HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS NOT CONTACTS?

Are you just networking or also building lasting relationships?

You probably heard before that It’s not what you know, but who you know or stronger than that – who knows you. Yes, when you meet at least dozen of new faces every week, it’s seems impossible to many people to remember every single person you meet. What differentiates the ones who are remembered from the ones who are forgotten, is the kind of relationships you build with them.  I discovered it recently in an event I participated.

Networking is often limited to the exchange of brief pleasantries and business cards – fleeting encounters that make a little impact. But if you focus instead on getting to know people, irrespective of what ‘use’ they will be to your your business, you might find your self reaping greater dividends later.

Based on my international experience and building relationships for many years around the globe, I discovered that networks are useful as they encourage information exchange, but tend to be purely transactional in nature. This is why networking is more inclined toward short-term relationships, as when there is no immediate advantage for either party, the relationship tends to die. When we network with people with an agenda to understand and connect with them, benefits will follow.

Networking should be used as an opportunity to identify people with whom to explore ways in which one can bring value to them, either professionally or personally. This, when done over a period of time, will ensure that our networks become well rounded relationships with long-lasting benefits.

Based on conversation I had with industry experts and professionals from global markets and the input I got from them, there is no doubt that there is a huge gap between networks and Relationships. Lets me summarize my finding as follows:

Networks

• They are merely the construction blocks of a communication network;
• They entail exchanging of business cards with many resources at an event;
• They are the first step towards building relationships;
• They are mostly superficial.

Relationships

• They remove barriers to information, thus enabling it to move faster and more effectively between parties;
• They entail following up with a handful of resources, post the event due to shared interest;
• They involve time and happen in a phased manner;
• They are long-term and have to be nurtured as they require a lot of patience.

Why restrict yourself to ‘contacts’, when you can make friends instead? But that’s not an easy task. Networking done correctly can lead to long-lasting relationships. It should not be only about gaining but about giving too. A relationship is something, which networking can lead to. Like anything good, relationships also take time to grow and develop. With the passage of time, I see the difference between contacts and friends getting blurred.

Building relationships ensures that you share a good rapport with your ex-boss – years after you relinquish the job. And that requires you to be honest and authentic, something that is rarely prioritized by professionals who have no time for deeper connections.

The world is getting smaller everyday with ‘always on’ networks, messaging apps, social media platforms, etc. making it so easy to e-connect/re-connect and cultivate relationships beyond one’s physical, limited corporate/professional/geographic circle. The key is to make an effort, be open, authentic, honest, and respect people and their personal/professional spaces – helping nurture what could first start as a hesitant greeting – into a mature, trusting, respectful, collaborative and a mutually beneficial relationship.

Networking may have been yesterday’s buzzword but building valuable relationships will be the key to being the successful business leaders of tomorrow. Because in a meaningful relationship, there is no room for a win-lose situation.

Join my Power Networking Personal Mentoring program and let me help you turn your contacts into fruitful relationships!  Contact me to find out more! I only accept limited amount of people, so first come first served.