PING: A Framework for Effective Network Expansion

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To effectively approach networking and building our professional networks, it’s essential to employ a structured framework that aids in understanding and dissecting the process. The framework I’ve developed is called PING, which stands for personal brand, interpersonal communication, networking, and generating value for others.

In this article, I will break down the four elements of PING and how you can use these to attract and build an effective and extensive professional network.

Personal Branding

To begin, let’s explore the concept of personal branding. Your personal brand serves as your unique differentiator and the value proposition you convey to a broader audience. It encompasses the story you tell across your various social media platforms, describing what you do and the goals you aim to achieve. Your personal brand is about highlighting your unique contributions and the value you bring to others. Constructing and intentionally communicating your personal brand serves as the “magnet” for whom you would like to attract into your sphere of interactions initiating the start of growing your network.

Interpersonal Communication

Moving on, we have interpersonal communication. Once we’ve attracted people who resonate with our personal brand, we aim to generate rapport and establish relationships through our interpersonal communication. The goal is to build trust and, frankly, get the other person to like us. We enter dealings and provide favors to people we know, like, and trust so it is crucial that the other person perceives you and their interaction(s) with you favorably.

Now, to be specific, interpersonal communication encompasses both verbal and nonverbal communication. While we think our verbal communication conveys all our messaging to others, it’s our microexpressions—these subtle and nonconscious bodily movements—and overall body language that communicate our true feelings. It is the subtleties that can make the difference between a fruitful interaction and a bad impression.

It takes a strong self-awareness to remain cognizant of how you present yourself to the other person. Just like most things, it takes practice and patience.

Networking

After we’ve communicated our personal brand and started building relationships with like-minded individuals, we shift our attention to the art of networking. This involves finding opportunities to engage with others, cultivating existing relationships, continuing to communicate your personal brand, and sourcing potential connections. Developing a networking strategy is crucial because we can’t be everywhere at once, but we can strategically choose where to invest our time and energy to maximize our connections.

Networking activities include but are not limited to: attending local events, setting up one-on-one meetings, and joining or even starting mastermind groups. In my opinion, networking is tactical, and building relationships is focused on cultivating. When we say we network, we should use a selective approach for how we are creating opportunities to interact with individuals whom we would like to envelop into our network or approach an opportunity for collaboration.

After the initial interaction, it’s about cultivating the relationship, learning about the other person’s ambitions, and goals, and searching for an opportunity to add value.

Generating Value for Others

The final aspect of the framework is generating value for others. It’s not enough to merely communicate your personal brand, network, and build relationships. To be truly effective, you must also provide value to others by sharing resources, information, or personnel that can benefit them. This requires improving your skill sets, practicing reciprocity, and being curious about the problems others are trying to solve. Building relationships involves solving problems together, often by tapping into the collective genius within your network.

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In conclusion, the PING framework offers a structured approach to expanding your professional network. It’s beneficial to have a step-by-step process that you can follow or implement when building your professional connections.

In future articles, we will delve deeper into each element of the PING framework (and related tactics) to help you maximize your networking efforts.

Author’s note: The views expressed in this article are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

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