Aha Moment Monday
Last week I attended a structured networking event.
Once everyone in the room introduced themselves, the moderator couldn’t help but notice that people from the same company sat together….they sat together….at a networking event….
Aha – you already know the people you know.
Enriching and taking care of current relationships is always a good practice. A designated networking event, however, is a rich new playground for you to meet your next customer, or supplier, or referral partner, or hire.
Now effective networking isn’t about telling your story to as many people as you can reach in the shortest period of time. Effective networking is about asking specific questions, then listening. You’re listening for opportunities to help another succeed. That opportunity might come by way of your business or it might come by way of an introduction to someone else’s. The important thing is this: in the bigger scheme, all efforts count.
It’s comfortable for us to want to share time with people we know and like yet making new friends is easier for some than others – like me – so I think of networking events like Sesame Street for business 🙂
Absolutely, positively honor your existing relationships, and when it’s time, look for awesome new ones.
Who’s new in your neighbourhood?
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