Working the Net: Networking That Works

I looked down to check her name badge and noticed she had a cup with a few cards already in it, and in her other hand was a batch of her own cards, probably fifty to seventy five cards. The instinctive trainer in me came out and I proceeded to give her a networking lesson.

I guesstimated that if she went around and exchanged cards at the event she would probably end up with roughly seventy five cards. That would equate to seventy five email follow ups and then seventy five phone calls to follow that up. If she was attending any other networking events in the coming week, and collected the same amount of cards, imagine the amount of follow up needed.

The important lesson here is that she was not attempting to find out anything about the person with whom she was trading cards. Are they new to the area? Have they been in their house for a long time? Have they recently had new additions to the family or perhaps on the other side with children moving out? All of these questions can effectively lead to potential business.

More important than that, however, is the fact that networking is all about the other person, not about you. She should have been asking questions about what I do and what I am trying to accomplish at the event, so she could offer her network to me. She needs to work the net! That never came up.

The good news is that she took my advice to slow down the process, and set a goal of maybe ten to twenty people at each event, stopping to get to know them and see how she can help. The next day I received a very nice email thanking me for the lesson. She sat down at tables at the event and really listened to the people she was meeting. The result was a couple of meetings to discuss possible real estate transactions!

What are your challenges when it comes to working the net? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time…