For business, I define networking as: meeting new people and re-meeting people in a business or social context.

 

People will succeed at networking when they understand themselves, recognize other people have their own interests, and spend the time and expend the effort to do the necessary work.

 

Understanding Oneself: generally, we have a pretty good idea of what we like and we dislike. Do we like crowds? Some do, some do not. Are we proficient with computers? Some are some are not. Could we walk up to a complete stranger, introduce ourselves, and walk away 5 minutes later with a pretty good idea about whether or not we could ever do business with that stranger? Some could, some could not. Could we go to our LinkedIn account, do some quick searching, press some keys, and within 5 minutes find a probable client for one of our friends, who had asked for a quick favour? Some could, some could not. The main things are to understand our strengths and understand our weaknesses. It will be a shame to not fix certain weaknesses. It will be a shame to not take full advantage of all strengths.

 

Other People Have Their Own Interests: that statement surprises none of us…or, at least, very few of us. Many people are preoccupied with what’s in it for me? in a huge way. None of those people are good networkers. That bears repeating: people who are preoccupied with what’s in it for me? can not be good at networking. Networking is a two-person process. While there may be many people on a chat line or gathered in a group at an event, networking boils down to a one-on-one interpersonal process. Both people must connect with one another. Networking is a process of growing positive feelings between two people and finding the extent of the common ground shared by those two people. A person consumed by what’s in it for me? has no room for common ground and that sort of personality quickly pushes away most folks.

 

Spend the Time and Expend the Effort to do the Necessary Work: networking is a process that can not be rushed. Rushing the process will result in failure. Networking is about doing work to connect with people who you believe you could do business with at some point in the future. The future could be 10 seconds after your 30-second commercial ends – however, for most of us that is highly unlikely. That’s one of the reasons I am not that keen on 30-second commercials. There is a fascinating fine line between being efficient at networking and being just another what’s in it for me? person. To be efficient at networking we must be able to meet many people, quickly initiate interchanges with them, quickly impress them in a positive way [even if just a little], quickly understand whether they positively impress us, quickly understand whether or not we could do business with them at some point in the future, and quickly terminate all the interchanges without undoing the good stuff that was accomplished. As mentioned, there’s a fascinating fine line between that work and the work done by all those unsuccessful what’s in it for me? people. The key is being truly interested in the other person.

 

Links to other blogs about networking:

• People Networking...Succeeding in the 21st Century #2
• Networking: The Joys of Connection

Lately, I have been spending quite a bit of time talking with quite a few people about networking.

 

The people I meet have disparate views about networking.

 

Some folks tweet dozens of times a day, follow other folks on Twitter and Facebook, and tell me ‘getting your name out there’ is what it is all about. Other folks tell me they attend local business-social events and don’t find this networking to be productive.

 

For business, I define networking as: meeting new people and re-meeting people in a business or social context.

 

3 points for networking success:

1. understanding yourself…that’s the best starting point
2. networking is a people-process…it takes 2 and it takes time
3. to obtain value from networking be prepared…you must work at it

Q: Are Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter networking?

 

A: Yes, under the above definition, networking does not have to be face-to-face it can be face-to Facebook, etc. In other words social networking is a type of networking. Face-to-face networking is another type of networking. And, for most business people both types are networking can provide value.

 

Q: How do selling and business networking differ?

 

A: A successful selling process happens when one party feels persuaded to purchase something from another party. A successful business networking process happens when two people understand enough about one another to assess whether or not there is a probability for them to do business together at some future time. Networking is distinct from selling/buying. It is a good precursor to selling/buying…networking paves the path to selling/buying.

 

Links to other blogs about networking:

• People Networking...Succeeding in the 21st Century #1
• Networking: The Joys of Connection