Submitted by Stephanie Lyles, Business Development Officer at NSWC Federal Credit Union
It always amazes me when I go to a network meeting and there are people sitting around playing with their phone, waiting for the program to start. I want to go up to them and ask them what are they doing there?
Be where you are. If you are there to meet people, you need to take the first step and don’t sit down and get involved with your phone. Put your phone on silent and put it away. You can’t meet someone while you are on your phone.
Have a plan: is there someone you specifically want to meet? Go up and introduce yourself and ask them a question. It gets a little bit easier every time you do it. Take it from someone who was a huge introvert all through college. Have a goal to really get to know at least one person, which might mean managing your expectations, you may need to meet 5 to really get to know one.
Don’t meet someone and instantly start trying to sell them something. Get to know them. What do they do? What made them start selling their product? Why did they go into that field? What is their favorite place for lunch? What do they like do when they are not working? Where do their kids go to school? The list goes on. Find something you both have in common, this help builds a bond with that person and helps you remember them too.
People do business with people they like, know and trust. It takes time to build a relationship, but both parties will get more out of it. You might not be able to directly connect with what that person has to offer, but you may know someone else who can, that is how you build on the relationship.
I think of networking as a slow burn, it takes time, but it is a relationship worth building.
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