Prepare for Any Networking Event, Part 4: What Am I Going to Offer?
Ready? Set? Go! Here is part 4 of our networking prep series. As we’ve said in our book, and in each one of our talks and presentations, networking is also about what we can bring to the table and offer others. In this post we think about what we’re ready to share with others, how we can share it, and when we should give back.
If you haven’t read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 yet, consider adding them to your TBR list or reading this one, and then going back to read the rest. And if you have read the other three, well, what can we say other than you ROCK! If only everyone were as diligent as you!
In this networking prep series, we’re going to answer a few basic questions that will help you prepare for your next networking encounter. For the purpose of this article, we’re considering the term “networking meeting” to mean either an in-person event or a virtual one.
(We have not been paid to mention any of the resources we link to.)
Giving Back, Giving Value
Through our schooling, we haven’t always been told to think about how we can help others, or what we’re going to bring to the table for others. This reminds me of when my sister was in her late teens and she applied for a job at Whole Foods for the summer a few months after we arrived from Argentina. Right on the spot, instead of giving her a job application, the store manager started interviewing her:
“So what do you think you can bring to the table?”
“What can I bring to the table?” She didn’t understand the question or why the manager would want her to go to a table and put something there. She interpreted the literal meaning and never knew this was a figurative question. Needless to say, the interview went south from there because she hadn’t been taught how to prepare for an interview with that type of question.
Which brings me to ask you, What can you bring to the table?
Remember, networking isn’t about taking—it’s just as much about giving too. What do you have that you can give to help someone else?
Here are some ideas:
Be available! Make time. Be a good listener.
Offer a free thirty-minute phone consultation to an editor or a writer who looks like they need editing guidance.
If you enjoy working with a great proofreader, for example, share their contact information with someone who is looking for those skills (shout-out to the great Madeleine Vasaly, who we love to work with).
Consider offering to read a query letter or send a writer information on how to draft a book proposal.
Share as advice anything in your area of expertise that you can, whether it be links, resources, or ideas. (Note, this does not mean to offer to edit or read ALL of someone’s work for free.)
Recommend an informative book or organization that might help a fellow editor solve a problem they’re having with their work or with a client.
Offer to host a virtual meetup, write a blog post, or research a topic that might be useful to clients or other editors in your network.
Now that you have an idea of what you can bring to the table, think about how you’ll bring it. What is your communication medium?
A direct email?
A LinkedIn or Facebook post?
A direct message on Slack?
A holiday or thank-you card?
A quick phone call or text message?
Harvard Law School has six sample networking and thank-you emails with wording to inspire you to make your own. However, one size does not fit all. Customize yours—make it personal so it matters to the recipient.
Regardless of whom you want to reach and how you choose to share your contribution, make sure to keep track of what you’re doing in a running document that you can always add to, or use to check off an activity you’ve completed. What’s more, leave a space to document any results from your efforts and the industry or person you were hoping to help. To assist you with this self-discovery process, we’ve put together two short Giving Back Worksheets so you can get your ideas down, really focusing on
- What your clients need now
- What you can offer your peers
This activity should help you home in on your strengths and what you can give back effortlessly. It will also help you understand what medium you can use to reach clients and peers more effectively. By writing down your thoughts and visualizing them, you should also be able to determine what results you’d like to get from that type of giving back. Then, in your quarterly networking check-in, you can measure your results and see if those goals were achieved.
Real Situation
This morning I had a scheduled courtesy call with a fellow editor who is just getting started in freelancing. She wanted to ask me for advice on a project she had been approached for. We discussed it, and indeed it was a good project to take on. However, if she went for it alone, she might have been in over her head, and it could have resulted in a lot of unnecessary stress for her, even risking her reputation if she wasn’t able to deliver what the client needed in a timely manner. So I recommended she talk to a friend of mine, a fellow nonfiction writer John, who happens to also have a small indie imprint that does very well.
When I got off the phone with her, I contacted my fellow nonfiction writer, told him about my call with my fellow editor, and he said he’d like to talk to her. Right then, I introduced both of them by text message (this was their preferred method of initial communication, and now they have a call set up to discuss her project. My idea was that they collaborate on the project, with my ghostwriter friend writing the proposal and pitching it to my fellow editor’s client, stating in the proposal that the editor would be hired for the developmental editing part of the project as well as book marketing (which are the two things she wanted to do). Hopefully it works out, but even if it doesn’t, I connected two really great people who can collaborate in the future, and I felt good. Who knows—maybe in the future they’ll want me on their team, and that value is worth more than any marketing dollar. (Note: I have done a lot of editing work for this ghostwriter and enjoy collaborating with him, so it was natural for me to think of him as a possible solution to my fellow editor’s quandary.)
The opportunities for giving back and staying connected are endless! Having your clients’ best interests at heart benefits everyone and that will naturally lead to you being a trusted colleague/collaborator/adviser who people will think of whenever they need your skill set or know someone who does.
So after you’re done reading this post, consider going for a walk, getting on the treadmill, or just lying down and thinking about all the wonderful things you can offer to your colleagues, to your clients—to your potential colleagues and clients. Maybe even your neighbor, or your neighbor’s college kids.
Whatever you choose to bring to the table will be appreciated by someone. Start small and build up. If you can, keep a running list of your “editorial offerings” and who they will bring value to. Our book and the website have worksheets that can help you brainstorm what you bring to the table. And remember, doing the worksheets is more fun with a partner, so reach out to a fellow editor and work together on what each of you can offer to others.
We look forward to hearing how you choose to give back today. Send us an email at info@networkingforeditors.com with “Giving Back” in the subject line and let us know. We’re always looking for creative and helpful ways to pay it forward as a way to network, so we’d love to hear about your ideas. And if you want to go the extra mile, this content ties in directly with Chapter 9: Volunteering, as well as page 10 & 11 (networking mind maps) of Networking for Freelance Editors.Though all of these are just ideas, they might inspire you to try something new that will work for you as you prepare to network. If you have other fabulous ideas you’d like to add to this list, let us know! Send us an email to info@networkingforeditors.com and we might just add yours too (and credit you for it, of course!).
Linda Ruggeri is a full-service editor and project manager based out of Los Angeles. She coauthored the historical memoir Stepping Into Rural Wisconsin: Grandpa Charly’s Life Vignettes from Prussia to the Midwest and Networking for Freelance Editors. She can be found online at The Insightful Editor and on Instagram.