Networking Basics for an Honest Connection

We have all been there: you go to an interesting event on the cutting edge topic of your line of work. At the counter, a warm welcome and name tag greet you. The lectures leave an inspiring impression, making you eager to integrate the acquired knowledge in your daily business. At that point, you see the next topic on the agenda: Networking Drinks. Some see this as an opportunity. Most of us see it as forced interactions between people boasting about their business achievements, one-upping each other and exchange business cards or LinkedIn-info to never contact one another again. This latter mindset prevents you from making a genuine connection with interesting and like-minded people that share your vision, which is the whole idea of the networking drinks in the first place.

One of the key drivers to success in both your professional and personal life is having a strong network of people who you can trust and depend on. Networking is important, but how to go about it can be a challenge. To help you make an actual connection at your next event (instead of just adding another card to the pile in the corner of your bag that needs some serious cleaning), here are several tips:

4. Follow up on a nice interaction
When you enjoyed the interaction with someone, set up a reason for a follow-up meeting at the end of it. This ensures that both of you know there is going to be a time to reconnect. This does not mean you have to get back to them 2 hours after the event has ended, but 2 weeks might be pushing it as well. Send them an invitation within a few days for coffee to discuss ideas and ways you could strengthen each other’s businesses. You are not only taking, but giving as well after all.

Doing the above allows you to build honest, sincere long-term relationships that bring value to both parties. Even though you might not stay in touch with everyone for years on end, maintaining your relations helps generate leads in times you least expect them to. Integrity, sincerity and keeping your promises are important in this respect, as they show you are a trustworthy person that people will come back to when they have something of value for you. Value is not only knowledge or connections you can share, but being a sound board for ideas and helping your personal development as well.

So take your chance with striking up a first conversation next time at a networking event. Who knows what good things will come of it.

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