A short networking tip this week - by and large, networking only works when you're committed to turning up to a group or event month in and month out (or week in and week out) regardless of whether you see instant results or not. People need to get to know, like and trust you, and that won't happen if you meet them once every six months.
Clearly, this means that it's going to help if you actually enjoy the process. If you're not actually interested in the people you're talking to and you're just there because you think it may be financially rewarding then you're probably not going to keep going for long. If, on the other hand, you like going, and you like the people, and you're really interested in what they do and their experiences, and in fact you'd carry on going even if there was no prospect of getting any business from it, then you'll probably do well. In other words, if you're genuinely not too worried whether or not you'll get any business from the process, you'll probably do fine, but if you're desperate to get some business out of it then you probably won't.
The idea that consistent attendance is a good idea might seem obvious, but I know quite a few people who attend the events I go to, but very irregularly. I imagine that they know they're "supposed" to do some networking, but they're not really that enthusiastic and committed, so they just do enough that they feel they can tick it off their list. Unfortunately - though it's always possible they meet someone by chance who's perfect for them and wants to do business right away - I suspect that they're probably going to get very little out of it.
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