NETWORKING

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NETWORKING

• Bruce R. Williams, CGCS
• The Los Angeles Country Club

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Why do we network?

• Contacts
• Resources
• Problem solving
• Career development

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• Remember, its not just what you know but who you
  know as well.

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• Its not only whom you know but whom they know as
  well.

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Who do we network with?

• Lets make a list of all the people you know that
  can help you in your career.

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Contacts

• Fellow supts.
• Former employers
• General Managers
• Golf Professionals
• Golf Association Staff
• Local Distributors
• Manufacturers reps.
• Educators

• Researchers
• USGA Agronomists
• Media
• Golfers
• Neighbors
• Relatives
• Former Classmates
• Alumni from MSU

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Contacts..

• Seminar instructors
• Golf Course architects
• Consultants
• Headhunters
• Mgmt. Company agronomists
• GCSAA staff

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Vehicles and tools to network with

• Business cards
• Dont leave home without them
• Professional presentation
• Accurate information
• Exchange of information is important
• Follow up

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Working the Room

• Plan ahead
• Set goals
• Position yourself for success
• Target influential people
• Value the time that people give you

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Elevator Speech

• Be prepared
• Sell yourself in 2 minutes or less
• Say something interesting and memorable
• Example Hi, my name is Bruce Williams, the golf
  course superintendent here, and I hope I may have
  made your game more enjoyable with the conditions
  you see today.

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Six Degrees of Separation

• Common ground
• Connect on similarities
• Examples

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Points to consider

• Dont wait until youve lost your job to start
  networking
• If you are clueless in the field of networking
  then get a mentor
• Be prepared and consider every day an opportunity
  to meet and connect with new people

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• Always carry business cards
• Dont use a silly sounding e-mail like Macho
  Man or TimeForHemp as it will gain attention
  but not in a positive manner
• Dont be arrogant and listen as much as you talk

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• Dont monopolize someones time
• Five minutes is a good limit for an initial
  introduction
• There is a difference between following up and
  becoming a pen pal

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• Dress to impress and look as good or better than
  everyone else in the room or at the meeting.
  Without saying a word you are sending a message
  by your attire when meeting someone.
• Dont be shy. It may not be easy for some but,
  with practice, you will learn how to be assertive
  and make yourself known to others.
• Always be truthful and never embellish your
  qualifications. Overstating yourself will end up
  giving you a tag of being dishonest.

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• Serious relationships develop over time. They
  endure because you work at it. Most people have
  little use for a person that uses you for what
  they want and then drops you like a hot potato.
• Remember to repay the favor of those that have
  helped you. Take time to help the newcomers and
  youth of the industry. Extend your hand to them
  and be sincere.

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Summary

• Networking is complex
• Nobody has the networking gene
• Networking is a learned skill
• You can get connected if you work at it
• Start now!