Emotional Intelligence, also known as Emotional Quotient or EQ,
is all the buzz right now. EQ is the ability we have to use,
communicate, recognize, remember, learn from and manage our
relationships with other people. It is, in effect, the skills
we've developed for building our social capital with those we
wish to network with.
Some people just seem to have a knack for interacting or
networking with other people. They have a high EQ. On the other
hand, for some people networking is a very uncomfortable process.
The higher one's EQ, the more natural it seems for an
individual to network. I believe that EQ can be developed, whereas
IQ is generally static and not easily improved. This means that you
can actually improve your EQ by understanding and applying some
important concepts to your networking practices.
So, just what are some of the areas where EQ has an impact on
networking skills?
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1. Developing a networking style or system that sets you
apart from the ordinary businessperson: Networking is so much
more than just being involved in the usual meet-n-greet routine.
Developing a style of networking that's deliberate, habitual
and finely developed can be considered developing your EQ in
networking. This can be done by reading books and other articles
about word-of-mouth marketing and learning techniques that have
been successful for others. Applying these tips and techniques
takes conscious practice and application before they become habits.
The highly skilled networker can be like poetry in motion. You
aren't quite sure what just happened, but suddenly you're
being pointed in the right direction for a meeting with someone
else who can open doors for you--and you aren't even
consciously aware that you expressed a need for this introduction!
You've just been caught up in the flow of a high-EQ
networker.
2. Networking appropriately (honoring the event):
Becoming a networker who's sensitive to the event is an
important aspect of developing one's networking EQ. So many
businesspeople who are trying to build their social capital do so
with an almost vulture-like intensity. Believe it or not, there are
times when it's not appropriate to hand out your business card
or ask someone the ubiquitous "what do you do?". Being
sensitive to the moment and honoring the surroundings is a nuance
in networking that sets those with a high EQ apart from those with
a low EQ. There are ways to alter your networking styles in various
situations. Understanding how to read the event and network
appropriately and effectively is another sign of a high-EQ
networker.
3. Follow through: This is an area where the high-EQ
networker really stands out from the crowd. If we're all honest
with ourselves, follow-through is not our favorite thing, but
it's something that needs a lot of finesse and demands
diligence. What an enterprising networker will do is follow through
in ways that surprise and intrigue the other businesspeople he or
she comes in contact with. This includes things like clipping a
news article about a topic that's of significance to the
contact and sending it to him or her with a personal note and
another business card. The main thing is that a skillful networker
will never--ever--miss an opportunity to follow through after an
introduction to a new business contact. Keeping your name, your
business' name and your expertise in front of that person is
very important and can be done in fresh and interesting ways. And
it's important to follow up more than once. Create a reason for
re-connecting with that contact to begin developing a relationship
with him or her.
4. Maintaining customer loyalty: Many entrepreneurs focus
so much on bringing in new business that they miss the boat on
maintaining customer loyalty. Keeping current customers coming back
and referring others to you is very, very important for business
success and growth! The entrepreneur who understands this and
really goes above and beyond to make current customers feel valued,
appreciated and very special will find that their customers will
come back again and again, and bring others with them to do
business with you. There are the normal things to do to foster
customer loyalty, such as sending a calendar to a client at the end
of the year for the next year; then there are the outstanding
things to do to foster customer loyalty, such as taking a client to
lunch each week! Getting to know the clients personally and really
making the effort to become friends with each person with whom you
do business is an indicator of an entrepreneur with high business
EQ.
Emotional Intelligence has a lot to do with setting certain
business owners apart from the rest of the pack by becoming stellar
networkers. It's more than just "doing the obvious."
So much more. By being creative, fresh and surprising, high-EQ
networkers can amass a great wealth of social capital and build a
really strong and visible word-of-mouth-based business.
I've heard it said that your employees are hired because of
their IQ, but promoted based on their EQ. To that I would add that
a business owner might become known in the marketplace as a result
of IQ, but will be referred and promoted by others because of EQ
and their ability to use that to develop social capital.