Networking - why you should get out of the office more!

Recently I sat down with an acquaintance of mine to talk a little bit about networking. We've done some networking together with other professionals and he gave me a couple of points of feedback.

But before I go into those, lets talk a little bit about why you need to get out of the office more.

Networking is important for a number of reasons, here are two.

         The business isn't going to come to you.

If you're in the type of business that I'm in (or something similar) you'll find out very fast that if you aren't out of your office and away from your desk, you are probably missing out on a lot of business.

         It's not what you know, it's who you know.

Most of my business has not been generated by what I know, rather, who I know. As the great Theodore Roosevelt once said "Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care". In life opportunities, sometimes, are made and sometimes are given. Let's try to be the types of people that extend the olive branch every once in awhile. I'm sure at some point, somebody extended it to you.

                                     Networking Hints

When networking, be strategic.

I like to take people to coffee and for a reason. Coffee is less commitment than lunch. It can last as long or as short as you or your networking partner need it to. It doesn't cost much and the caffeine should help keep the conversation going!

Make and keep good eye contact.

If you're like me, a little ADD (Which in my opinion is WAY over-diagnosed now, and under-diagnosed when I was a kid), you probably get distracted easily. Forcing yourself to keep eye contact, especially while the other person is talking, tells that person that you care and you're engaged in the conversation. When you let your eyes wonder, say to the car driving by or the person putting 15 packets of Splenda in their coffee, you seem uninterested and disengaged.

Don't talk about incompetency's.

It might seem like normal conversation, but you're meeting for a reason. When you gesture towards an incompetency (I mess up the paperwork a lot, but the loan admin usually finds it and tells me) it makes you sound just that, Incompetent. Nobody wants to work with someone that they feel is going to mess with their paycheck. Find the line between humble-bragging and talking about incompetency's and stick there.

Make it worth their time.

When you meet with someone, come prepared. Find a way that you give value to that person and express it. PAY FOR THEIR COFFEE! When you're meeting with a busy professional and they take time out of their afternoon to sit down with you, you want them leaving that meeting feeling like you contribute to them. Find something that you do better or different than your competition, work it into the conversation. Then, if you have any tips that you feel are good advice, share them. Share what has worked for you ask what has worked for them. Above all else, Bring value.

Credit to Andrew Drinkard for words of wisdom and insight and to Julie Key for letting me use this ridiculous picture of her.