In a normal week I meet with three to five new people all interested in expanding their personal networks. Most are in job transition trying to uncover the “hidden job market” while many others are prospecting for new business. A few people really understand the networking process, which makes our meetings enjoyable with anticipation of our future. Most treat these meetings as one night stands without focus or purpose. My hope is that more people will follow these guidelines to improve the quality of their networking by building long term relationships.
Rule 1 – Quality is more important than quantity. The value of a few close friends that are your advocates is much greater than scores of acquaintances. When I see people that have 1,000 contacts in LinkedIn or 2,000 friends on FaceBook I want to ask them how many have they actually? How can someone that you only connect with electronically ever be your advocate?
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