Maintaining & Developing Your Professional Network

To begin maintaining and developing your professional network, you can start by organizing the contact information of your existing professional and social connections.  This list may include professors, friends, relatives, colleagues, former colleagues, and fellow members of professional, religious, or civic organizations.

Keeping Tabs While Developing Your Professional Network

Now that you know what NOT to do at a professional networking event, signing up for a CRM isn’t a bad idea.  It helps you list down who is in your circle, and you can even make notes as to when you last spoke with them and set up reminders on when to follow up with them.  For example, maybe you want to touch base with everyone in your sphere at least once a quarter.  Depending on the CRM you use, you can set up quarterly reminders to follow up with people, touch base or even have a quick phone call with them so that you stay top-of-mind.  This is one sure-fire way to help you keep developing your professional network.

The next step is to add to this list by making new connections through attending events via local professional associations, social groups, or hobby meetups.  Though there are several other resources, you could easily find what events are available by checking out the following websites:

Know Your Story

As you begin developing your professional network, keep in mind that you have a story to tell, and people may prompt you to tell this story while you are out and about.  Typically, these conversations often turn to one of three topics: family, hobbies and/or career. Your story will be the response to questions like, “What do you do?” or “What kinds of career opportunities are you looking for?”

Vague or generic responses to these questions communicate that you have not defined your story. Your story is a summary of your skills, abilities, and interests. To be prepared for any networking situation, be able to summarize your story in 10-seconds, 20-second, and 30-second scripts.

For example, when someone asks me what I do, in 10 seconds I simply state, “I help local professionals make more money by forming small industry-specific co-ops designed to help them corner their market segment and grow their books of business.”

Usually, they have a confused or intrigued look on their face which opens the door for a longer conversation or a continued discussion over coffee.

30-Second Elevator Speech

A 30-second elevator speech is a concrete, highly-focused tool to help you tell your story about who you are professionally. It conveys a message that introduces your unique skills, qualifications, and the services you have to offer, as well as the pains you alleviate with your clients. It should be brief and intriguing enough that your audience wants to hear more.

Here is one of my 30-second introductions:

I am many things…. A mom, entrepreneur, but most of all, I am a time snob.  Being a time snob is something I take pride in. 

1. No, I don’t want to meet for coffee and talk about joining your downline.
2. No, I don’t want to provide a service for you for free simply because we know each other.
3. And NO – I am NOT interested in being pitched a product or service.

I want to know YOU and YOUR business.  Not have my time wasted!

Hi, I’m Jana Moreno with We&Co, and we are starting a movement… a movement for people who are fed up with having their time wasted.  I am looking for any professional or business owner who has

• been in their industry for at least three years,
• wants to grow their book of business,
• doesn’t want their time wasted by wheel spinners.

Don’t get me wrong, I love networking.  But when I’m on the clock, I want to make those minutes count so I can get on with my life and business!

If you know anyone who fits these three key points and is a time snob like me, I’d love to meet them!

We&Co:  Protecting our members from wheel spinners and time suckers.

As you can see, the big “PAIN” I am putting an emphasis on is time.  As stated before, a person can always go out and make more money, but time is something that, once spent, you can never get back!

Another tip for a killer 30-second elevator pitch is to make it memorable.  Humor is a great way to have other professionals remember you and your business.  Don’t be afraid to sit down and spend some time crafting your perfect 30 seconds.  It’s worth your time!

About We&Co

We&Co is a professional co-oping business that was founded in Springfield, Missouri in 2020.  While there are many networking groups in and around the Ozarks, We&Co focuses on creating small industry-specific groups with five to ten professionals who all have the same target audience but offer different products and services.

For example, one of our co-ops or “Huddles” as we call them, focuses on the 55+ market.  That particular Huddle contains professionals from an independent living facility, a financial advisor, an accountant, an elder law attorney, a travel agent, and a medicare specialist.  All of these professionals target the 55+ market, but they all offer different services!

We also have Huddles that target other audiences such as moms aged 30-55, folks moving into Springfield from out of town, B2B services, and the like.

In short, we support local professionals save time and money by pairing them with their ideal referral partners. They meet up twice a month for an hour and talk strategy on how to become that one-stop-shop for their clients.  If you are a professional who is interested in joining or launching your own We&Co co-op (or “Huddle” as we like to call them), feel free to email Jana@weandco.org