Many of you are naturals at the “art” of networking. Some have to work harder at it. Some are terrified to network. I have always enjoyed the process because I have always thought and believed that it is just a natural extension of what we do as sales pros! Meeting and greeting with a “mission” in mind is not a bad thing. Everyone does it. Even non-sales professionals!
I do think that we have to approach networking essentially the same way when we are pursuing business development or perhaps engaged in a job search. If you are skilled and comfortable at developing and nurturing relationships in your personal life, then I think you should be able to apply those skills to successful networking. Right?
I have been attending seminars recently that are about how to network. There are many consistent themes and messages. Three that stand out for me are:
- Never STOP networking during your entire career. Period.
- Networking can and should be natural for sales pros.
- You do not have to stop what you are doing to network. It is part of what we do.
I have asked Ford Myers, President of Career Potential, LLC, to comment on this topic for us. I hope you enjoy his article.
<p>I liked this article because it spoke to my business mind.</p>