Five Keys to the Care and Feeding of Your Network

Let's say you're a new consultant. You’ve clearly established how you add value to a defined audience. You've launched a website, printed letterhead and business cards, and told all of your colleagues about your services.

Now what?

The first important step to consulting success is to realize that your network (and, by extension, your professional reputation) is your most important business asset. If you’re a solo consultant, you're going to get most of your business from your network. Your marketing job, therefore, must focus on activities that expand or solidify that network.

Here are five things that you can do to grow and strengthen your network:

#1: Give away value. Ultimately, as a consultant, it's what you know, and know how to do, that really counts. Create regular demonstrations of your thought leadership or skill-set and distribute them freely. Give your network a good way to show or share your value to others. Write articles, white papers. Create webinars or teleconferences.

#2: Actively ask for referrals. Your business operates on a cycle of some type. It might be project-based, calendar oriented, or budgetary. At the end of the cycle, check in with your client and ask for feedback. Let your client know that you are always seeking new business. Ask if they have suggestions for people in their network that you should contact.

#3. Speak publicly. Pick your audiences carefully. Limit them to people who would either engage you directly or could refer you to people who might engage you. Demonstrate your competence, and that you keep fresh, and can address key industry issues. You’re establishing yourself as an expert, and, most importantly, adding new, qualified contributors to your network.

#4: Participate in the blogosphere. With the exception of gossip columnists and a few others, no one is getting rich writing a blog. It’s also difficult to point to a consultant who has closed a new client solely because of their blog. However, the potential of a blog posting to be widely distributed and read among a very defined target is clearly valuable and compelling. And you don’t have to have your own blog for this to be the case. You can comment thoughtfully and intelligently on the writings of others who are also being read by your target audience.

#5: Nurture your network. Look for opportunities to provide help and information to your network. A one-line email with a link to a blog post or an article of interest can go a long way toward maintaining a relationship. Actively respond to requests that come into your inbox as well, such as job postings, available candidates, or requests for informational interviews. Never send mass email to your network unless they have asked to be added to your mailing list.

So whether you’re a new consultant, or one who’s more experienced, ask yourself: what have you done in the last 30 days to:

• Add value to those in your network?
• Grow your base of contacts?
• Actively nurture your existing business relationships?

Many consultants set aside a day each month or more for development and self-education, or sending out invoices, developing action plans for their business and other business management tasks. Consider adding one more item to the agenda: evaluating and improving how well you've been feeding your all important business network.

© 2007 Going Solo Consulting. All rights reserved.

Author Bio

Liz Greer (www.goingsoloconsulting.com) is principal of Going Solo Consulting, a marketing consultancy specializing in helping high tech executives successfully launch and market solo consulting practices. Liz has extensive corporate as well as tech start-up experience. She has been a successful independent marketing consultant in the tech world for 14 years. You can reach her at 415-383-2504 or lizg@goingsoloconsulting.com.