Question

Topic: Strategy

Best Reasons To Network Face To Face

Posted by Anonymous on 2/17/2009 at 2:11 PM ET 500 Points
I'm looking for good reasons why business people should network locally, in person, with their business peers.

Everyone talks about online networking, but little is being said about face-to-face.

If you do it, please let me know how and why.

If you don't do it, please let me why.

If you like it better than online networking, please let me know why.

If you have a networking success story, or any other comment regarding this, please let me know.

Thank you all.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by michael on 2/17/2009 at 2:21 PM Member
    I prefer NOT to do "networking" in person. Not that I'm not always doing it, but the after-hour networking is just my idea of a good use of time.

    We're all looking out for business so I prefer an outright selling situation to a "hey maybe if we talk for a while we might strike up something that might possibly help someone" situation.

    Maybe I'm wrong, but every piece of business I've ever gotten in my career has been from going after business openly, not disguising a sales call as "networking".

    PLUS my experience is that the larger accounts I've gone after don't attend.

    Michael
  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 2/17/2009 at 9:08 PM Accepted
    My field is very narrow. I like face to face networking best - but that is because I like people.

    However, in order for my networking to be productive, I have to make certain I am in a "target rich" environment. There are a few trade shows where nearly everyone is a good potential contact. Typical chamber of commerce networking is fun from a social standpoint - but not as a business investment.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/18/2009 at 8:19 AM Accepted
    There's a whole chapter devoted to this issue in "Branding Only Works On Cattle" (by Jonathan Salem Baskin). The author states that online community is basically an oxymoron. Online there's not really a community: being anonymous, lack of shared responsibility, lack of trust, and no side conversations mean that people aren't truly "meeting".

    People define networking differently. To some, networking is meeting people to sell them something. To others, networking is about building trust.

    I also recommend reading the following networking book reviews (that I wrote): https://www.manygoodideas.com/2007/04/01/networking-magic/ and https://www.manygoodideas.com/2008/05/01/endless-referrals/
  • Posted on 2/22/2009 at 9:40 AM Author
    Thank you all. If anyone has future comments, please email them to me. My contact info is under my profile.
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