Brooklyn's Progress
March 2003

By Yvonne Surrey

For many people networking and speaking before a large audience is somewhere up there with going to the dentist. The heart rate increases, the body tenses up, you get sweaty palms, and sometimes even crazy thoughts. I cannot help you with the dentist but I can show you how networking can be made easy. As with anything, when we have the proper tools the job can be easy or at least managed. So, I will share with you seven tools that will not only make networking easy but effective.

The seven tools are N-E-T-W-O-R-K. It is an acronym for successful networking.

N - Never leave home without your business cards. (No explanation needed there).

E - Enjoy small talk before engaging in talk about business. This allows a little time to break the ice. Talk about the buffet, ask individual why they decided to come to this particular event, discuss current news items.

T - I call this the TnT of networking. First - Take the time to listen to the other person. Second -Tell the benefit of what you do and not what it is you do. For example, what I do is: I help people get organized and I teach computer and office skills. The benefit of what I do is: I help individuals, professionals and small business owners create order in their lives. And I help individuals to make a smooth transition from a non-office setting into an office setting through computer training and teaching them organization and effective communication skills. Telling the benefit of what you do may arouse more interest.

W - Welcome all business cards. It may lead to referrals to your business or you may be able to refer theirs.

O - Offer resources/references. That is the core of what networking is all about. It is a give and get situation. That is why it is so important to take the time to listen when the other person is speaking. Because you cannot offer if you don't know their needs.

R  - Record key information about contact on back of card. Record where you met, date you met and information shared.

K - Keep in touch. Within three to five days of meeting, send off a letter, either generic or personal, indicating how you enjoyed meeting them and refer to something in conversation. Nothing affects the human spirit more than to be listened to and remembered.

 
Yvonne Surrey is sole proprietor of Y.E.S. SURREY OFFICE SERVICES, a Brooklyn based professional organizing business. For six years she has been helping individuals, professionals and small businesses find solutions, set up systems and develop procedures that will help their businesses and/or lives run in an organized, efficient and productive manner. She also teaches computer and basic office skills for individuals entering the workforce and for individuals who may need re-training.
She is also a writer, seminar leader and adjunct professor. She has a new booklet:  You Know You’re Organized When … (80 tips).  She is a member of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Professional Organizers, and the National Association for Female Executives.
You can read Yvonne's monthly column, Organized Solutions, in the Brooklyn Woman, a section of the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper. She offers tips, suggestions and solutions for balancing work and home life.
Yvonne has been featured on the NY1 News Fortune Small Business Report, in RED magazine and the Staten Island Advance newspaper. Some of her business-to-business tips can be found in the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce 2003 directory.
Yvonne can be reached at Y.E.S. SUR-REY OFFICE SERVICES, http://www.sos-organizing.com/
Tel/Fax 718-462-1551.