Interview by Deborah Johnson
Photography by Christopher Owens
Networking. A word that strikes fear into the hearts of many of us. How do I do it? Where do I go? Which of the hundreds of events each week do I attend? Do I actually have to speak to people?!
And for those who are more confident networkers, how many of us really have a strategy behind what we’re doing? We may be regularly out and about and known to many, but when it comes to having a plan - in the way you might for social media or traditional marketing activity - is there a strategic approach behind it?
Networking is, in all honesty, an area in which the vast majority of people need a bit (or a lot) of guidance in how to make it effective, relevant, meaningful and successful. And that’s why we need to know Jeni Smith.
An entrepreneur and seasoned networker herself for the past 16 years, she is now a networking strategist who has produced two white papers with Durham University on the power and role of strategic networking, and is currently studying for a PhD on the subject.
And through her business, NetKno, she is uniting the academic theory of networking with the practical reality to create bespoke plans for businesses on how to network smarter and achieve the desired outcomes for them, whatever they may be.
“Through social media, we're used to being validated very quickly, we want the dopamine hit from that, it's very short-term. Whereas in personal relationships, it's a long-term game to build real trust with another person. It’s a lot of graft but it’s worth it.”
For businesses across the North East, they are seeing for themselves the power of having an effective networking strategy, thanks to Jeni. Armed with a plan developed around their individual goals and ambitions, and supported by NetKno’s Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, they can get out and about into the region’s business and social scene in a more targeted and impactful way than ever before.
“Networking has genuinely got the power to change people's lives and their businesses,” says Jeni, whose work in this field has been recognised through being named one of the Future 100 Young Entrepreneurs in the UK, being a finalist in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2021 and 2022, and being named by the Telegraph as one of their 100 Women to Watch.
“That one interaction, that one connection or referral, can completely change the trajectory of someone's business or startup. And my goal has always been to help empower people to do that, to get more from it, to utilise those opportunities, whether that's through building confidence, through education, through strategy, whatever it is.
“All the different products and services that I throw at people are designed around that purpose, to help them network and get more from opportunities.”
And for Jeni, who is planning the geographical expansion of NetKno based on its success in her home region so far, a personal success is that now, finally, networking is being given the due recognition it deserves - but with a lot of work still to do.
“It’s a sector I feel deserves to be taken more seriously. I do feel I have a point to prove,” she says.
“But I’m very ambitious, I’m really driven, and I think my PhD is empowering me to contribute additional knowledge to the field, whilst almost getting that validation of networking as a strategic and professional tool.
“While I do feel I have something to prove, when I hear of the difference this is making to clients, that’s everything for me. That’s what it’s about. For me and for my clients.”
The power of the network
Sixteen years ago, when she was a student in Liverpool, Jeni first realised the value of a strategic network.
While her first precarious steps into networking are something she remembers only too well - “I was genuinely terrified, I hid in the toilets for most of the first two or three events I went to” - the growing numbers of connections Jeni made through her increasing confidence and ability to interact made her a known and welcome guest at events.
“I found that I would meet someone and talk to them, and I'd go ‘Oh, did you speak to this person?’ I’d start matchmaking people, and you realise quickly how valuable that is to others,” she says.
“And by doing that, you become more valuable to other people, it increases your social capital, essentially. And the more people you know, the more people want to know you.”
After graduation, Jeni moved into networking full time, making connections on behalf of several clients and making vital introductions and strategic connections into their businesses.
It’s at that point, she recalls, the value of strategic networking really hit home to her - although others remained more sceptical, something she still comes across even now in her dealings with businesses.
“I think it’s because networking is quite a mysterious thing in some ways, it’s hard to find tangible elements to it,” says Jeni.
“You can't really get the data to it like you can with social media, it's different. It's a lot more emotive, it's about relationships and personal feelings, it’s harder to develop in person, you have to invest the time into it.
“When it comes to online, we often focus on volume. So numbers, data, how many followers have you got, what's the engagement rate, how many click throughs are there? It's all about the numbers, and we can often lose sight of the person on the other side.
“But with the in-person network, it's much more about building real connections with other humans, and that does take time.
“Through social media, we're used to being validated very quickly, we want the dopamine hit from that - it's very short-term. Whereas in personal relationships, it's a long-term game to build real trust with another person. It’s a lot of graft but it’s worth it.”
Teaching the strategy and supporting with honing the necessary skills is something businesses are becoming increasingly receptive to, says Jeni.
“I think because networking has that mysterious element to it, it’s a lot harder to productise and monetise. It’s taken 16 years to hone the power in a way that is helping others, to help them to work smarter and to build the network that will be so important for them and their business,” she says.
“But I think more and more people are now wanting to invest in their networking activities, and really have that strategy behind it. They know the value of a social media strategy or a marketing strategy, and a lot more individuals and businesses are investing in themselves now. People know the value of referrals, testimonials, trust, and they’re willing to invest to develop that further. It’s brilliant to see that some sectors, like professional services, are adopting this really quickly.”
And through the creation of NetKno, Jeni works closely with each client to understand what they want to achieve, and supports them in unlocking that through a bespoke strategy.
“Usually it starts with helping businesses define what they actually want to achieve out of networking. Is it just raising their profile? Is it brand awareness? Is it sourcing suppliers? Is it sales?
There are loads of different reasons why people might want to go and network, but first and foremost, it's helping them to find those objectives and then we can create that strategy for them,” says Jeni.
“When it comes to online, we often focus on volume. So numbers, data, how many followers have you got, what's the engagement rate, how many click throughs are there? It's all about the numbers, and we can often lose sight of the person on the other side.”
Networking in a post-COVID world
For a business based on personal interaction, you’d probably think the worst possible time to launch could be at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that’s exactly what Jeni did with NetKno in April 2020.
Having meticulously planned the launch, and the date coinciding with the end of her maternity leave, the onset of a global pandemic was not in the masterplan.
“It probably looks like a ridiculous time to launch, and it did feel like that at the time, in some ways. But actually, it was the best time because people needed their networks, they needed each other. And they needed to learn how to nurture relationships in a different way,” says Jeni.
All of a sudden, networking of a different kind was born, where virtual interaction was the norm. But for Jeni, while there is a place for relationships nurtured remotely, it only served to show the importance of in-person interaction.
“Suddenly everything got cancelled, there were no networking events, nothing. It was pretty scary for a business which relies on social interactions,” she recalls.
“But I think lockdown really highlighted how powerful it is to get into the same room and sit down and have a coffee with someone, or to walk into a room and chat over a dinner with someone. I think at that point we realised what it means to us, that as humans we need that connection in person.
“But now the world is opening back up again, while we know the importance of meeting in-person, people have lost those skills a bit, they’ve lost confidence, which is understandable. We’ve been told so often and for so long that we can’t get close to strangers and then you’re expected to walk back into a room and shake hands with them.
“We live in a digital world where we communicate through our screens. And as digital adoption has increased, our natural ability to have real-time conversations in person with other people is diminishing.
“And then throw in the fact that we were locked away for two years, our natural ability to walk into a room full of strangers and have a conversation has of course been badly affected. It has never been an easy thing to do, but now that we are so used to communicating through screens, where we can edit ourselves, we can use emojis to express ourselves, there's a lot of social anxiety.
“We’ve all lost that bit of confidence, so it’s good to be helping people to rebuild that and rebuild their business or continue to thrive or find new opportunities - whatever it is that they’re looking to achieve.”
The importance of being yourself
While there are so many facets to being an effective networker, there can be no one piece of advice that can ensure success - but something Jeni does advocate is to be yourself.
On her website, alongside the plethora of resources and practical tips and guidance, Jeni shares a lot of personal experiences: she details why she sought therapy; her Year in the Life of a Startup includes her devastating experience of miscarriage; she discusses her sobriety.
“In order to build relationships when you network, you have to be authentic, you have to be yourself, you have to build that trust with people, and find people who share your views and agree with you,” she says.
“I've always tried to be very open about who I am in the hope that people feel they know me a bit better and can talk to me, in the hope that it will encourage them to share themselves as well.
“I think when you do that, you find those meaningful connections, so when something bad does happen, you’ve got people around you who can understand. That’s what networking is.
“So with me, I’ve talked about my sobriety and how I’ll have been sober for six years this year. While filming a documentary I was making about being a startup, we suffered a miscarriage, and I made the decision to share that and talk about it. And it helped me. It was quite a selfish decision in a way, but that helped me to get through it at the time. I had literally thousands of people contacting me about their own experiences, it was unbelievable.”
And while Jeni stresses it is a personal choice as to how much you want to share, the willingness to be open about yourself can be a vital part of the whole networking process.
“It’s a big thing to find the courage to walk into a room and talk to people, and also having the courage to be yourself,” she says.
“I still remember the first events I went to as a student and how terrifying it was. But by being me, that is how the confidence came and things started to happen.
“And I think through being open, so people come to feel they know you, they will get in touch and tell you their experiences. I’ll get people messaging me and telling me a video I made has helped them, and that’s it for me. You can’t buy that, that’s everything.”
“In order to build relationships when you network, you have to be authentic, you have to be yourself, you have to build that trust with people, and find people who share your views and agree with you”
The future of networking
While the demand for networking support is only increasing, and NetKno is already eyeing expansion beyond the North East, more and more professionals are being supported in growing their confidence in positively expanding their networks.
But one area in which Jeni is also looking to make an impact is in supporting young people to develop the essential confidence and social skills needed to ensure they can develop a career.
Working with universities across the country, as well as being a mum herself, Jeni is acutely aware of the challenges facing our next generation of workers and entrepreneurs - one of the main ones being social interaction.
With two years lost in developing interpersonal skills through the COVID pandemic, and few efforts from schools at formative ages to develop the tools needed to enable young people to interact with the world, Jeni sees networking for younger people as being vital.
“We often think of networking as a business development tool, which it is, but it's also a personal development tool,” she says.
“I think the social anxiety that young people have because they’re young has been made so much worse over the past two years. A lot of that is because of how they communicate, which is not their fault, it’s the world we live in.
“But because of that, networking then becomes more and more scary for younger people. When you’re a teenager, you’ll need to go out and look for work experience or interviews or go to university or college, and it’s just terrifying. They’re genuinely scared.
“Young people turn to social media to feel like they’re connected to people, but they’re not real relationships or meaningful connections.
“Research has proven the impact networking has on career progression, but we need to be looking at helping these young people with their personal development and presentation skills - all of the amazing things that can help their confidence and impact their mental and emotional health.
“If you have someone coming in for an interview who can look you in the eye and have a conversation, who you can put in front of your customers confidently, versus someone who maybe on paper is a bit smarter but can’t have a conversation or speak to people, then who are you going to choose? It’s not the fault of these young people at all, it’s the world they were born into and when they were born into it.
“That’s something I’d like to see so much more of - networking being used to help create the skills. They call them ‘soft skills’ but I hate that - they’re too important to be called that. They’re essential skills. Young people need the help to go out into the world confidently, rather than being thrown out into the world and feeling lost.”