Your Attitude Toward Networking

Your attitude is crucial to your success. Networking is a mutual exchange of information, ideas, and resources. Givers Gain: Be prepared to make a contribution and to be generous.

• Focus on quality rather than quantity when networking. One well-connected contact can be more valuable than a dozen poorly connected ones.

• Be an active volunteer at civic or nonprofit organizations. This is a great way to contribute, and you’ll typically find yourself dealing with very high-level people at a peer-to-peer level. These people will be able to see you in action in a low-pressure environment, and they may well hire you as a result.

• Help prospects with their problems even if they cannot be a good lead for you. They may know someone else who can. When you network with people, you’re also networking with their networks.

• Invite other professionals to your networking events. This is another way to contribute and participate—and it can become a significant source of revenue, both directly and through referrals.

EXERCISE:

Meet your competitors. Interact with them, and find out their unique abilities. How do you compare and contrast with them? Instead of seeing your competitors as enemies, consider collaborating in areas of unique ability.