During the publicity tour for the book “Captivate,” author Vanessa Van Edwards appeared on CBS This Morning. Discussing her book, she made it clear that she had no idea what networking was. The reporters asking her questions were similarly uninformed. Despite the importance of networking in the success of a business or a career, there is still a great deal of misunderstanding about what it is and how to do it.
Networking is a process. The first mistake most people make is thinking that by attending a single networking event they are networking. The networking event is the first step in the process that has the goal of creating long-term relationships with will connect you to the resources you need. People you networking may never use your service or buy a product from you. They will introduce you to people. This people may or may not buy from you. They will introduce you to more people. Get the idea? You are not networking so that you can sell. You are networking so that you don’t have to sell. Ideally, your network will recommend you to people who want to buy.
Networking is not about trading business cards. Many people treat networking as though the one with the most business cards wins. This is wrong. Having someone business card is irrelevant. The one who wins is the one who follows up. When you meet someone at a networking event, you need to follow up and meet them again. People do business with people they know, like and trust. While meeting someone once could be considering knowing them, it is by no means enough to generate like and trust. This takes several meetings and the time to really get to know each other. The business card is just so you have the person’;s contact information. It is not the goal and it is not an invitation to sell.
Ultimately, you want to be a superconnector. A superconnector is someone who meets people and introduces them to others who can be useful to them. Real networkers know that you must approach networking asking the question, “What can I do for you?”, not “What will you do for me?” Networking is about helping each other.
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