I was speaking to a group last week, and one of the people in the audience was very resistant to networking for his business. He runs a restaurant, and he didn’t think that business networking would be effective for him.
It took me a bit, but I finally figured out that his definition of networking was narrow. To him “networking” was going to formal events, and he didn’t see how that could help him.
I was actually able to come up with several ways he could work a local Chamber of Commerce or similar organization, but I and other audience members tried to help him see that simply getting out and talking to people to spread the word in the community would be effective.
He kept raising the same objection. “But that’s marketing, not networking.” We could not help him to see that networking is marketing and vice versa.
Networking is simply one aspect of an overall marketing strategy, whether you are marketing a business or yourself as a job seeker. And anytime you engage in conversation about yourself or your business, you are networking and marketing.
Networking doesn’t just happen in formal groups. The grocery line is a place to network. So is your kid’s sporting event. Networking isn’t something you turn on and off. It’s something you can do anyplace and anytime.
Anyone have a story about an unusual place you networked?
Tags: Networking, Networking Events