I don’t usually talk much about sales and business development, but this story has some good reminders about networking.
Networking used bring to mind images like the one to the right - business suits and business cards. But it's been taken on a broader meaning thanks to the rise of social networking sites like myspace and facebook. There doesn't have to be a hard line between business networking and social networking, though, especially if you approach it the way they talk about in the article - what can you do the help your friend's business succeed?
You won't feel guilty, because you're not approaching strangers and thinking of how you can get them to help you. And it feels natural because it is natural - you want to help out your friends succeed. When they do, they might tell people about how you helped them, or they might ask if there's any way that they could help you succeed. Or they might introduce you to a friend of theirs who would be better suited to help you - and that's business networking. Guilt-free, work-free - just helping out your friends.
I have a very vivid memory of a lunch I had with an old friend, where he approached me in exactly this way - he asked what I was up to, and how could he help?
It turned out that he could help me, actually... and I could help him, too. I didn't feel like I was talking to a used car salesman, either, which was nice.
Bay Area Web Design
Posted by: Frozen Drink Blender | February 08, 2010 at 08:33 PM