Thread: Building your 'inner network' Judith Germain

Networking - Judith Germain discusses building an 'inner network' with NLP Trainer Michael Beale

Judith Germain FCIPD is Managing Director of Dynamic Transitions Ltd and specialises in developing leadership talent. She has over 10 years experience working with wilfully independent people which she defines as mavericks or Troublesome Talent.



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Michael : I'm delighted again to talk to you. This time about developing your inner network and the sorts of advice that you would give anyone looking to develop their inner network.

Can I ask you to kick off with a brief summary of who you are and what you do?

Judith : OK, sure. I'm the founder and the principle mentor for Dynamic Transitions LTD and we enable organisations to significantly improve the leadership performance of the key brands or influencers in the organisation. So we say that those key influencers may be managers or individual team members and a particular specialism of the business is working with mavericks or troublesome talent.

So we help to leverage their reputation and demonstrate their expertise.

Michael : Superb. Now before I talk about your inner network I've noticed that you do have a very large - what could be described as - and outer network. You've got six thousand followers on Twitter and you've got coming up to twelve thousand on Ecademy. What did you actually do to attract so many people to connect with you?

Judith : I think that when you're running a business, whether you're a one man consultant, a small business or a larger company, you need to have an attraction strategy. Because this is much more effective than paying large amounts of money in most circumstances. And that strategy should be linked to your business strategy.

So on Twitter I provide pertinent information in the areas that I'm interested in and that I'm known for. I'm quite well known for providing relevant information on business, leadership, management, mavericks, social media, HR, PR - those kind of subjects.

I think that attracting people is about letting people know that you're an open networker. That you can provide solid content. That you have built a good reputation whilst demonstrating some expertise. And for me these are the key elements of my networking strategy.

Michael : So you've talked a little bit about what you've done on Twitter - What do you actually do on LinkedIn?

Judith : The first twelve hundred followers came to me through my efforts in normal networking - So I would have met them in events, or seen them online and they requested to be linked to - Because one of the things is that I have worked with my LinkedIn profile quite prominently across the networks that I am in, so they can find me in that way.

And I'm also in the press a lot. So again if you search for my name in Google you're likely to find my LinkedIn on the first page.

After about twelve hundred, coming up to fifteen hundred people, I decided to make it very clear that I was an open networker. And an open networker on LinkedIn basically means that you will accept anyone that wants to be in contact with you because you're actively growing your network.

So by doing that it has allowed me to grow the network a lot quicker.

Michael : And what about Ecademy?

Judith : I've got a lot of people on Ecademy. I think a similar strategy to LinkedIn, as I've been quite active on Ecademy on an offline basis. And I provide a reasonable amount of content on an online basis. Probably being the vice president of Black Star, which is the premier membership which helps attracting people.

And also it's being open and available to people.

Michael : There is another question that's related to this, and I'm very curious about your answer. A lot of corporate people I know are cautious about using things like LinkedIn and Twitter and Ecademy, because of what they perceive as possible conflicts of interests as to information with their company.

Now I know that whatever you say will be a bit of a generalisation - But what's you advice to people that want to get onto your network but are a little bit cautious about how they might be perceived or how their bosses and colleagues might perceive them using these networks?

Judith : That's a very good question. In essence it's not really much different from a business owner. So if he was a business owner he wouldn't be discussing client details over the network for example. So in the same way if you were in a corporate business or a larger business and you were an employee, you wouldn't be discussing the details of that organisation.

But I think it's really good, especially now to have a large network, to build up a reputation around your area of expertise, because you'll need that to get promoted, to look for another job - and it can, in effect, help the organisation that you're in.

Michael : And can you give me an example of how it could positively impact your current organisation?

Judith : There's a guy called Dan, and for the life of me his surname has disappeared from my brain at the moment - but this guy Dan, he's well known as a personal branding expert and he's an employee in an American company that I follow a lot and what he does for his company is corporate branding.

So it's very complimentary, what he does, on a personal basis, and a company basis, but they're quite different. And funnily enough he writes about how you can build your own personal brand whilst being an employee, without upsetting your employers.

Michael : Thank you for that. Almost looking again from the answer you gave to that question - What is the difference between your outer, middle and inner networks?

Judith : For me my outer network are people that know me for one thing. So probably they'll know me for my work on Mavericks, and for my definition of Mavericks as 'Wilfully Independent people'.

My middle network will know more than one proposition. They'll probably know two or three. So they'll know that I'm an expert in mavericks, that I do leadership and I'm a mentor, perhaps.

People in my inner network will know a lot more about me. I've spent a lot more time getting to know these individuals. They all know that I have a strong customer service background, and strong operational background - they'll know far more about what I about what I do and how I do it - and different areas that I work in.

Michael : Looking at your inner network that you've got now - How did it appear? Do you think that you've got the inner network that you have because you've consciously worked to develop people and to keep the network going? And how much do you think it is something that has emerged over time as you've worked with people, and decided who you could trust and who you could work with?

Is it something that emerged or something that you shaped and developed yourself?

Judith : I think that it began as an emergent strategy. So I've naturally spent more time with some people and by doing that, and having got to know each other, I was then able to talk about the kinds of things that I was doing and that was very beneficial. I think once I started to have a few people around me like that I consciously tried to look for more people - So part of my strategy now is to funnel people from my outer network into my inner network so I actually communicate to these networks in a different way.

Michael : A two part question - What do you think your inner network contributes to you? How do they help you? But on the other side, what do you actually contribute, do you think to your people in your inner network?

Judith : So, what do I contribute, and what do I get back?

I guess in terms of contribution, I'm a very good advocate for selling my services when they're in my inner network. And I say that advocacy and referral is quite different. When you refer somebody it's because somebody is looking for something - so if somebody is looking for a builder you say 'Oh yeah i know a builder.'

And when you're advocating somebody, somebody might say for example 'I'm going to do some renovations on my house.' and you immediately say 'Speak to this builder.' An advocate is always looking for an appropriate way to sell someone else's services. And they know that person and that service so well that they can look, and it's not just a straight 'Oh, they can do this, they're a builder.', they will be able to provide more detail. And almost pre-sell it.

Michael : Ok. What do you think has to happen before you're naturally comfortable to advocate somebody?

Judith : I have to like them. And I say that a bit tongue in cheek. For some people that is not a requirement. But I'm known for certain things and if someone is an advocate of something people expect them to be quite similar in terms of their values. So I need to like and trust them.

They need to be easy to advocate. Some people make it really difficult for advocate them because they're not very clear on what their business is doing, or how they help, or how they're different. And they need to have shared values.

Michael : What sort of values?

Judith : They have to have integrity. I couldn't advocate somebody who would then knowingly hassled the end client or potential client for example.

So whenever you provide advocacy to somebody you are actually advocating and referring your own reputation. So I am very aware of that when I'm advocating somebody. So it has to be somebody who is able to work hard. They have to deliver what they say - So if they say that they can deliver growth in your business than they should be able to do that, and can demonstrate that.

Michael : So one of the things that you do for your inner work is to advocate them. What are the sorts of things that your inner network do for you?

Judith : As well as advocating them, I'm also helping to develop them as well. I think it becomes a friendship, and a close friendship with people in your advocacy. And I think what my network does for me, is again, that they provide a trusted network for me to have those conversations, whether it's support or development.

But also, they sell the things that I'm not selling. So for example, I was on holiday once and one of my inner circle - one of their clients had a particular issue that had to be resolved, and between these two people in my inner circle they sorted it all out for me and then sent me an email saying 'When you come back talk to this person, he's got some work for you.' And that's fantastic because it all happened without my knowledge.

And it wouldn't have worked if they were just referrers. It worked because they knew exactly what I was prepared to do, how to do it, and what the end result would be. So that's what made the difference.

Michael : Let's go back to this mystical person that's working in a corporate environment at the moment. They don't really network but there's a little bit at the back of their mind saying that maybe they should be doing some of this. What sort of advice would you give them? What would you suggest to them to at least get them started?

And what sort of time frame would you suggest, for this type of time frame, that they should be looking at?

Judith : Any type of networking takes time. Sometimes people network when they're in a hurry. So if you think about your example in a larger organisation, people may network when they want to get a job. By that time I would say that it's almost too late. they need to be networking before then. They need to get their priorities on getting a new role.

Things I would recommend I guess - Something about good networking is being remembered. People need to remember you for something, so you should have a clear proposition. Also they need to be helpful and be seen as somebody that can get things done, but to help other people - So they're not just looking at themselves.

And I think that a lot of time that people do corporate networking it's about me. And that doesn't work when you're networking at all.

Michael : Building on from that. We've talked about a number of things about networking. Is there anything else, and particularly the inner network - is there anything else that we haven't covered that you think is important to somebody in considering their inner network, how they develop what they do to help other people in their inner network?

Is there anything that we've missed out that's important? Or is there anything that you'd like to emphasise because you really believe that it's a key to success in this area?

Judith : If I was thinking as my network as a metaphor. I would say that it was like a scouting party in the Wild West. All sitting around the campfire. And with the Wild West being business, we're never quite sure of what's going to happen next. And we're all scouts because we're all looking to find work and provide for each other. But we turn into a campfire to build community and share stories.

And I think that's what your inner network is about. It's a close-knit community where people are actively trying to support each other. It's not about you, it's about other people. And by concentrating on other people, they will be concentrating on you.

Michael : So what I'm getting from that is that you're emphasising the community aspect of it. It's more than yourself. It's that you're a part of something and that you're part of something and you're active in contributing to that something.

Judith : That's right. If you think of network as having a network strategy, people need to want people to come to you or something. And that might well be because you're the person that is able to connect to other people or the person who is the expert in the field. That isn't going to work if you're only concentrating on yourself and not other people.

To be a good advocate you need to understand how other people work and how to do that.

Michael : Now you've been kind enough to talk about you ideas, your views and how you work - I know you're doing some exciting things yourself, maybe you'd like to tell our listeners some of the things that you might be interested in.

Judith : Thank you for that. I have to think now.

At the moment I have a promotion on for a 2 hour business accelerator session. For those that wish to make their mark in 2010. This is really a breakthrough session to be able to leverage what your business really does and then increase sales and get more advocates.

I found in my mentoring program, and indeed whilst networking and when you ask people what do you do, not only are they not able to answer that question with any satisfaction so that you can refer them - let alone advocate them.

Michael : I do that myself. I know well about that.

Judith : But people really aren't clear. I know it sounds really funny, but you may start your business with a really clear niche and over time you may end up doing different things and diversified a lot. So when you come back to describe what you do, you kind of do everything. And you don't understand what makes you different.

And I think people get so used to saying they have a unique selling proposition, as if that's a story. But that doesn't work really, because it needs to be - a unique selling proposition which is more than telling a great story about what they can do. It's about having a business process that achieves the aim of their client.

And I think that it needs to be one that can be explained and understood. And you need to understand that very well. And one of the ways that people fail to get advocates and sales is that they can't describe what they do, because they can't do it themselves without a large amount of detail.

Michael : So what's the sort of process that you go through with people to help them achieve this?

Judith : In terms of this break-through session?

Michael : I'm saying that a there are a lot of people, in the work that I do - I know a lot of people are asking to ask those those sorts of questions that you seem to be providing solutions to. So please talk a little bit more?

Judith : I'm quite an experienced business mentor. And that part of the session is normally the part of the mentoring program, so I guess it's looking in quite a bit of detail as to what it is that the business does. How does it function? How does it work?

We all have a process in our business to achieve the results that we do. so for example, a coach may have a process that looks at what issues a client may have, to be more insightful into it, to look forward - in a three stage process, for example.

But they don't understand that that's the process that they're following. so it causes problems. And one of the things that I do is look to see how do people achieve what people say that they achieve, and are they doing a thing that they are able to do correctly?

Michael : That makes sense. And what sort of differences do you find when people have done these sessions with you, what sort of differences, what sort of changes do you find in people?

Judith : I can give you an example of somebody who came from a very senior background. A director in a number of businesses, branching out on his own, decided to move into the consultancy position. What we did there is clarify - so we took a fluffy proposition and honed it down so it was very specific, very niche - We got a proposition statement, one that was very clear and that encouraged people to find out what it was that he did.

We looked at the process of how he achieves the breakthrough that he would be achieving, so he is able to say 'this is the kind of thing that I would do.' So he could now perform the services because he knew the process that he followed.

And also looked at the way that he reputation was to be built in this new business. So we looked at online profiles, how he was going to be networking and something like that. So within those two hours it was quite intense because it was quite packed out, and he obviously had quite an action plan to follow as well.

So at the end of those two hours he has an action plan as to the key steps that he now needs to do to move forward, and my feedback from him is that he now knows that he's going to be delivering and that sounds really funny, but I can understand that because he has the utmost clarity. He realises that the proposition that he has is actually two, not one. He knows how to sell it and where to sell it, and the things that he will need to say online as well as offline in order to make a difference.

Michael : Brilliant. Now before I ask for your contact details, is there anything else that you'd like to add or to summarize about what you've just said?

Judith : Like with any business strategy, if you're deciding to network to get more sales and more advocates, than you need to have a networking strategy. You need to have an attraction strategy, and you need to look at how your rep is handled in how you go about dong things really. And if you need external help in moving forward then you shouldn't hide for that fact, because then you wouldn't get anywhere.

Michael : And your contact details?

Judith : You can contact me by email which is jude@dynamic-transitions.co.uk or phone at +44 (0) 2082880512 and ask for Judith.

Michael : Brilliant. Thank you very much indeed for your time.

Judith : Thank you, that was fun.