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If you read pretty much any career/small business blog ever, or – god forbid – you’ve paid attention to this blog, you’ve probably been ranted to about the importance of networking.
As an example:
Promoting yourself
Another benefit of networking is the ability to promote yourself and get your name out there. Especially if you are new to a community or new to web design or development, networking allows you to link to other people in your profession, which can help you get more well-known in the field.
Unfortunately, that’s approximately where the detail ends. Usually the post then goes into the gritty details of how to actually go about networking (hand out business cards while spouting your elevator pitch and asking if they know anybody who needs your services…) because nobody actually knows how to do that naturally.
I’d like to meet the person who first came up with this process. So I can smack him. No, seriously.
Google for “how to network” (optionally with “like a boss” attached to the end of it) and you’re bound to get just shy of a Brazilian results for it. Each of those articles will say the same thing I just said. I promise. Go ahead – test me. I’ll wait.
What’s your point?
Some people know how to network naturally. Do you know what they do? They make friends. They talk to people. They establish relationships. They avoid presuming anything about their friends’ needs and desires and don’t spout off a sales pitch in the first 30 seconds of their new friendships.
You know what we call these people?
Successful.
Why?
Because they are.
How to Network like a Boss
If you truly want to network like a boss, then go to any one of the thousands of events in your industry.
Now find someone that you think seems interesting – a person you know from an advertisement, or a wallflower, or the center of attention.
Talk to her.
Just talk. Say, “Hey there, I’m Michael. How are you doing?”
Listen. Continue with small talk. Exchange business cards when it’s natural. Shake hands, and be on your way.
Email her a couple weeks later to say, “It was very nice to meet you. It’s too bad we didn’t have time to talk very much.” Ask how things are.
This is what networking really is. It is establishing a relationship.
Eventually, maybe she’ll need a service that you just so happen to provide, or maybe one of her colleagues will and she’ll ask if you know of anybody. Until then, don’t sell anything – especially yourself. Walk the fine line between being a friend and being a salesperson.
Why?
People don’t like to get sold to. That’s how it is. People don’t like to feel like they’re being pitched on something. They don’t like to have things shoved down their throats – whether that is religion or what you can do for them.
So make this a natural process. Return to the days when things were organic and flowed without force.
And I promise, you will be that much happier with your relationships.
And probably with your clientele, because you’ll know them before you work with them, which eliminates clients from hell, more or less.
…
Your wallet will also be happier, because more people will want to work with you. I know I would.
Introduce yourself.
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