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It’s a wintry Saturday afternoon and I’m fitting a ski boot on a gentleman. Sitting there he tells me he owns a local dealership, yadda something about new inventory, great selection and hands me his business card.
Not once did he ask me about my vehicle, is it running smoothly? What I might dislike about it. Nothing of the sort.
This got me thinking. People have different ways of defining networking.
For some their only intent is to sell themselves to every person in the room. This isn’t too far evolved from an over bearing salesman or the glitzy marketing brochure that talks about the greatness of widget X. When selling is disguised as networking, it gives the latter a bad name.
For other people, networking involves building trust and sharing information. The possibility of financial gain is secondary, not a primary benefit. It’s not about a sale but being genuinely interested in the problems faced by the other person. Often it involves paying forward first, connecting them with people who can solve their problems when you know you cannot. It may even mean suggesting an alternative way for the person to accomplish their goal without you, however if you’re an expert most will forgo the DIY approach (Plus it’s a great way to weed out tire kickers).
At it’s core networking will always be about relationship building based on mutual respect and sincerity. Let’s not let the chimps of the world take that away from us.
Photocredit Funksoup
Tags: networking
glad to see you finally found some time to add to your website-I like reading all your comments- keep up the good work
When networking well, one must always start with an intentional connection. Networking (in the general sense) is interacting in a way that is very intentional: it isn’t unlike meeting someone attractive at a bar – the conversation didn’t just happen, it was created with a certain intent.
However, like speaking well to a stranger at a bar, good networking can evolve from an intentional conversation to an organic conversation, with genuine interest in the person as a person, and not as a means to some other end, whatever that end may be.
It sounds to me like your car salesman (owner of the dealer or not, he’s still a salesman!) had no attachment to you as an end, but only as a means. There’s the rub.