<i>Voice of the Client</i>: Practice What You Preach: 2.0

The article empasized to readers that your OWN network is just as important to develop and maintain as it is for any professional. Because we spend so much of our time helping others to focus on cultivating their networks, we often neglect to tend to our own.

Here are the six previously published tips for staying connected to your contacts:

1. Build a smart network.
2. Network and stay in touch.
3. Be visible in the marketplace.
4. Make time to stay connected.
5. Develop your skills continuously.
6. Give, not get.

Build a Smart Network

• Build a network that is strong and diverse. Knowing only people who do what you do isn't enough. Introduce yourself to colleagues inside and outside of your industry, your community and your interests. Broaden your horizons!
• Find ways to be helpful to people you know. Always try to introduce some of your contacts to other contacts in your network.
• Find a mentor. Everyone should have at least one; these are people who act as your personal advisor in an objective manner when you need advice about issues, like a difficult work situation, a potential job opportunity, professional development or general advice.

Network and Stay in Touch

• Order some custom note cards and envelopes with your name imprinted on them and send a handwritten note to all your business contacts. Short and simple. Keep in touch.
• Send thank you gifts when someone does something nice for you, like submits your name for an article, connects you to someone in an effort to be helpful, or refers you for a speaking opportunity. Whatever it is, it's a small but important gesture: acknowledge others' actions.
• Don't wait until you are looking for a job or have a problem to contact someone in your network. Remember to make a “deposit” before “withdrawing” from your network account.
• Don't forget to network within your firm. Partners, associates and other administrative professionals should all be a part of your network. Make time to attend firm-wide lunches, firm seminars hosted by a department other than your own, and staff meetings.

Be Visible in the Marketplace

• Write three articles and shop them around. Try not to wait for someone to ask you to write; have something ready to go or at least outlined. Showcase your knowledge and experience so that you are thought of and positioned as a thought leader. Be willing to share what you know and whom you know. If you're strapped for time, ask a colleague to co-author (that's what we did for this article!) a trend or issue you are both experiencing.
• If writing isn't your strength, try giving a presentation once a year. Panels are the best way to participate if you are new to speaking. They give you an opportunity to be trained on the nuances of public speaking.
• Attend networking opportunities ' schedules are tight and always will be, but it pays to have face time with others. See and be seen.

Make Time to Stay Connected

• Time management and planning is a tricky area for any law firm business professional. Too often, we're required to shift our focus and reschedule an entire day to perform critical tasks ' usually the result of poor planning on someone else's part. But there is always time to stay connected.
• Schedule at least two to four hours in your calendar each month (one to two hours at a time). Treat each scheduled time just as if it is a meeting, not “slack time” that can be used to make up for something else. Treat staying connected as the priority it deserves to be.

Develop Your Skills Continuously

• How can we possibly expect those in our firms to value skill development in training and coaching if we aren't committed to professional development ourselves? Keep learning. You're never too experienced to continue your education; there's always something new to learn that will make you and your contributions more valuable to your firm.
• Read two publications outside of your niche or industry each month. We all have to understand the corporate world and what's happening in it. It allows us to better anticipate and prepare for the impact within our firms and our firms' clients.

Give Not Get (The Most Important Tip of All)

• Having solid professional relationships takes time, commitment and communication. Focus on the “giving” to your network and the “getting” will come naturally.
• Understand whom the potential customers or clients are for each person in your network. It makes it easier to make connections. How do you know? Follow the advice we give to lawyers all the time: ASK!
• Ask: “How can I help you” when you meet or reconnect with someone (and mean it).
• Think about how to proactively help someone in your network at least once a week and follow through.

2.0 and Beyond