Value Based Networking is about creating the networks that can power your future, lead you through tough times and sustain you confidence to stay focused on the opportunities. If you’re serious about Value Based Networking and want to keep yourself on track, ask yourself the following three questions from time to time:

Are you keeping your VBN contact system up to date?

In our last article we mentioned the importance of using a Value Based Networking System to keep track of your contacts. Are you really using it? Every time you spoke to someone in the past two weeks, whether they were a client, or a friend or even a family member did you remember to write a note in your Value Based Networking system about the content of your conversation?

I was talking to a friend a while back and he mentioned that he and his son had spent 2 weeks hiking in July at the 85th parallel in the Arctic. Another friend told me he had recently purchased his first plane. After these conversations I went to my Value Based Networking system and made a note, “Arctic hiking with son” and “New airplane, October 2009.” I might not talk to either of these friends for months, but when I do I’ll be asking, “Any trips planned?”

Remember, we’re all inundated with information. Once you write it down in your Value Based Networking system and know where you can find it, you’ll always have something to say to anyone in your Value Based Network.

What’s your rate of return on your investment in your network?

As you go through life you build a network of people, whether you’re conscious of it or not. Think of the hours you spend daily, weekly, monthly and yearly, getting to know people.

I know that I spend at least 25 to 30 hours a week with customers, prospects, vendors, staff, associates and friends. If I multiply that by 52 weeks it comes to between 1,300 and 1,500 hours a year that I invest in getting to know people.

If I don’t follow through, if I don’t write it down someplace where I can find it, what becomes of that investment when I forget what was said? Because it will happen – six months later I will have forgotten what was said and then my investment is lost.

If you are young you’ll have to take my word for it, but the fact is most of us are hard-pressed to remember people’s names, never mind recalling where and when you last met them and what charity they proudly and actively support.

What if you only do a little networking each week? Say you meet with or talk to only two people a week…that’s still 104 people in a year. And that’s only the beginning; you do that year in and year out and over time there are thousands of conversations you barely remember. You must organize the information you gather in those conversations so that it works for you. Otherwise you are wasting the time you invested.

Are you showing up prepared?

A wise man (Woody Allen) once said, “Ninety percent of success is showing up.” This is a great quote, but it’s missing one critical word. The statement should read: Ninety percent of success is showing up prepared. Preparation is key to successful Value Based Networking. Most people are either underprepared or unprepared. There’s no such thing as being over-prepared.

This is where your Value Based Networking System comes in. If you are looking to connect, whether the first time or subsequently, preparation is the best way. For first time meetings, do your homework. Use the Internet and social media sites like LinkedIn to discover information about the person, the company they work for, what they’re working on. Add that information to your Value Based Networking System. Then, when you meet with them you are in a position to ask them about what interests them. Are you willing to devote the time that it takes to uncover things you may have in common with a prime connection?

By asking yourselves these three questions from time and time, you’ll give yourself a reality check to ensure that you are on the right path to creating your power network.