Networking Mistakes: Being Greedy
Hi. My name is Nicole Dean and I’m a visiting guest expert here on Odinn’s blog this week.
I had the pleasure of “almost” meeting Odinn at JV Alert in Orlando. We sat about 3 feet away from each other for 3 days and both were too shy to introduce ourselves. So… after the event, I emailed him and apologized for being a big chicken. We’ve emailed back and forth a bit since then and are becoming fast friends. It’s my honor to be here as a featured expert on his blog.
Let me back up a bit and explain why I’m here. Here’s the deal. I’m doing this crazy Summer Blog World Tour where I’ll be touring around to 13 or more fantastic blogs over the course of 3 months, just like this one. I asked each blog owner to select an aspect of online business success that they’d like me to talk about during my visit. Odinn gave me a ton of great ideas and the topic that I chose is Networking Effectively.
This is a topic that’s near and dear to my heart for a number of reasons. You see, I wear many hats as an entrepreneur. Don’t we all?
As a “Boss”: I choose to surround myself with positive, energetic people. Currently, I have a team of helpers who I pay every month. (Virtual Assistants, Designers, Ghostwriters for my niche sites, techies for installing stuff, etc.)
When I’ve been at jobs in the past, I did not have control over who I worked with. Now I own my own business, so I do. I’ve chosen to work with and network with people who I find fun, fascinating, and fabulous in some way or another. I suggest that you do the same. Whether we’re talking about people who you hire or just buddies to network with, it makes work so much more enjoyable when you connect with people who you honestly care about and want to succeed.
As a Content Expert: I have been called a content expert because I make my words work for me in many ways in my business.
- I am a guest expert on blogs (like I am doing today).
- I write articles.
- I have my own podcast.
- I create videos.
- I write and offer free reports that are customizable and great for giveaway events. (hint, hint)
- I have my own products and membership sites.
- And I have been selling PLR articles since 2006.
- Plus I recycle my most effective content like the best of them.
How does this fit into the topic of networking? Simple. Content on my own hard-drive and on my own websites is great, but I want my content spread far and wide… like this Blog World Tour that I’m doing. I had to network quite a bit to arrange three solid months of guest blogging. (Scheduling, arranging topics, organizing logins…) It wasn’t easy. Thankfully, my personal assistant handled most of it.
This Blog Summer World Tour is a win-win networking opportunity for everyone involved. And, it’s a heck of a lot more interesting than posting to my own blog all summer long like I’ve done every other year.
As an Affiliate Manager: I have been Jimmy D. Brown’s Affiliate Manager since January 2007. (If you don’t know about Jimmy yet, check out his blog here: Jimmy D. Brown’s blog) One of the most critical parts of my job is arranging win-win profitable promotions with other marketers. Basically it’s my job to find what motivates others to promote us and to make that happen so we both profit.
That’s one reason why I’m here today – to help make it easy for Odinn to add content to his blog. He benefits because he gets great content written by me. Inside the blog posts, you’ll find recommendations to valuable top-quality products and services as well as freebies.
How Odinn benefits: Because of my guest blog posts, he stands to make affiliate sales for years to come.
How I benefit: Some of the sites that I’ll mention are Jimmy’s or mine. (Naturally, since his courses and freebies are amazing!)
As a Business Partner: I have partnered in several areas of my business. My partners help me to be much more profitable than I would be alone. By pairing their expertise with my own, I’ve experienced greater long-term gain.
A few examples are:
- ReliableWebs.com – a hosting company with free Word Press blog installations that I co-own with Kelly McCausey.
- OutsourceWeekly.com – a course that I co-created with Jimmy D. Brown about how to be more efficient and effective in your business by harnessing the power of others.
So, this week, per Odinn’s request, I’ll be talking about the “The Critical Networking Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Reputation and Give you Zero Chance of JV Success.”
There’s no time like the present so let’s get started.
#1 Networking Mistake: Being a Greedy Gus
Greedy Gus is all about “me, me, me and me”. Whenever an email comes through from Gus or the phone shows his caller ID, you groan and think “What does he want now?”
Gus’s requests are always one-sided like this…
Sbj: Who do you know… I need your help!!
I am… I…
Me, me, me, me, me
Do you know anyone who is a sphere of influence and works with … ? If so I’d love an introduction to them because their clients are my perfect clients.
So, if you know anyone who needs… please hand out my name…
Do you notice what’s missing in this email? A clear offer of reciprocity for one.
Now, I can’t poo-poo this email entirely. It might possibly be appropriate if sent from a close friend who has helped you in the past and whose work you know well. And, if you only receive an email like this once.
But, if you get the feeling that you’re being used every time you talk to this person (even though they seem really really nice), you’re talking to a Greedy Gus.
What do do when you find yourself dealing with an Greedy Gus?
The way to handle a Greedy Gus is either to ignore their requests or to make sure you explain that your expect that the arrangement will be reciprocated from the get go (and HOW it will be reciprocated).
Don’t let them run off with a “Thanks so much! Let me know what I can do for you some day…” or you’ll always feel frustrated and used when interacting with them. Tell them what you expect before you put in any effort on their request – otherwise, you run the risk of becoming Greedy Gus’s doormat in a big hurry.
If you’re shy or have a hard time saying “no” to a Greedy Gus then you’ll have to work hard to stand up for yourself or ask for something in return. Oftentimes a Greedy Gus has no idea how self-centered he looks to others, because he assumes that everyone else is like him and will just ask for what they need. So, you’ve got to put in a request or you’ll continue in a one-sided relationship where you’re the giver and he’s the receiver.
If you find yourself being a Greedy Gus…
If your JV requests to me sound like a Greedy Gus – my VA’s are trained to delete them before I ever see them. I assume most people have similar set-ups or just delete the requests themselves. I have even set filters for certain people so that their emails go directly to the trash.
So.. if you’re not getting the results you wanted from your networking requests and you think it might be because you’ve been a Greedy Gus, you might want to try a more win-win tactic.
That’s it for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with the next big networking mistake. Stay tuned.
Warmly,
Nicole Dean
Follow Nicole on Twitter| Follow Odinn on Twitter | Nicole’s Blog & Podcast
PS. Almost forgot to mention. As with every stop on my tour, every person who comments will be entered to win prizes. So, be sure to leave your thoughts below. 
6 Comments »
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Being a VA and an email manager I see many greedy Gus’s come a crossed emails. I too have them set up to go to trash and I try to convince my clients to set them up that way.
Greed Gus normally does not get too far.
How does that saying go? There is no I in TEAM!!!!!
No one likes a Greedy Gus :-p and they seem to be everywhere. Even little ole not important me gets at least one or two greedy gus requests per week!
[...] week, I’ll be talking about Common Networking Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Reputation and Give you Zero Chance of JV Success – whether it’s communicating JV requests or in everyday business [...]
Yeah as a frequent user of Twitter, FB, etc. and an Internet marketer I have to say when I see someone who does nothing but promote their own links I won’t follow them. That’s the FIRST thing I look for.
People just don’t get it! When I can look at their Twitter page and see nothing but the same sales link over and over again with no interaction or giving it’s very obvious to me they still have a lot of learning to do.
People should remember you only get back what you give. Be a giver first and foremost and you’ll get back more than you could have ever imagined.
Some folks don’t understand an important tenet of networking is that it takes time. They think if they haven’t snatched 20 business cards at some event from people they have nothing in common with, they’ve failed.
I remember being shocked hearing a gentleman ask me, “How can I help promote your business?” I was so used to hearing “I’m doing this and that. Gotta go now.” Instead, here was a gentleman who “got it.”
If you try to find a way to help first, it all seems to work out for everyone.
I have met a few Greedy Gus’s and they are quite annoying. I would rather not do business with a Greedy Gus.