I’ve always thought of Networking as this big scary monster under the bed. If I just avoided it and counted to three it would magically disappear. Unfortunately, as you all know, this isn’t the case. Networking is a very large part of building and even maintaining a business.
I can remember the first time I ever went to a “networking” event. It wasn’t specifically sanctioned for networking, it was a seminar about life coaches, but networking was one of the functions. I’m a very shy person so when I got to the event I quickly found my seat, sat down and waited for the event to start. This woman came up to me and said, “You’re sitting alone. I’m curious to know what you do that you wouldn’t need to network?” So I proceeded to tell her I was a web designer for PiCon. This in turn led me to ask her about her business. And before I knew it I was networking with this woman. It was that simple!
I was once told that if you go into a networking event, or any kind of networking situation, and you try to sell yourself, people will know you are trying to make a sale and they lose trust. On the other hand, if you just talk to them, try to learn a little about their company, then they begin to trust you. Most people in business forget that connections and business arrangements are based on trust, not a sales pitch.
- Meesha
