We’ve blogged about business networking in every shape and form: reviews, strategies, techniques, insights but never, ever fashion. Guest blogger Emmi Sorokin, a national men’s stylist, says it’s just as important.

As we all know when it comes to business networking first impressions are key and often determine the quality of connections you make. You get only one shot to come across as confident and competent from the start and your goal is to make people want to get to know you better after the initial meeting. Personality and interpersonal communication skills can take you very far, but it all starts with you looking like a quality connection yourself.

A Poorly Dressed Networker in Action

Clothing greatly impacts a key component of networking effectively, confidence. And if you’re not taking advantage of that, you’re missing out. The good news is that dressing well really doesn’t require that much more effort than looking just OK, once you’ve learned some basics. So what does that actually mean for the individual as he sets forth into the fray of a networking event? Start by making sure that you aren’t making any of these common mistakes. If you are, I given you the fix for each as well so on you can improve your chances of making an excellent first impression.

Poorly Fitting or Dated Clothes-

Men tend to select clothing that is too large for their frame, inadvertently making themselves look frumpy rather than masculine. They also hang onto to items in their closet way past the expiration date (think pleated dress slacks). Even worse than that, your peers don’t have to be fashion-savvy to spot your aged threads. Over the past decade, a shift in style has emphasized a slim silhouette. The leaner fit is has become so commonplace that anything lacking a tailored look stands out like a Hummer in a lot of Honda Priuses. It doesn’t take a GQ subscriber to see which of these things is not like the other, and the last thing you want is to give the impression that you or your skills are anything less than current.

Above: Traditional cut shirt and khakis engulf his frame.

The Fix:
Many brands now offer dress shirts in a slimmer cut, a welcome improvement over the traditional boxy fit for a lot of men. These more flattering styles are available from Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Geoffrey Beene, etc. The slimmer fit will be notated on the shirt’s tag using terms like City Fit, Modern Cut, and Tailored. This attention to body flattering lines has not stopped at the waist. Pants, from casual jeans to wool dress slacks and every fabric in between now come in a variety of fits as well.

Above: Modern cut dress shirt and slim straight cut khakis

Too Casual- You don’t have to wear a suit and tie to look professional or to be dressed well. Although internet casual has been embraced by the many, the T-shirt and jeans combo is not the new suit, except maybe in Los Angeles. The key to looking professional without resorting to suiting up is to make sure everything you have on fits well, appears new and clean with attention paid to the details. Clothing that is wrinkled or looks to be in less than excellent condition does not portray a solid professional image.

Above: Baggy jeans and T-shirt

The Fix:
Choose jeans with a darker wash (but not black) because they look dressier than their light blue counterparts. Select slacks that have a small amount of Lycra in the fabric, this will help them retain their shape throughout the day. If you aren’t going to wear a sport coat or suit  add another distinguishing touch by wearing a french cuff dress shirt with cuff links or a well made, lightweight sweater. For dress shirts use metal collar stays to ensure your collar won’t curl and stays stiff.

Above: Darker wash slim cut jean and quarter zip sweater

Above: Collars show wear on a shirt, keep them straight and stiff with metal stays (below)

Losing Your Distinction-

Don’t default to the lowest-common-denominator mentality when it comes to business casual (Polo+Khaki, sound familiar?), and internet casual doesn’t mean reverting back to looking like an intern. Yet while you want to avoid losing your identity in a sea of lackluster polos and khakis, be careful not to confuse distinction with flash.

Above: The ubiquitous polo and khaki

The Fix:
Pick up updated versions of the business casual classics with subtle creative detailing. From a distance you’ll simply look well put together and up close there is even more to admire.  Rather than black pants select a pair with a subtle plaid or pinstripe. Also consider a button down shirt with a patterned weave instead of a solid. When it comes to sweaters opt for a deep blue or forest green instead of grey. It’s actually easier to set yourself apart as a leader in a business casual atmosphere because the majority of your colleagues will be opting for the uninspired default polo and khaki uniform.

Above: Deep blue v-neck sweater and grey glen plaid slacks

Above: White stripe weave dress shirt, distinct but not flashy

The hard fact of the matter is that first impressions count. Especially when you network for business. Making a good, lasting impression isn’t all about what you say or how you act, it includes your personal style. Make sure your’s isn’t saying the wrong thing.

Emmi Sorokin is a national men’s image stylist and Founder of It’s a Man’s World Image Consulting, the first and only image and style firm in New England exclusively for men. Dressing her clients for personal and professional success, Emmi has been quoted in national magazines such as Research and Men’s Health. As one client put it, “Emmi is the only men’s image consultant who is frugal, brutally honest, speaks fluent man-ese, and has rabid fans.” You can follow Emmi on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/AskEmmi and get more style guidance at www.amansworldco.com/wordpress.

This is the second in our series of meeting our Inquisix community members.  Thank you to Rick Roberge, master networker and sales coach with David Kurlan & Associates — and an Inquisix member since December 2007. Rick spent some time to answer a few of our questions about trends in business and networking and we’re much obliged.

This is Part II of our interview with Shiera O’Brien, Inquisix member since April ’08.  Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, she recently started an Inquisix Group, The Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders. 

If you missed Part One just click HERE. Now on to Shiera…

About the Inquisix Group you started- The Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders Group- please tell us more…

I started the Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders Group because I was keen to bring Inquisix to my contacts there and try and replicate an on-line experience of the great networking events they put on around Dublin. I run a program at the Chamber called “Maximize Your Membership,” how to really get value from networking, because the consistent problem was that people let it all slide after attending an event. They never followed up. And that can be expensive. So I thought with Inquisix, we could keep the momentum.

Do you see a specific need that Inquisix addresses of your group?

Inquisix allows the group to start building their on-line network and continue the conversations they have had at the Dublin Chamber events. It will strengthen the ties within the group and encourage them to trade and conduct commerce between each other. It is still in the early adopter phase. We are planning to do an on-line event with Michael Kreppein to demonstrate the power of this tool to help our members. We hope to do that in the next month and really get the buzz going about Inquisix over the summer months.

If you could get across one thing about Inquisix to a perspective member what would it be?

Inquisix is like clean energy in on-line networks – no noise polution, no spam footprint & a cleaner world. It’s real and you do make connections.

I really love the clean way the information is presented, I’m not bombarbed with job adverts and spam, which is a serious problem with other tools, which devalue the experience of on-line networking. So keep it clean and it will build loyalty. With Inquisix, I can just get on with the job, which is to make connections and build a business network worth participating in and generate real business opportunities.

Thank you for talking with us Shiera, Happy Connecting!

For more information on how you can start your own group or about our affiliate program, contact Michael Kreppein.

We were lucky to grab this very busy power networker – meet Shiera O’Brien, Inquisix member since April ’08.  Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, she recently started an Inquisix Group, The Dublin Chamber Business Referral Traders. 

Hi Shiera, so tell us about your business.

Zenith Training and Development is my business. I work specifically with sales professionals, helping them have more powerful sales conversations and meetings. I offer training and coaching to clients in the psychology of buying and selling and how to get better results from sales meetings and become a buying facilitator rather than a sales person.

Why do you network?

I network because meeting in person is powerful as an introduction to my company, and I am generally meeting people on the sales front line, so it’s the type of business introduction I want. I use on-line networking to back up my off-line/in-person networking and am sharing this methodology to all my contacts. I need other people to create a business network, and I want technology to do the work for me after I’ve put time and effort into an event.

What made you join Inquisix?

As an active member and Ambassador at The Dublin Chamber of Commerce, in Ireland, I found the on-line networking tools to be lacking in process, when it came to post-networking follow-up. Linked-In was too public; would I want to put all my contacts on public view? I loved the idea that I could keep my contacts in a Vault, yet allow others to tap into the contact pool and return the favour. The real attraction is holding contact privates, yet opening the doors of opportunity to others and vice versa. We get a glimpse at the potential for real connections via this tool.

I found Inquisix mentioned in a blog and then was travelling to the US and met Michael Kreppein. I really liked how he communicated the vision of what they wanted to achieve with Inquisix and so far they’ve been loyal to this vision, willing to invest in supporting users in Ireland. Inquisix went a out of their way to make the address fields work for us here, which was the only way we could kick start things and build a community.

Prior to joining, I was doing lots of in-person business networking through local business groups. I found it to be useful, yet the missing link was an easy to use on-line follow-up tool- a system to follow-up that I could have on-line, that would keep track of all my contacts and referrals. The follow-up process and technology was the big missing link- I couldn’t work with the tools that existed out there, because of the public way it displayed contacts and there was no proper referral tool. Inquisix came across my screen when I did research on it for the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

What do you like best about Inquisix?

The layer of anonymity: I can see what’s happening in the world of my contacts. Somebody asks for a referral, and if I don’t see the real value in the connection, I can make a decision anonymously whether I want to give the referral or not, and relationships remain intact. I also like the pro-active referral tool. I meet people every day that I think should hook up and it’s great to be able to go in, hit a button and send on referral contact details with a note. Pure Magic. Like a gift in their In-Box. It’s a very powerful way to say “Hey, I am serious about helping you with your business, ” without always looking for a return favour. This helps build a reputation, which Inquisix tracks and profiles, so people can see how committed I am to networking in the local business community.

Easiest thing about Inquisix is, it does all the work I don’t like doing; keeping track, sending emails, and putting all that information on referral into somebody’s inbox with a few clicks. And it shows me graphically what is happening. It’s very well designed and takes the effort out of passing on contacts.

Any great examples of using Inquisix Trusted Referrals™?

I had a request from somebody in the network, who knew me, but I didn’t know them as well. I got the request one morning, called him, asked about his business, thought it was good fit, so I hit the referral button; 30 minutes later he was on the phone talking to a contact he had been looking to meet for 2-3 previous weeks. I gave him an additional contact in same business arena. So he got two targeted contacts from one request through Inquisix. This demonstrates the power of Inquisix and got me very excited about the possibilities it can bring to businesses in a way it hadn’t existed before.

What are the misconceptions about online networking? 

The misconceptions in this part of the world are based on people’s perceptions about social media in general. Can we trust these people? What if I give a referral? What will happen to my reputation?

The reality is, the next generation don’t have that at all, so as they come into the work force, Inquisix will be a natural tool to use; they will want to use it and won’t think twice about asking for a referral into a network they don’t personally know, they will make the connection and move to the next one. When somebody really embraces this technology they will experience rapid business growth.

Do you like the direction Inquisix is going? How do you see the future of networking?

Yes, Inquisix is going in the right direction. I like how it has closely replicated the real world of networking. Networking on-line is the way forward.We are in a time-poor work society, where connecting to the right person is absolutely vital. I can see that the next generation are going to drop all concerns and embrace this like no other group of people. They do not have the same “perceptions” around relationships. On-line relationships are as real to them as off-line relationships.

I see it being an integrated part of a Sales Strategy, CRM strategy and people will build profiles and businesses rapidly by embracing it now rather than adopting a wait-and-see-attitude. I am an early adopter and I am willing to put the effort in and harvest the reward over time. Like everything, Inquisix will reach a tipping point and create the snowball effect that will bring in the wider web community.

Next post : Part II, Shiera talks about starting an Inquisix Online Networking Referral Group.

For more information about how you can start your own group or about our affiliate program, contact Michael Kreppein.

(Goofy shirt not required)

Inquisix is looking for a few good great interns.  

Do you blog? Love business, marketing and PR? Fascinated by Social Media and can succinctly express yourself in 140 characters or less?

Inquisix is a up & coming business referral network start-up looking for some marketing and sales interns. This is an unpaid internship.

At Inquisix, we all wear a lot of hats. This is a fantastic opportunity for the right person. No coffee-making, no errands, no copying. You’ll be thrown right into the fray, get hands-on experience and will have genuine work-product to show for your efforts. Areas you may work on: strategy, blogging, tweeting, member relations, sales presentations/materials, and media outreach.

We want enthusiastic, creative entrepreneurial problem solvers who happen to be persuasive writers and speakers. Our interns will work remotely, so while we’re based in Boston, you needn’t be (though we prefer it)– you do need to be self-directed and be able to work independently, have a computer with dedicated Internet access and can consistently devote at least 10-15 hours a week to us. 

Above all be smart (book/street, it all works for us.)

So send shoot us an email with your resume and why you want to be our intern. Charm us, dazzle us. Be creative. 

Send your resume, pitch letter and a sample “tweet” to:

Betsy MacKinnon, V.P. Marketing & Communications at Inquisix 

betsy@inquisix.com

No one is arguing the power of Social Media (SM.)

Established players are getting involved heavily in SM: blogging, Facebook (and other social communities) and microblogging (like Twitter) to name a few.

What these sites facilitate are conversations; discussions about the product, service, product attributes, marketing, even customer problems and issues. Companies that “get it” know having a presence is not the end of their SM program. It’s the beginning.

So after you get that nifty, exquisitely designed, cutting-edge blog up and running, companies who thrive using SM realize it’s not enough to have the blog regularly updated. They start to listen. To respond. To react.

With Twitter, this listening can be much more active. It can actually be valuable customer service and sales tool.

For example let’s look at ComcastCares, the Twitter SM program run by Comcast Cable.  Tweet (that’s a Twitter message and it’s ≤140 characters) you have an issue with Comcast, within a minute you’ll get a message “Can I Help You?” from one of the ComcastCares team (mine was from @ComcastBonnie.) Helpful, unsolicited, almost immediate, it is a frank example of great customer service. 

Twitter is also great for selling.

Take how Dell Computers utilizes Twitter as a sales channel. First they made over $1 Million through their @Direct2Dell Twitter address, mostly by alerting followers of sales. Then they started offering exclusive Twitter discounts through the @DellOutlet Twitter address. Their 370,000+ followers basically get a sales email and are happy to receive it. It has been a huge success for Dell both as a sales and PR tool.

Twitter can be a research and sourcing resource.

Sometimes you just need to fine something. Fast. The early adopters of Twitter are from the creative, media, PR, marketing academic, investing, technology, and finance. Think these people can help you? Probably. And most are happy to help. You can tweet a question and get an answer back sooner than later. There are also “hashtag” (#) groups- some are dedicated to small businesses, PR, journalists, and investing for example. All are there to connect you to tweeps who share similar interests.

There’s some great tools to use for marketing and communications.

Many second party apps allow business to listen, sell, communicate and market themselves more effectively. Applications like Co-tweet, Seesmic, Tweetdeck enable companies to listening (what @ComcastBonnie used to “find” me, apps use a filter to find key words or phrases.) Another nifty thing is Tweetdeck  has a language translator, you can tweet (and translate) from 32+ languages including French, German, Japanese, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), even Indonesian and Slovak. Imagine if you were trying to research new markets for wine in Germany, France or Spain or find a new manufacturer in China. Planning a business trip in Indonesia? Just imagine what markets could you open up if you had 32+ languages at your disposal? Well you now do. For Free. 

You have to find the right mix of Social Media to fit your company.  If any at all. Sometimes a small business owner just doesn’t need a blog, or a presence on Twitter or Facebook. For most, some sort of presence is a good idea especially if you are in creative, consultant or intellectual services.

Learning if Twitter should be a part of your mix isn’t that hard, there is a lot of information out there. There’s information specifically tailored about Tweeting for business - the best thing about Twitter is that Tweeps (people on Twitter) pretty much just love to help.

Other Twitter for Business resources:

Small business advisor Duct Tape Marketing’s Free e-book “Twitter for Business.”

Liz Strauss- put up “30 Twitter Apps We Actually Like to Use and 140 After That” 

Copyblogger did a piece on “Use Twitter to Grow Your Business”

New York Times’ piece “How Twitter Can Help at Work”

Plus here’s is a great little video (and there’s a bunch on YouTube):

Make a referral week starts next week– are you ready? March 9-13, John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing) and some other really great sponsors including Inquisix are getting geared up for it… are you?

Did you take the pledge?

Did you sign up for the conference call?

Did you schedule yourself to listen to the other speakers?

How about the most important? Did you get yourself ready to make a referral?

Seriously, make a list of the people you know that need a solution for their business and make a list of the people you know that can fill that solution. (or make it easy on yourself by joining Inquisix!)

The goal is 1000 small businesses receive 1000 referrals.  This is not just about getting a referral but giving one too.  Some call it “giver’s gain” but we at Inquisix call it smart.  

For example, let’s say your good customer Bob (or Sally or Sanjiv or Fido or whomever your customer might be) told you they were in desperate need of a solution to a particular problem they might have. You run into or connect (on Inquisix!) to someone who does EXACTLY what your customer needs. Now what do you think happens when Bob (or Sally or Sanjiv or Fido) is introduced to EXACTLY what they need by you– your relationship to Bob just got better.  Your business just got stronger. Your a networking star (and now Bob or Sally or Sanjiv or Fido will recommend you to anyone they know!)

So as we begin Make a Referral Week make a point to GIVE than GET– you might find that it benefits you more in the long run!

Follow the action on Twitter: add #MARW09 to the end of your tweets!

Jump start the economy.

No we’re not talking about recently passed stimulus bill. Or even a bailout.  We’re talking about something more tactile, more visceral– more like an A+B=C.

John Jantsch, of Duct Tape Marketing, and Inquisix have joined forces (with some other amazing sponsors) to promote Make a Referral Week, this March 9-13th.  The goal is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses.

This is a good thing.  For you. For the economy.

So take the pledge.

It’s tough times. Everywhere you turn negative economic indicators are released, reports on recessionary fears, and opinons on the impact of the economic stimulus package crowd the news.  Overwhelming problems and few solutions.

It is time for small businesses to take matters into their own hands.  Positive changes in small business can have a positive impact on the economy. Hey, it’s no biggie surprise to the rest of us that small businesses basically drive the economy.

As a class, small business:

• represent over 99.7% of employers;
• employ over half of all private sector employees;
• generate between 60%-80% of new jobs in the last decade; and
• produce more than 50% of non-farm private gross domestic product, or a GDP of roughly $6 trillion.

As John Jantsch sees it, “Make a Referral Week is an entrepreneurial approach to stimulating the small busienss economy one referred business at a time.  The goal is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the impact of a simple action that could blossom into millions of dollars of new business. Small business is the lifeblood and job-creating engine of the economy and merits the positive attention saved for corporate bailout stories.”

It’s Inquisix’s hope is that this one week further highlights the power of the referral. Referral prospects are less price sensitive, and, as Joanne Black, author of “No More Cold Calling,” points out “[a] referral is pre-sold on you … and [you] get a new client over 70 percent of the time.” We believe that by highlighting the high ROI benefits of referral networking, more businesses will permanently adopt this as a new strategic marketing tool, which will translate into healthier bottom lines. Good for them. Good for you. Good for the U.S. economy.

So be among the 1000+ small businesses to get new business the week of March 9- March 13, 2009. Take the pledge. Give a referral. Get a referral.  There will be an exciting schedule of programs to tune into featuring Ivan Misner (founder of BNI, author of Masters of Networking,) Bob Burg (Author of Endless Referrals, The Go-Giver,) Bill Cates (author of Get More Referrals Now,) Guy Kawasaki (author of Reality Check,) Scott Allen (author of The Virtual Handshake) and Susan Solovic Wilson (of SBTV.com) to name  few.

And for the social media savvy, follow the action on twitter and connect to tweeps partaking in Make a Referral Week (Add the hashtag”#MARW09″ to the end of your tweets!)

Happy Connecting!

Jan Visser over at SalesTeamTools has written the Jan Visser has written the first review of Inquisix: Do You Need Sales Leads Or Real Introductions To Your Ideal Prospects? I was a bit nervous about the review because we just started beta and we’re constantly updating the site. But as I hoped (and sort of expected, given Jan’s successful sales career), he immediately understood the value of the referrals and introductions Inquisix offers and how important it is that we protect the confidentiality of your contacts.

If you’re already an Inquisix member, please comment on his review.

If you’re not yet an Inquisix member, please read his review and then come join us!

Either way, if you have not already visited his site, you should.

Happy Selling!