Page 236 - Effective Communication Skills Mastery Bible 4 Books in 1 Boxset by Tuhovsky, Ian

joint implementation of a project.

1. Be where interesting people are. It’s time to step out of

your house! No excuses that you don’t have time. Just go to a

conference or live event. Look for a club bringing together the

enthusiasts of particular business models, activities or
professions. It is worth looking into LinkedIn’s section of

meetings. By selecting your city, you have the possibility to

view the upcoming meetings, events, free lectures,

conferences, etc. You can also try meetup.com.

2. Be aware of what kind of relationships you need. The
biggest power in networking lies in the diverse network of

contacts. Imagine that you are building a company and your

relationships support the process of establishing it step by step.

When you need legal advice, you call your lawyer friend. If

you have invoicing related questions, you write a short email

to a colleague who is an accountant. Your friend who works in
an interactive agency will design your company logo, because

a few weeks ago you helped him with something else.

The more diverse your network of contacts gets, the easier it

is to achieve your own goals.

3. Networking is not about handing out business cards all

the time. This is the least important element. If someone

wants to find you, in today’s online world they will be able to

do it even without this piece of paper. Despite the fact that

most people’s behavior suggests otherwise, the number of

business cards handed out does not correlate with the number
of established business contacts. Give people business cards

only if it really creates a new opportunity. If there is no such

need, just leave it in your pocket or pouch.