Online Business Networking What, Why, Where and How.

1
Online Business NetworkingWhat, Why, Where and
How.
Prepared by Hendrik Deckers Close Partners
October 2004
2
Agenda

• Questions
• What is networking?
• Why do you network?
• Where do you network?
• What do you get out?
• Theory
• Friends, Acquaintances Contacts
• The Value of your Network
• Six degrees of Separation
• Proactive Networking
• Online Business Networks
• Online Business Directories
• Relationship Management Tools
• SOCIAL business Communities
• Social BUSINESS Communities
• Conclusions
• The Importance of Online Business Networks
• Top Ten Online Business Networking Tips
• The beauty of online business networks

3
What is Networking?

• Networking is the systematic process of meeting
  people, learning about them, and establishing
  relationships so that all parties establish and
  expand a base of resources to support their
  endeavors. (John Hoppe, President, Independence
  Capital Company)
• The guiding principle of networking is to give
  first and receive second. Experienced networkers
  have an abundance mentality, looking to help
  others on every occasion. (Will Kintish at
  www.kintish.co.uk )

4
Why do you Network?

• Getting a job
• Pay and promotion
• Influence and effectiveness
• Venture capital and financing
• Organizational learning
• Word-of-mouth marketing
• Strategic alliances
• Financial stability
• Democracy
• Sandler Sales Institute Study
• Cold calls are successful 1 of the time
• Word of mouth is successful 15
• Referral goes up to 50
• Referral plus the person who made the referral
  either participate on the sales call or attends
  the meeting the success rate goes up to 80

5
Where do you Network?

• Service Clubs e.g. Rotary, Lions, JCI, ..
• Sport Clubs e.g. Tennis, Sailing, Golf, ..
• Hobbies e.g. Cars, Cultural, ..
• Study e.g. University, MBA, Alumni, ..
• Professional Organisations Stichting Marketing,
  VBO, UNIZO, ..
• Social Events e.g. Family, Neighbours, Friends,
  
• Intra-Company e.g. Water Cooler, Incentives,

6
What of your Business comes from Networking?

• Many entrepreneurs and business people generate
  80 or more of their business through
  Networking!!
• Most information is available to everybody,
  everywhere
• Business isnt what you know, its who you know,
  so networking is your business

7
Friends, Acquaintances Contacts

• Most people have
• 2 or 3 Friends Friends are people that are
  always there when you need them, whatever happens
  
• 200 to 300 AcquaintancesAcquaintances are people
  that you can call upon for support, information
  or knowledge
• 2000 to 3000 ContactsContacts are people that
  you have spoken, met or emailed, but cannot
  directly call upon for support, information or
  knowledge
• Your Friends Acquaintances are your Network

8
The Value of your Network

• N The Number of people in your network Reach
  more people with less effort.
• R Their Relevance to your professional goals Do
  more with less effort by knowing the right
  people.
• S The Strength of your relationships with
  them Learn how to build trust and friendship
  online.
• C Your Credibility with the people in your
  network It doesn't matter who you know if they
  don't believe you.
• D The Diversity of your network Diversify your
  portfolio of people just as you do your
  finances.
• Network Valuation Formula
• and Time Number x Strength
• (Scott Allen David Teten)

9
The Six Degrees of Seperation

• Lets make it simple and take 250 is the average
  size of anyones network
• Your 1st Degree Network 250 people
• Your 2nd Degree Network 250 x 250 62.500
• Your 3th Degree Network 250 x 62.500
  15.625.000
• Your 4th Degree Network 250 x 15.625.000
  3.906.250.000

10
Proactive Networking

• Successful Business People Proactive
  Networkers.
• How do they work?
• 1. Manage your networkMap it out, keep it up to
  date, keep it alive
• 2. Search your targetsWho do you need? Who can
  introduce? What do I have to offer?
• 3. Build a relationshipGive without
  remembering, receive without forgetting Eliza
  beth Asquith Bibesco (1897- 1945)
• How can we improve this Process?

11
Online Business Networks

• Online Business Networks Internet business
  dating
• How does it work?
• 1. Manage your networkBuild you online profile,
  invite your network, build online clubs, share
  information.
• 2. Search your targetsUse the search engines,
  find the shortest path, be open for random
  contacts
• 3. Build a relationshipSend messages, have a
  clear offer, follow-up off-line
• What Networks are available?

12
The (very) Long List

• 13stripes - Affinity Engines - Amigos.com - AOL
  People and Chat Directory - AsiaFriendFinder -
  Backwash - bianca - Bolt - BuddyPic.com -
  BuddyBridge - BuddyZoo - Building an Online
  Community Just Add Water - Bumi-n City - Buzznet
  - Classmates.com - CNN Interactive Communities -
  CommunityZero - Company of Friends - The Conneck
  - Contact Network - Corporate Alumni -
  CouchSurfing - CPixel.com - Cybertown -
  del.icio.us - Dogster - domeus -
  dudecheckthisout.com - easeek - Ecademy -
  eConozco - EdGateway Communities -
  Edgeofeverything - eFriendsnet - 8minuteDating -
  Eliyon - enCentra - EnterNexus - EntreMate -
  Eurekster!, - Everything2 - everyonesconnected.com
  - eyebees - FaceParty - Findapix -
  FollowMrsPoon.com - FriendFan.com FriendFinder
  Friendifieds Friendity - Friend Surfer -
  friendsreunited.com - Friendster - Friendzy -
  Full Moon Webs - FunHi - firsttuesday.com -
  GoingProfessional - Groups_at_AOL - Growth Company -
  Gruuve - heiyou.com HelloWorld - hipster
  Huminity - ICERED - Im Not From Here -
  IndianFriendFinder - InterAction - iSawYou.com -
  ItsNotWhatYouKnow - KnowMates - LianQu - LinkedIn
  - Link Silicon Valley - livingdirectory.org -
  Local2Me - thelunchclub.net - Makeoutclub - Many
  2 Many - MapPlanet.com - matcheroo - Meatball
  Wiki - Mediabistro - Mediachest - Meet Up -
  MixerMixer - Monster Networking - MSN Groups -
  MSN Member Directory - MySpace mrNeighborhood -
  MyEMatch - New Friends in Town - NetMiner -
  Netmodular Community - Netparty - Networking For
  Professionals - nerve.com - nlinebusinessnetworkin
  g.com - Nowwwhere - Online Community Report -
  Open Business Club - OrderGenerator - orkut -
  PalJunction - Paradise - Petsburg - Picit.com -
  Pinoy Exchange - Pinoy Forum - Playdo Community -
  PLINK - Polypol - PopMates - PowerMingle -
  RateMyBody - RateOrDate - RealContacts - ReferNet
  - RepCheck - Ringo - Ryze - Shortcut - Silicon
  Valley Pipeline - socialcircles.com - Social Grid
  SocialTree - The Spark - SmartGroups.com -
  Spoke Software The Square - StayingClose -
  StumbleUpon - Sullivan Executive Networking
  Community - Tacit ActiveNet - Talk City - TENG -
  Thefacebook - TheFence.com - There - threedegrees
  - Tickle - Tribe.net - TruthBytes - UUFriends -
  Virtual Communities and the Internet - Visible
  Path - Volume.com - waferbaby - Wallop - Webstock
  Whole Earth Festival - Well, The - WildAbout.com
  - WisdomBuilder - WhizSpark - WiW -
  WordofMouthConnection.com - World Lounge -
  WorldShine - YeeYoo - Yahoo! Groups - Yahoo!
  Member Directory - Zamboozle Zanpo Zerodegrees

Too many networks ?!!
thesocialsoftwareweblog
13
4 Categories
Online Social Business Communities
Search engines for people and relationships

• Social BUSINESS Communities

• Online Business Directories

Relationship Management Tools

• SOCIAL business Communties

14
Online Business Directories

• What are they?
• Yellow Pages of Business People
• Referral system using the Six Degrees
• Which one should you use?
• LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is the clear winner
  with 2.000.000 users (fall 2004)
• Keep an eye on Spoke (www.spoke.com)
  ZeroDegrees (www.zerodegrees.com)

• Business Networking Platform

15
Relationship Management Tools

• What are they?
• Software Tools to manage exploit your
  relationships
• Which one should you use?
• Personal tools Plaxo (www.plaxo.com) is the
  clear winner in the personal relationship
  management tools
• Corporate tools No winners yet, we are still
  very early in the adoption cycle.

Relationship Management Tools
16
SOCIAL business Communities

• What are they?
• Online (virtual) communities where people connect
  for social purposes first, business second
• Which one should you use?
• For business none of these
• For pleasure try Orkut (www.orkut.com) Tribe
  (www.tribe.net)

• SOCIAL business Communities

17
Social BUSINESS Communities

• What are they?
• Online (virtual) communities where people connect
  for business purposes first, social second
• Which one should you use?
• 3 international players
• Ecademy started in UK (www.ecademy.com)
• openBC started in Germany (www.opoenbc.com)
• Ryze started in US (www.ryze.com)
• Many local players
• be Biztribe
• fr Viaduc
• sp eConozco
• sw Shortcut

• Social BUSINESS Communities

18
The Importance of Online Business Networks

• Total Transaction Value Up
• Total Transaction Count Way Up
• Individual Transaction Quality - Down

Andrew Forbes earlystage.com
Cesar Brea, former CEO of Contect Network
Corporation
19
Top Ten Online Business Networking Tips

• How to build quality business relationships
  online
• Remember, you're connecting with people.
• Clarify what you have to give and what you want
  to gain.
• Become an information centre.
• Be personally visible on the Internet.
• Pick online communities that work for you.
• Review the online community as a guest before you
  join.
• Be prepared.
• Pace yourself.
• Manage your email.
• Be sensitive to people's time and email boxes.

Scott Allen
20
The beauty of online business networks

• Online business networks are changing the way we
  do business
• Time independent 24/7/365
• Place independent from you pc stay at home
• Local Global
• Targeted use keywords, companies names to find
  the right people
• Inbound Passive presence - While you sleep
  people will search you. Make it easy for
  everyone. Put your picture up. Give them
  information. Tell them everything, because they
  really do not know. Blog.
• Competitive Stand out as you have competition.
  Visit others in your field and see what they
  have. Copy from the best!
• New start now, then you are ahead of most of the
  universe. You will be established when others
  catch on.
• Memory-proof you can keep track of your network.
  Social Networks have online profiles so you dont
  forget, some keep track of your message exchange.
  
• Efficient you can connect online with far more
  people than you could ever meet face to face on a
  daily basis.

21
Contact me
Hendrik Deckers Managing Director Close
Partnershendrik.deckers_at_closepartners.com www.clo
separtners.com Chairman Ecademy
Benelux hendrik.deckers_at_ecademy.com
benelux.ecademy.com
Close Partners is a multi-national, multi-skilled
team of business development professionals
operating across Europe. We design, build, drive
and manage high-performance, pan-European
routes-to-market for enterprise-class software
and solution vendors. References include