Ep 16 - Ten Tips on How to Be an Extraordinary Networker

In today’s episode, we’re going to end our 3-part networking series going over 10 tips to make you an extraordinary networker.

 
Find the full show notes for this episode at RecoveringCorpoholics.com/16. 

Everyone knows the power of having a strong networking on one’s career. When done correctly, networking can help you gain access to opportunities and give you a competitive advantage throughout your career. 

Networking isn’t about trying to charm strangers into being your best friend or just getting what you need out of certain people. Networking is about consciously building and nurturing those relationships. It’s about creating long-term relationships. 

There are some people that make networking seem so easy and for others, networking is just another thing on the to-do list that feels so daunting and time consuming.  

If you want to be an extraordinary networking, listen in as we discuss 10 tips that can make you stand out and have people actually want to connect with you. 

Tip 1: Be Sincere aka be real with your intentions.
The first tip I can’t stress enough is to be sincere, aka, be real with your intentions.

There is nothing worse than building a strong intro with someone then to realize they had it out to sell you the entire time. 

If your goal is to grow your business, say that. Even though you may turn people away, you make connections with people are actually interested in helping you. 

For example, I had someone reach out to me wanting to know more about what I did and how they can enhance their career as they looked up to me and wanted to be where I was one day. 

 A very nice complement, right? She wasn’t asking for a job referral, which most people did at the time, she wanted to get to know me. Which is rare in the big 4 world – everyone just wants a referral.

 I told her I’d be happy to have a call as I love helping people with their careers. Well, after about 10 minutes or so into the call, she started talking about products she sells and I realized that she was only trying to sell me vs genuinely get to know me. 

 If that happened to you, how would you feel? I know I felt so fooled. And even if she was selling me gold for half the price, I wouldn’t ever want to give her my business out of principle.

 Again, as I say time and time again, you want to be thinking: how do you want the other person to feel with you. Not just initially, but the whole relationship. 

 Now if the person reached out to me and then stated she needs help with her career and she is working on proposals she might get involved with, after she took the time to build our relationship, I would have heard her out.

Maybe I would have even purchased something from her as I wanted to support her. But for me, as soon as she did a 180, I disengaged. Remember, trust takes time to build and seconds to break. 

Tip 2: Be proud of who you are. 

The second tip I have is to be real and proud of who you are. Don’t have an MBA, graduate from a top business school or have a high position? Who cares! Don’t try to hide who you are because those things don’t matter at the end of the day. 

Find the Full Show Notes Here.