One of the best things about office workspace, especially shared or coworking space in Miami, is the ability to interact with others that share a common interest. While it comes easily for some, forming relationships with colleagues in the same business center can be full of confusion and frustration for others. Are you truly taking advantage of your office workspace networking potential? Take our quiz to find out your networking skill rank, and then read on to hear our 5 expert tips for improving your connection potential.
Office Workspace Networking– 7 Question Survey
- You’ve caught site of a business in your office workspace on social media. Do you reach out and initiate contact by knocking on their door, would you feel more comfortable messaging them online, or would you just wait until you happen to run into them sometime?
- Percentage of time the people in your office workspace smile and make eye contact with you when casually passing by in a shared space?
- You would feel comfortable approaching someone you had never met before in your office workspace to ask for professional help. True or false?
- Number of times you’ve given someone in your office workspace a referral over the past 6 to 12 months.
- Number of times you’ve gotten a referral from someone in your office workspace over the past 6 to 12 months.
- You would strike up a conversation with a colleague in a common lounge or café area as a way to relax while taking a break from your work. True/false.
- Do you view the center staff as potential network connectors who could introduce you to other people at the center, or do you see them only as service staff who are there to get operational tasks accomplished?
How did you do?
Tally the results according to the following point system.
- If you answered “reach out and knock”, give yourself 10 points. If you answered “messaging online”, give yourself 5 points. If you do nothing, you earned 0 points.
- For 100 to 70%, give yourself 10 points, for 70 to 30%, give yourself 5 points, for 0 to 30%, give yourself 0 points.
- For true, take 10 points. For false, take 0 points.
- For 10+ times, take 10 points. For 5 to 10 times, take 5 points. For 0 to 5 times, take 0 points.
- For 10+ times, take 10 points. For 5 to 10 times, take 5 points. For 0 to 5 times, take 0 points.
- For true, take 10 points. For false, take 0 points.
- If you answered “connectors”, you earned 10 points. If you answered “service staff”, take 0 points.
If you totaled 0 to 20 points, welcome to office workspace networking! You’ve made a great start and are on your own. Read on to hear more useful tips.
If you were within the 20 to 40 point range, you’re a moderately active networkers who could probably benefit from some new ideas – plenty of those on the way, keep reading!
If you scored from 40 to 70 points, you’re a networking guru whose next move is to up your game with some advanced office workspace techniques. You’ll hear about those later in this blog – stay tuned!
5 Tips for Business Networking Excellence within Office Workspace
Whether it’s space in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, or any of the other popular business center locale in South Florida, taking advantage of the human capital in your business center is going to mean huge gains for your income statement.
Tip #1: Check Your Body Language
Remember that most communication is non verbal. While relationships are developed through verbal communication, you’ve got to give people the message within your office workspace that you’re open to them. Invite them into your sphere with a gentle smile, relaxed body language that is open and welcoming, and eye contact.
Tip #2: Be Opportunistically Selective
At the same time that you are opening yourself to others, be aware that not everyone in your office workspace is going to feel the same way. Not everyone rents a space in Miami for the Miami networking fiesta; for some, office workspace is for office work only. That’s their prerogative and should be respected – best to move on to another networking prospect. Be careful to pick up on non verbal cues such as a lack of eye contact and postures that are closed, such as having arms folded or someone pointing their body or their gaze away from you. Pay attention to the signs elicited by other people’s body language and use it as a networking “compass” so to speak.
If you scored poorly on questions #2, #3 or #6, use this tip as a guide for when to approach a colleague and when to leave them alone.
Tip #3: Be a Giver
Give, give, give and then give more until you’re blue in the face. Have you ever heard the phrase “pay it forward.” There’s nothing that says more that you’re committed to a relationship with another business than doing something positive for them, whether it be through a nice, ripe introduction to a potential client for them, a useful vendor relationships, a copy of a book or white paper you wrote, 20 minutes of free IT consultation, etc. The list goes on and on. The more useful you can be as a networking partner, the more the people in your office workspace will come to know you as such. Higher value, higher connection status, higher referrals, the more people are talking about you, and the next thing you know you’re getting inquiries about your service. The best way to get a buzz going in a space in Miami (or anywhere else in the world) is to be known as a positive person, a resource for others. The best sellers are givers.
If you score poorly on questions #4 and #5, consider this tip.
Tip #4: Connect Digitally
The digital revolution rolls on and on. Use the power of the Internet to foster connections, both before and after you meet in person. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, name your social media platform of choice! Researching the people who work at a particular company will make you doubly prepped for a social event at the business center. People love to talk about themselves – so the more you can prompt them with insightful questions based on your research prior to meeting, the smoother and less awkward a first meeting will be.
Some coworking spaces, such as Quest Workspaces, offer their own internal social media network. Quest’s Flitter portal allows users from one of their locations, let’s say space in Miami, to connect with any other Quester in 8 other locations around the country, from West Palm Beach to Coral Gables, Doral, and even a new center in Plantation, Florida.
Virtual networking should never be a substitute, however, for in person interaction. Trust is built between two people on the basis on one on one time spent. If you want to grow your business sphere, it’s great to use the Internet but when it comes down to it you are eventually going to have to meet face to face.
If you scored poorly on question #1, keep this advice in mind.
Tip #5: Leverage Community Centers of Influence
When looking for your match, use the matchmaker. The staff that works at the office workspace — whether they be operations, front desk, community managers, or otherwise – are great resources for making connections. Not only do they know the low down, it can take the edge off an icy first meeting when the two participants know someone in common.
Take the following scenario. Let’s say that you are an attorney and your client comes to you asking for tax advice. You don’t know any CPAs in your local Miami area, but there are several in your space in Miami. Take a shortcut and ask your community contact person who the best CPA in your office workspace is, and find out the real story.
On the flip side, be mindful of your reputation with business center staff as well. Reputation is the strongest marketing tool. The people who work at the office space are a great referral source. Moreover, many business center personnel will perform out-of-the-box acts of client service for their clients, so it can’t hurt to get to know them!
If you scored poorly on question #7, this tip is for you!
Location vs. Locution
It has been said that when it comes to real estate, location is key. What about locution? If you want to get a big business, getting loquacious is the best way to get known. Now you know your survey score and some areas for improvement. Off to the races! If you’re looking to become part of an inspiring business community that will give you the freedom to work the way you want and grow your business with ease, email info@questworkspaces.com.
