Are you ready to raise your professional profile as 2015 arrives? Perhaps you’ve made some strategic connections during those year-end holiday gatherings.
Or you may want to deepen some of the long-standing relationships you value and hold dear.
Here are some ways to rise in influence among your peers:
Take the lead in organizing a collaborative group. Seize the opportunity to be the one who ventures forth, seeking out new business relationships. Don’t wait for busy people to call you back. Stop by and pay a fellow business professional a short, personal visit on your lunch hour. Keep it under five or 10 minutes — longer than an elevator speech but short enough so you don’t tax the other person’s patience.
Tap the wisdom of professional peers. There’s a difference between asking for “networking handouts” and sharing a valuable piece of business intel with a colleague who might appreciate the opportunity to make a new connection. Always remember the rule of reciprocity. If you don’t share helpful advice with other business professionals, then don’t expect a free handout. The solution is simple: Always be on the lookout for opportunities to share helpful tidbits with your business friends.
Follow through on commitments. If you mention to a business connection you’d like to touch back with the person, it’s critical to follow up. Business owners are hard-pressed for time, and those casually expressed wishes will slip through the cracks. While you do not want to put undue pressure on another business owner, you can send a positive, friendly reminder a week after your meeting, such as a thoughtful greeting card.
Make 2015 the year you take your business to the next level!