The Networking Jerk By: Jun Loayza
Under: NetworkingEvery time I go to a networking event, speaker event, or business conference, I find the same guy lurking through the crowd like some parasitic life form looking to suck the business out of me. You know him as well. It is the guy that hands you his business card before he introduces his name. It is the guy who asks for your business card before even asking what you do for a living. It’s the guy who jumps around from conversation to conversation without establishing a single meaningful relationship. You know him very well. He is the networking jerk.
I honestly wonder what the networking jerk does with all the business cards he gets. I have yet to receive an email from one of these people after an event. Plus, even if I did, I wouldn’t remember him because he didn’t leave a lasting impression on me; he didn’t bother to find a common point of interest or a mutual benefit that our businesses could share.
My point is this: you must network with sincerity. Don’t worry about meeting every single person in the room. The most important thing is to build a relationship with each person you meet so that you leave a lasting impression and can later speak with them after the event. Quality is much better than quantity. I have personally made many contacts that have lead to clients by networking with sincerity at events.
Find a common interest with the people you are speaking with. Everyone at business or recruitment events are interested in talking about their own business or about how to get hired by the company. If you speak about something unexpected, like traveling for example, you might strike a common point of interest that will spark a genuine, “best friend” conversation that will stick with the professional or recruiter you are speaking to. Do not blindly hand out your business cards. If you do, you demonstrate lower value because you’re in essence desperately handing out your business card in hopes that someone will find you important enough to email. High value people do not beg people to email them. People ask for the business cards of high value people.
Always network with sincerity. People will recognize it and want to build a relationship with you in return.
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