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NETWORKING FOR STARTUPS
A startup or early-stage company has a
unique opportunity to establish a dynamic relationship network that can
endure for the life of the business. Networking is especially useful for
new ventures that are faced with growth challenges, including the need to
raise capital or obtain financing, enter a new market, or establish a
beach head for a new product or service.
These seven steps will help your
startup get off on the right networking foot.
1. Develop clear objectives
Set precise goals and timetables¾and
define the financial benefits.
This approach will help your company make sure it dedicates the resources needed to build
a relationship
network. General objectives include raising capital and developing business, but networking
can support any
startup strategy where
relationships matter.
2. Decide on the mechanics
A company-wide consistent networking
system may not be practical, nor is it essential. Some co-workers may already
be comfortable using an
online system, contact management tool or combination of the two. For those who are not already using an online system,
your
company can suggest any of a number of commercial networking sites and/or contact
managers. The
key, of course, is to consider these systems simply as tools. What really matters are the contacts in your
co-workers' networks and the strength of their relationships.
3. Publish rules of conduct
To create a sense of community and
consistency within your company, it's a good idea to publish rules of
networking conduct. The rules should be designed to allow co-workers to create and maintain
relationships while protecting their privacy, preventing abuses and
discouraging self-serving behavior. See sample rules of conduct.
4. Encourage co-workers to create and
build their personal networks
Your company's relationship network is a
"meta network" of company contacts combined with co-workers' personal
networks. As a startup, chances are the company hasn't yet built any
contacts of its own. Therefore, you must build a networking culture
based
on the networks of individual co-workers, and encourage them to apply their networks to pursue
your company's objectives. To help co-workers build their networks, see
Seven Steps to a Personal Network.
5. Ask co-workers to include the
company's objective in their personal networks
From the viewpoint of a co-worker, an
objective inherited from a company is simply another objective. The
co-worker may pursue your company's objective with the same degree of
discipline he or she applies in pursuing a personal goal. The company
can help its co-workers by making sure its objective is well understood,
and by providing resources that give them time to network.
6. Respect the privacy of co-workers'
personal networks
Relationship networks are based on strong,
personal friendships, some of which take years to develop. These networks
must be viewed as your co-workers' private assets. From the perspective of the
company, the contacts in co-workers' networks are "second degree"¾they
cannot be reached unless the co-worker decides to facilitate an
introduction.
7. Position the company as
a "person"
A goal of your company's network is to
establish strong relationships between the enterprise and its customers,
friends, vendors and alliance partners, both actual and prospective. This is where
the CNO function comes into play: it helps your company focus its energy
to personalize itself, enabling it to be viewed as a "contact" in the eyes
of these four constituencies.
To suggest additions or changes
to this page, or to make comments, please
contact us.
Please note: applicable material shown on this page will be conformed to
RNIA standards as they become available.
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