to build trust is to have others give you endorsements and testimonials. LinkedIn makes it very easy to request and receive these recommendations.

To get started in LinkedIn, you create a free account, and you start building your network. The easiest way to do this is to import your address book contacts from whatever database you use – Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc. By doing this, you can immediately see who is already in LinkedIn.  Connecting with them is then just a matter of you clicking a few buttons to send them an invite. If they are not already in the system, you can use a different LinkedIn invite to ask them to join. After joining, they can link to you. This takes an extra step on their part, but not on yours.

Once you start your network, you can continue to add people. Remember it is not just about numbers. It is about quality. However, the more quality connections you have, the more your network is worth–to both you, as well as the others you connect with.

Plaxo
www.Plaxo.com

I use this site primarily to be reminded of people’s birthdays. They have a reminder system that integrates seamlessly with an electronic card system that makes it a breeze to send a birthday reminder. There are many other uses for this site, but this is how I personally use it.

To get started, you create your own account and start building your network. Use the same system you used for LinkedIn. You will grow your network the same way. Plus, you will create goodwill when you use the Plaxo auto-feature of sending them timely birthday wishes.

Biznik
www.Biznik.com

Biznik is an online community that focuses on its members sharing resources and information. In this site you can write and submit articles – such as this one – that are useful to the members. This will allow you to demonstrate your expertise and make it easier for people who have a need for what you do to possibly do business with you.

I also use Biznik to promote my free telecourses and my new stay in touch marketing system called QuoteAction. Biznik also has live events that allow you to meet in person with the people you have met online.

Twitter
www.Twitter.com

Twitter is a microblogging site. Microblogging is a term that refers to making very short posts. You’re limited to 140 characters which is about 20-30 words. While most people who use this medium currently do it for personal, and in my opinion soft reasons, there is a business use I have identified. Since I have both a blog and a podcast, I can put out a “tweet” (announcement) every time I have a new post or episode. I can also use it to share links to articles or sites that would be valuable to my network. For example, the people following me on Twitter, will be notified when this article is finished and posted.

Twitter also allows you to build “informal intimacy.” By sharing more about who you are and what you stand for, people will get to know you better. And the more they know you, the more they trust you. You can follow me and get updates

So there you have it. A beginner’s guide for non-geeks to get started integrating Social Networking (SN) with Offline Networking. I would really welcome comments as to how YOU are using these platforms and the results you’ve experienced–so that I can learn from you.