What Connections Do You Want to Take With You Into 2012?

According to a business colleague Lisa Marie Platske, owner of Upside Thinking, she refers to connections as the new currency. As 2011 comes to an end and you are planning your strategies for 2012, it is an ideal time to evaluate the connections you made this year asking how they served you as well as the networking events you have attended.

So, who is your ideal connection?

Have any of the relationships from the past run their course?

What other people might come into that space if I let some collection of connections go?

It's not about more, its about the right fit for you. If people are not asking about you, let it go – not everybody is going to be your connection.

Things change and people change, that means we need to move on and don’t take it personally.

A good connection is someone we resonate with, often someone who shares our values.

Now is a good time of ask yourself what characteristics are important to you?

•  Integrity

•  Rule maker

•  Rule breaker

•  Shares your values

•  Shares your vision

•  Wants your success

Identify where you are going and are your connections going in your direction? We change, time changes, our connections change and that’s all good.

According to Lisa Marie Platske, owner of Upside Thinking when asked how to make the best at networking or other business events to maximize the experience she suggests:

• Being interested and be interesting.

• What do I want to have a happen after the event? How will I maintain the connection?

• Determine why you want to stay connected with them in the future.  

“Followup after the event, it may be simple but it's not always easy to do.  It takes time to build a relationship, plan time to followup and schedule time on your calendar, and ask how will you deepen the connection? Research show 80% of people never followup, so be intentional & take action," Platske says.

Are your networking groups in alignment with your ideal connections, your values?

How much is your time worth?

Many people don’t ever factor in what their time is worth. For example, if you are a consultant and you bill out at $65 an hour and you attend a networking lunch which includes one hour of travel time going to and from, the event is another 90 minutes. 

That equates to a value of $162.50 of your time. Did you receive that return on your investment, for example, if you did this once per month? At the end of the year the time and money you invested in that one networking event was $1,950. Financial plus time commitment equals the return on your investment.

We all have limited time and we have to be choosy where we spend out time and minutes.    

Where will you spend your time in the coming year?

JoAnne Funch is owner of GIR-Graphics & Innovative Resources, providing creative marketing solutions to small business owners and non-profits who want to gain visibility off-line or on-line through strategic marketing ideas and consistent branding messages For free marketing tips visit her website www.girpromotions.com. Or, connect with JoAnne on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn