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Networking woes

Guest post by: Hannah McKinnon

Article Overview: There are many thoughts on networking. What is it, does it work or is it just a waste of time? Here are my ideas on the issue.

Networking woes

If you look up “Networking” on About(dot)com it says “Networking is a common synonym for developing and maintaining contacts and personal connections with a variety of people who might be helpful to you and your career.”

Personally I think the end of that definition should read: “.. and people whom you can help in return”. Networking isn’t just about you, your business and what you are selling. Yet many people simply exchange as many business cards as possible, talk only about their activities and then complain they never receive any referrals and how “networking doesn’t work for them”.

To illustrate; imagine you’re at a dinner party and introduced to a person you’ve never met before. Now imagine they speak only about themselves and never ask you a single question. What will you remember about that person? The many things they told you about themselves or the fact they took absolutely no interest in you and you couldn’t wait to get away? I would wager it’s the latter. Would you talk about them positively? Probably not.

Networking is about meeting new people, making new contacts, establishing a common ground and determining how you can help each other. The person you speak to may not be a direct prospect, but if you can connect with them, better understand what they do, and are able to either refer some business or other helpful connections to them, they will more likely do the same for you.

Last month I attended a ConnectUsCanada networking event called “Leads, Needs and Good Deeds”, hosted by Donna Messer, the ultimate Queen of Networking. During the event, we broke out into small groups to do some networking exercises. Many people admitted to feeling uncomfortable at networking events, but said they felt empowered after spending the evening in Donna’s presence. This comes as no surprise – Donna has clearly earned her title and knows her stuff. I completely agree when she says “Until people start networking properly they don’t believe it’s effective”.

I have always been a fan of networking, understand the principles reasonably well and usually ask the people I meet what they do before they ask me. Donna reminded me that, as they are speaking, I need to start thinking about how I can help them and who I could introduce them to. Enquiring “What can I do for you, what is it you need?” never fails to draw a response and is usually reciprocated. It takes a bit of practice, but it’s a fantastic building block to making a successful connection.

Thanks to networking with Donna, I was interviewed by Tracy Hanes from the Toronto Star, and an article about my business Pooling People was published in the business section. Without networking, this would probably not have happened. Tracy was looking for interesting stories for the business section, so I was thrilled to be able to refer her to one of my contacts. As for Donna, I’ll sing her praises to everybody and tell all my contacts about her and the events she hosts.

Networking is such a fundamental skill in business, and indeed in life. It works, it’s proven, and yet it’s not a skill I have ever seen taught in business schools.

Yes, networking is hard work and time consuming but when done effectively it works extremely well. It’s time worth investing. You never know where, to what or to whom your next connection will lead.

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Article Tags: human resources, networking, staffing



Related Forum Posts
Re: Make Friends...Literally BUILD them! - I agree! Networking is definitely the key word here. What does everyone feel about the different Networking platforms out there? Twitter Facebook LinkedIn what are some others?
Marketing 2012 - I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what? This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method? From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions
Re: How can a social networking site make serious money? - Hi There, It is quite interesting, that some Social Networking do produce an income. I think testimonials are always a benefit to share. See one below: This Social Network has changed my life! Every night is a Friday night and everyday is a Saturday!! Because of it, I have been able to leave the workforce 10 years early.It has given me back my life. Many of us would like to retire early. I am sure there are many more. The point is of focusing with great determination. The ongoing challenge is to stay focussed and not be sidetracked into a newer scheme or so. Also I have read, during this financial turmoil, more people turn to Social Networking for various reasons.
Re: Make Friends...Literally BUILD them! - [quote="burnsrunner":1zobscwk]I agree! Networking is definitely the key word here. What does everyone feel about the different Networking platforms out there? Twitter Facebook LinkedIn what are some others?[/quote:1zobscwk] I am on Twitter and Linkedin, have not joined Facebook yet as my time is fairly limited and one needs a lot of time to devote to all these various networking platforms. Unless you do this full time (the networking I mean). MichelleJ
Re: Marketing 2012 - [quote="drdony":2y0daolc]I am interested in what works for you in 2012, Social Networking, Search Engine traffic, Blogs, Articles, Forums, what? This is a quote from a 2009 Topic "Twitter, Social Networking, What is your Method? From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. Evan Is this still true, or do you use something that gives us better returns and conversions[/quote:2y0daolc] Great question Don! I'll create a video reply!


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