Networking - Idle Chatter or Essential Business?
Posted on February 8, 2008
Photo by FredArmitage
What comes to your mind when you hear someone say the word “networking”? Do you think networking is just another word for socializing? Do you think networking is code for useless chit-chat? Do you think networking is idle gossip around the water cooler? Networking can mean many different things to people, but to me it is an essential part of becoming a success. If you are an entrepreneur, you should definitely be good or become good at networking! My definition of Networking is,
Successfully leveraging the acquaintances, contacts, friends, and everyone in your realm of contact to help others or yourself obtain something.
That something could be information, a contact, the name of a web site, the name of a business, etc. Networking is simple using who you know to help. I use to think that I did not know anyone and did not have great networking skills until I started thinking about it in this context. It is amazing if you just think about it how many different types of people you know and the long stretching arms that those people have. Everyone you meet could be critical to someone at some time. The biggest thing to learn is to recall, obtain, and store that information so when someone does need it, you can share it.
Take a minute to think about all the people that you have met over your lifetime and the various trade, business, or services they perform.
Amazing isn’t it!
Really examine who you know and how they might be able to help out. Once you start looking at networking as an organization of helping hands it is easy to see the reason it is so essential in business. The depth of your contacts and networking is worth more than gold at certain times. Just think about how many times you have said, “I just wish I could remember that guy’s name” or “I wish I knew someone that does _____”.
As an engineer in manufacturing, one of the most amazing “networkers” I have ever meet was Joe Bittick that worked for Equipment Sales and Service in LaGrange, GA. Joe was an inside salesman that could get any and everything you wanted. No matter how obscure, old, or obsolete the part was, he would find it an deliver. He had been at his job a long time and had thousands of contacts and would remember or could access the information for everyone of them. If I ever needed anything and did not know who to get it from, I could always contact Joe and know I would get it. I knew I would pay a premium for parts that were not really in his normal realm, but in my world when you need it you need it and need it yesterday. That premium was save hundreds of times over by the downtime saved from having to find and hunt for something!
Be a better Networker!
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Always get contact information: business cards, phone numbers, names, email addresses, web sites, etc.
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Write down notes so you remember how valuable the contact is.
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Exchange contact information, you are a valuable resource too!
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Talk to everyone, find out who they are, who they know, etc.
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Keep in touch.
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Update information as soon as you know it has changed.
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If you keep information electronically, back it up.
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If you keep information on paper, keep it organized and go through it a couple times a year to make sure it is current and up to date.
Photo collage from left to right: jenpilot, interplast, AstridWestvang, meophamman, and kegsofduff
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One Response to “Networking - Idle Chatter or Essential Business?”
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Brad,
Excellent article! Networking doesn’t always feel natural to me, but I have come to realize just how important it is to getting ahead in life. And because it is important, I do it. Simple as that really.
Peter