Online networking has broken a networking model that has been largely unchanged for the past 30 years. And the opportunities are endless - as long as you do it right.

James West, co-founder of ONLE Networking, explains the new rules of business networking - online, in-person, or both.

Business networking offers huge potential benefits for business owners and leaders. From building a healthy pipeline and making sales to learning about demand for your products and services, through to gaining friendship and support from people experiencing the same challenges as you, the takeaways from business networking are myriad and powerful.

Yet in the past few years, the networking landscape has undergone the biggest change in its history. To continue networking effectively and not miss out, it’s important to understand these changes. To start, let’s look at the traditional networking model and why it’s been challenged.

What’s the traditional networking model…

The approach pioneered largely by BNI has held sway since the 1990s: ultra-localised, in-person networking meetings held on a weekly basis. Members of each meeting (chapter) ‘lock out’ their category which means each group has just one accountant, one web designer. And the members are tasked with finding business opportunities for their fellow members.

**“For the first time, we now have different ways to network,”** *James West, ONLE Networking*

When this works well, each member has a sales force working on their behalf helping them generate new sales. There are a number of downsides to this approach, such as the pressure for members to deliver for their network, the time and effort it takes to refer to others and the ethical/practical implications of referring outside of the group because when the supplier in your networking circle is not right for the person you are referring to. And the selling point of ‘locking out’ your competitors is now largely irrelevant since the internet gave visibility to suppliers that simply didn’t exist when the traditional model of networking was created.

…and does the model still work?

While the downsides of traditional networking remain, the model will continue to work for the foreseeable future for those willing to put the effort in. But the important takeaway here is that the traditional way is no longer the ONLY way to network.

Localised networking - whether it is category restricted or not - has held a virtual monopoly for many years until we reached a critical moment: COVID. As I will explain, the rise of online networking, driven by world events, presents a whole new way to network. To ensure you’re not being left behind, it’s important to understand the context and opportunity which is now available to you if you want to use networking to build your business.

Our vision (pipedream?) for a new way of networking

When we launched ONLE in 2018, one of our primary goals was to create a network that combined the intimacy and familiarity of in-person business networking with the unlimited reach and breadth of online communications. It’s why ONLE stands for Online Networking Live Experiences.

Combining these two seemingly very complimentary approaches to networking made perfect sense. The potential upside looked enormous - we could network everywhere from anywhere. However, despite the backing of logic and our own enthusiasm, even people who loved what we had created didn’t agree.

The problem was that while we were running Zoom networking events alongside our in-person events, encouraging members and visitors to attend was an uphill battle. Members attended mostly out of curiosity or loyalty to us. Most enjoyed it and gave us good feedback. But the general consensus was that online was a poor substitute for in-person networking: “Thanks but no thanks” was the typical feedback.

*Online networking has allowed us to connect members around the world*

So when the world went into lockdown, we held an advantage over the majority of other business networks. Namely, we knew what worked online, what didn’t, and crucially, we’d already mastered Zoom for online networking. This meant that when our members gave online networking their full attention, they began to understand its nuances and advantages. And very quickly, a new way of networking began to emerge that was efficient, enjoyable and offered a range and scale of networking that was previously unimaginable.

Fast-forward to 2023, and we’re now an online-only network, operating 22 groups predominantly in the UK and two in the United States. We’ve already seen a seismic shift in the way people network - with members building relationships and conducting business with members from across the world.

As a fan of business networking, watching this dynamic has been fascinating. There is now a second, legitimate way to network whereas once there was one. And although it is still early days and online networking is not perfect, this shift has inspired me to think about the new rules of business networking.

The new rules of business networking

1) You must build meaningful, mutually-beneficial business relationships. In all circumstances.

Whether you meet in-person, online, or both, networking is a two-way process. If you attend networking thinking people will help you just because you are there, think again. We all need to gain something from networking so show interest and endeavour to help the people you meet before expecting to receive attention and help from them.

This rule applied in-person and is arguably more important online, where the natural stance is distrust. The volume of people using LinkedIn to cold call using the cover of a ‘connection’ is feeding our paranoia. Therefore, if you want to build trust with your ONLINE network, you must behave in a way that shows, very clearly, that you are willing to help and not just seeking to receive.

Online, it’s all too easy to get distracted and only engage when speaking. We wouldn’t behave this way in person so why is acceptable online? It’s not! The people who are forging ahead and getting massive results online are those who engage with the people they speak to. This rule applies irrespective of the medium - it’s just a basic rule of networking and building relationships.

2) Know your audience, your product and what you want.

Differentiation is one of the biggest challenges of building a business: why are you better than the next 50 suppliers? It’s no longer enough to say you build websites - why is your model, service or outcome preferable and for whom? This is even more apparent online where the noise from competitors is so loud. It’s a challenge that all businesses must face if they want to gain from networking. The people you meet at networking can only help if you clearly explain what you do, who it’s for and what you want. It’s your responsibility to do that work - not the people you meet at networking. (Although they are the best people to give you feedback on your messaging if you pay attention to their reaction/ask for it).

3) Make your network manageable: quality not quality.

You might have 3000+ LinkedIn connections, but I guarantee you don’t have relationships with them all! Dunbar’s Number states that on average we hold 150 meaningful relationships at any one time. 'Meaningful’ as in you’ll know about the person’s personality, preferences and offering - crucial pieces of information to access when asked for recommendations in your network.

The limit to our number of true connections is partly why localised networking has worked for so long: it’s easier to build deep connections with 30 people compared to hundreds. While online networking gives us limitless reach and volume of connections, you have to build DEPTH into your relationships otherwise the connections are meaningless. In other words, you have to talk to your connections! That can be on Zoom/video communications, via messaging/Whatsapp, comments on social media posts, etc. And it’s important to realise that relationship building is not a ‘one-and-done’ procedure. Relationships are not built on one conversation. This is the reason at ONLE we’ve preserved small, regionalised networking groups because it means our members can build the intimacy and familiarity that is important to making networking feel manageable and give relationships time to develop.

4) Don’t miss out because of your networking preferences.

You may prefer in-person networking (I did). And you may think that will always be the case (I did). But you may find that if you persevere with online networking and endeavour to understand how it works, you’ll not only learn to enjoy it, you may end up preferring it (I did!). Many of our members have been through the same journey and now prefer online networking. And in the best examples, the members who have used the range and reach of online networking to sell far beyond their local network, make connections across the world that lead to countless business opportunities previously not accessible to them.

If time permits, you can certainly partake in a mixture of online networking and in-person. But the takeaway of this rule is that it’s how you approach any form of networking, not an intrinsic weakness in the medium itself, which will define whether it works for you or not.

5) The range of your networking will define the range of your network.

How far do people travel to an in-person networking event? 10 miles? Maybe 30 in extreme cases? Unless you are a business that only serves locally, this is incredibly limiting. If you learn to network online effectively, this range limitation quickly becomes laughably limited. I explained during rule 3) that the starting point for our networking is the small, regionalised groups to keep things manageable. But we also allow our members to visit other regions and attend regular all-member events where they can extend their network nationally and thanks to our US groups, internationally too. In-person networking will NEVER offer that, and so if that’s your only networking option, your networking range will forever be limited.

6) Use social media and digital tools to connect the dots.

If you’re networking and not using LinkedIn to deepen your relationships, you are missing a vital piece. Whereas once our options for getting to know the people we met networking were limited to in-person catchups and maybe a phone call, video calling, online chat and social media now allow us to learn about each other in a timely way. By interacting with their social media posts, we not only support the people we network with, we remind them we are there and willing to support them. And if you use a CRM system to track your relationships, the things you’ve promised and any leads you gain, you also make sure not to miss any networking opportunities.

7) Be open to meeting people previously excluded by networking.

By virtue of the format, in-person networking massively favoured the extrovert. Those people who could dominate the room had a huge advantage. Therefore introverts attended these networking events because they had no choice - it was the only option available. Online networking levels the playing field by standardising everyone into a small window and allows people to speak to who they want to in a controlled manner, which has made networking accessible to people who previously felt disadvantaged.

As well as meeting people preferring the online experience, you’ll meet others who were ordinarily excluded from networking for myriad reasons: neurodiverisity, location, physical challenges, and circumstances such as lack of childcare or access to transport. Networking is about serendipity - you never know who a great connection might be. Meeting people from different places, cultures and walks of life means networking stays fresh and offers us opportunities not previously available with in-person networking.

Conclusion - the future of (your) networking

This blog isn’t designed to discourage people from face-to-face networking. If you enjoy it and get benefit from it, why would you stop? However, there are many people who have written off the potential of online networking, perhaps because of bad experiences. Remember - what you may have experienced so far is version 1.0 of something that isn’t going away. The rules, range and variety of networking have already changed because of online and will continue to do so. The opportunity of online networking to allow you to connect with people globally and use technology to efficiently short-cut your relationship building is extraordinary and will keep getting better. So don’t miss out!

And if you want to learn the right way to network online? Please book a complimentary place at one of our upcoming online workshops: How To Network Online. You’ll meet myself and my wife, Kelly, (co-founders of ONLE) and learn how we’ve adapted our networking activities to take advantage of the opportunities online. We look forward to seeing you there.
Book your free space on How To Network Online.