Are you often uncomfortable in situations when you must interact with people you don’t know?

Are you longing to cultivate new relationships in your professional life?

Is being connected to people important to you, but you just are not sure how to do it?

Whether you are embarking on a career transition, are self-employed and need to market your services, or just want to cultivate new relationships, you will have to reach out to people. Relationships, whether personal or professional, develop over time and are based on trust. But first impressions are critical, as they determine whether you will have the opportunity to develop a stronger relationship. So how do you do it? How do you connect with a total stranger, make a great first impression and have them wanting to hire you, promote you, do business with you, or start a new friendship or relationship?

STEPS FOR SUCCESS

Define who you are: your purpose, passion, gifts, strengths, qualities, and accomplishments. Who are you really?

Clarify what you want: your intention in getting noticed, known and connected. Why is it important to you? What do you hope to gain? To offer?

Identify who you want to connect with: Is it a potential employer, someone in a particular industry, someone in your company…? Maybe it’s a community organization, a social group or a particular type of person you want as a friend. Identify the qualities, traits, personality, needs and values of the person, group or organization.

Define your environment: think about your own needs and values, those that you would like fulfilled, including how you work best, the type of people you want to work with, the type of people you want to learn from and spend time with.
Create your own mission statement: include the benefit that will be received by your efforts, the impact you will have on others – your purpose and passion.

Develop your marketing pitch: who you are, what you do and how you do it. Related it to work or play or anything in between. When complete, it will feel right to say and your passion will ignite when you are saying it – even if you are shy!
Develop outstanding communication skills: Conversational skills project your personality, show your sincerity, and make people feel comfortable with you, and you with them.

Create and define your image: You must not only make your exterior appealing to your target group, but also make it a genuine reflection of your inner self. If you feel confident, you will be more confident.

Become 'the authority' in a specialized area within your career: define your niche in relation to areas you have expertise, have the most knowledge, have the most passion. You want be seen as someone who clearly understands the needs and challenges of your desired role and/or industry, and one who has the knowledge, skills, experience and qualities to address those needs and challenges.

GETTING OUT THERE

Focus on others: If you are shy, the best way to approach a stranger is to keep the focus on them, not you. Ask questions, focusing on how you can make them “feel special”.

Begin to meet new people: Challenge yourself to meet at least one new person each week. It could be a referral from someone you already know or someone you meet on line at the grocery store. The more you try approaching new people, the easier it becomes.

Strengthen existing relationships: Contact people you know and ask them out for coffee or lunch. Tell them what you are searching for – new contacts to grow your business, new employment opportunities, new friends with your interests… Ask them if they would be willing to introduce you to who they know.

Use e-mail as your first introduction to a stranger: as it allows you to take your time to craft your message. Be brief and to the point – including how you heard about them and why you are interested in talking to them or meeting them. If they respond, the lines of communication are now open.

Attend events and seminars: that are coordinated within your community, the local chapter of the professional association that relates to your field, through the continuing education arm of your local college or university… Attending a meeting gives you an agenda, a reason to be there. It allows plenty of time to observe who is in attendance and decide who you would like to meet. It also gets you noticed even if you don’t say anything.

Look for guides, teachers and mentors: Friends, family, colleagues and coaches who can support, motivate and help you create an atmosphere that respects who you are while challenging you to do more than you think you can.

Offer to Help: When you are developing a new relationship, ask how you could be of service. That may mean volunteering your time to help them with a project, sharing resources of your own, introducing them to someone they want to meet, etc.

Say Thank You: Whenever someone takes the time to talk with you, share information with you, or offer you resources of any kind, be sure to say thank you. It could be a handwritten note, an e-mail or a phone call. That extra step will make the world of difference in developing a new relationship.

About the Author: Stefanie Zizzo is an active Member Coach of The Coach Connection (TCC) http://www.findyourcoach.com and has successfully coached many TCC clients to great successes. You can reach Stefanie by calling TCC at our toll free number of 800-887-7214 or direct at 239-415-1777