Business Networking: Extreme Networking?

Someone I know has a different approach to business networking than most of us and here’s some excerpts from what he’s gone on record as saying:-

…“Enthusiasm, a bit of self confidence and an ability to handle a bit of rejection and humiliation - you’d be surprised how far it can take you (or maybe not in this era of reality TV)…

…What I’m saying is with no significant qualifications to my name, no natural gift as an athlete and the attention span of a fruit fly it was unlikely that I was going to be headhunted for anyone’s “fast track” program any time soon, but then again there are few people to match me for knocking on closed doors until one finally opens.

…By the age of twenty-five I knew if I was going to get on I had to find a mechanism that suited me. And find one I did.

People!

People are really nice, people will help you, people will do the most amazing things for you. You just have to get past their outer defences, you just have to find a way for them to like you….

…Imagine all those organised networking events that happen every day in our towns and cities.

…Why contribute to the costs of one of those events?

…

Network where there doesn’t seem an obvious opportunity

…Do it right and you’ll have made some really great contacts and believe me they’ll remember you, unlike the 50 other people they’ve met, and forgotten, at a speed networking event that morning … ”

Not everyone can (or would want to) network the way this guy does – he approaches people in a way that would have most of us cringing with embarrassment – yet he’s always respectful and non-threatening.

Most of us, though, could easily be a bit more creative than relying on turning up to business networking events to get all the results we’re looking for: We just need to be more open to opportunities: What about travelling, cultural outings or sporting events?

Why not try something different this week? You may find it’s actually a lot closer to ‘easy’ networking than you think!