I was coaching a smart salesperson sometime back. He told me proudly that he was great at networking.
Always attended events, distributed and collected many visiting cards. He even followed up with festive greetings.
But this rarely got him any business.
As he reflected and shared, he had an AHA moment. He thought back to all the collected cards where he could not even remember who they were from.
The ones with high recall were those who made meaningful conversation and were not in a hurry to move on to the next person.
He also realised that the contacts that mostly engaged with him were relationships that he invested in.
What worked for me when I was originating business in my investment banking days or raising funds for a not for profit organisation, was connecting with people.
Forming relationships requires time and going beyond one’s own agenda. It is deeper than superficial networking.
That is not to say that there are no networking based engagements. It is transactional and serves a purpose.
It is just that building relationships engenders trust. When people trust you, they are happy to work with you.
Beginners network. Leaders connect.
What works for you?
