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5 Rules For Networkorking
5 Rules For Networkorking
Whether it’s the overzealous networker who tries to give everyone his card but has no clear
direction of what he’s doing, or the wallflower who doesn’t meet a single person even after
showing up, so many people network incorrectly that it actually works against them. With
that said, here are a few easy-to-use basics to help you win the networking game.
And when they ask you what you do, make sure you have a short-and-sweet pitch to
summarize yourself. This is called an elevator pitch, and should be 30 seconds or less. I
always try to make sure it’s simple and relatable to everybody, but it does change from time
to time depending on the audience. If I can construct my elevator pitch to be more relatable
to a specific person, I’ll pitch it that way.
For example, if you’re trying to meet potential customers for your new app that serves
restaurant business owners, build an event around the grand opening of a new restaurant.
Sponsor the event and invite people from the industry, offering them complimentary food
and wine tastings. Think, if I were this person, what would make me want to go to the
event? Build your event around that compelling need.
Conclusion
So there you have it: a few basic rules you can follow to win at networking. Remember, the
goal is about building relationships — the network — and a good network will pay major
returns in the form of new customers, partners and opportunities. Get out there and meet
people, but make sure you’re meeting people the right way. And don’t forget that in
networking, it’s that last 20 percent of effort that really counts.