Introduction
As a professional you likely attend, or plan to attend, business functions in an effort to expand your network. Why? Are you truly connecting with people or are you just putting in time? We spend our adult lives interacting with people to earn our living, but shockingly, throughout years of schooling there is no course dedicated to teaching us the specific skills needed to help us connect with others and build our networks.
Humans naturally engage in networking on some level, but when the word is formalized as a business activity, for some, it conjures a vision of calculation and manipulation. Proper networking elicits the exact opposite response. It's not a cheesy sales technique, but a genuine attempt to connect with others and to let others connect with you.
Sales trainers tell you to build your network to generate business leads. Job-hunting manuals advise you to tap into your network to get your résumé to the top of the pile. Company leaders push their junior associates to get “out there” and build their networks.
It all sounds great in theory, but how do you do this? Where do you go to build your network and once you're there, what do you do so that you're not just collecting business cards? What is the secret to turning those casual business-card contacts into long-term, mutually beneficial relationships?
Before I launched my training-and-consulting company, people would ask me for advice on how to get connected and I was happy to oblige. For some, a little ...
