ONE of the
presentations at Asata
Conference 2014
that delegates appreciated
most was Helen Nicholson’s
‘Grow your network, grow
your business’, which gave
attendees practical tips and
info on how to network and
grow their personal brand.
“Your personal brand
is your promise to your
clients,” she said. “A
promise of quality,
consistency, competence
and reliability, and this is
based on behaviour. You
need to understand how
people currently perceive
you and how you are falling
short.”
This, she said, was called
“perceived quality” and
travel agents could influence
the way people saw them by
developing certain personal
qualities:
Be authentic and be
curious; curious people
are genuinely interested in
people.
Remember people’s
names so you can introduce
others to them and connect
people.
Operate with an
open palm – share, give
generously of yourself.
Don’t be a taker. The
relationship doesn’t have
to be 50/50 but people
need to know it is mutually
beneficial.
Use LinkedIn, which
helps you connect with
professionals and develop a
network with people beyond
those that you know.
It’s about farming,
not hunting. According to
studies, it takes six years
to develop a good network
because trust is key. People
have to know you and like
you before they trust you.
Men and women
communicate differently.
Women speak more, use
more words. Men say
what they mean. Know
your differences when
networking.
Women have a
wider circle of intimate
connections but men
have a much larger circle
of business connections
(between 50 and 70,
whereas women on average
have between 11 and 15).
You don’t need to make new
best friends. You can phone
acquaintances and ask for
help.
United we stand.
Support one another. Men
are more supportive of one
another than women are.
Practise your ‘elevator
speech’, one sentence that
packages your value, which
should be less than 10
seconds, briefly describes
what you do and how this
benefits your clients. “I’m...,
I do..., so that...”
Helen is the ceo of The
Networking Company.
