Networking 101

Ok, people. I went to a networking event last week. I was not surprised by the number of people who hadn't thought about refreshing their memory about networking before they came. "The amount of rapport and relationship-building that can occur in a 10-minute in-person interaction may take months to develop in an online setting. This is because meeting in person allows someone to get to know you much better than merely messaging online." — Cheeky Scientist

Several people introduced themselves and told me what they did. They didn't ask me what I did or stick around after the introductions. The name tag had a prompt to write what your business does. Mine read "optimizing health." I am a life coach that helps individuals, mainly parents remember to take care of their physical and mental health in their busy lives. After the event, several people sent emails to buy their services. In one instance, I thought our conversation had clarified that I didn't need this company's services.

It is clear to me that we need a refresher. Here it is…

"Actively seek out the people with whom you want to connect. Be curious and courteous, ask questions, and always listen. Avoid the comfort of talking exclusively with people you already know. Don't spend more than 10 minutes with any single person." — University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana

Practice active listening and ask questions. You don't just want to speak about yourself, you have to listen and ask questions to learn about the other person. Hannah Fleishman, HubSpot

"Following up on the contacts you've made is an essential part of effective networking. Get it right, and you'll be in a great position to build lasting business relationships and enhance your credibility. Get it wrong, and you could miss opportunities to boost your career, or to develop new clients. Even worse, you could get a reputation for using people." —Mindtools For effective follow-up research each contact, send a personalized email, and find them on social media (and follow, like, etc.).

All in all, networking is about creating relationships. After the networking event I recently attended, I sent two contacts personalized emails to meet up for coffee and further learn what they do to see if I can be helpful to their business's growing efforts. Both responded positively!