When you want to ‘make something simple’ to understand or remember, forming an acronym is a great place to start.
To become a master of networking, remember the acronym FLOW… F-L-O-W:
F - The letter F stands for ‘Follow Up’.
The most common mistake that people make when trying to build a relationship with a new person or business is that they simply do not follow up.
For artists, producers, and other creative professionals who are starting out in the music industry, follow up is important because the people you are trying to build your team with are often disorganized and in need of reminders to follow through on their commitments.
For instance, you could be an artist following up to remind someone that told you they were going to write with you. Or you could be a new artist manager following up with your artist’s band, production crew and other support team to make sure everyone is where they need to be on time.
After you have gotten your organizational chops up, such as using your calendar to lock in with your team, you will often find yourself needing to follow up for different reasons… because people are busy.
The more you are communicating with high level executives, the more perseverance you will need to push your agenda forward. Because they are already slammed with too many communications and requests, high level executives must learn to be extremely deliberate in how they choose to spend their time.
So don’t take it personally if you don’t get a response quickly… or at all. Follow up and be sure to bring something of value to the table if you are trying to network with them.
L - The letter L stands for ‘Learn’.
If you really want to build a relationship with someone, take the time to learn about them. Find out what you can through a quick internet search. What social media accounts do they have? What are they posting about? Do they have a personal website? What is their position at the company they work for? If they are creative, who have they worked with previously that you might have a connection to?
Learn about the people you want to network with, and let them know specifically why you think they are great! You might be surprised how many doors that one tip can open for you.
O - The letter O stands for ‘Organize’.
If you are going to become a networking ninja, you absolutely must get organized. When you are constantly growing your network, the number of contacts and relationships you have to keep up with gets really messy.
And you can only benefit from your network to the degree that you can leverage the people who are in your network. You must learn to organize the information that you collect about key people so that you can leverage it in the future.
This is why the World Economic Forum reported in 2017 that the worldwide value of data has now surpassed that of oil, making data the world’s most valuable resource.
The best way to organize your data is through a CRM - Customer Relationship Management - software that is designed to collect information about all of your relationships. Most CRMs also allow you to send emails and even other messages through them so that you can track your previous communications with the people you contact.
For entrepreneurs starting out I recommend using Salesmate as a very affordable starter CRM that still has a lot of powerful features.
For creatives like artists, producers, and songwriters, I recommend using a more message based CRM like Amo.
Even if you just use Google Sheets, make sure you are collecting and organizing data on the individuals that you feel are important to your career.
W - The letter W is a checklist for making all of this practical…who, what, why, win-win & the whole world.
Who are you trying to network with? Get specific!
What are you trying to accomplish? If you aren’t clear on your mission and goals, it will be difficult to get people excited about what you are doing.
Why should they care? Do you have a good brand or marketing narrative that shows you are taking yourself seriously? This is especially important if you are pitching music to busy executives. Learn our top 3 tips here.
Win-win… how is this relationship going to benefit both parties involved? No matter how great you become at networking, you won’t be able to build long term success with your partners until you learn to think win-win.
The whole world… technology has now connected everyone. Don’t forget that there are billions of people out there, and your perfect partner may not actually be in your town.
Here’s a recap to make sure you remember the formula to make music industry networking simple and easy: Use the acronym F-L-O-W
Follow Up!
Learn about the people you are networking with.
Organize the information that you collect about your relationships.
Get specific enough to answer the questions who, what, why, win-win, and the whole world!
For more thoughts on building your team and manifesting your vision, read the post ‘Big Plans and Partnerships.’
If you have big plans and are looking for resources to build your team and navigate your music career, check out the HOME Online Membership and begin growing with a network of hundreds of Homies and access to thousands of key music industry relationships.