
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” So goes the old adage, and it’s true that in business, personal relationships usually count for more than specialist knowledge. But I don’t think the key to success lies simply in knowing the right people – in the traditional sense of “the people who matter”.
Just think for a moment of all the high fliers who have crashed to earth in the great crisis of capitalism of the past four years or so. They had the right connections – or so they thought. They were part of the establishment. Their trouble was that they had become isolated from the rest of us. And here’s the challenge for networkers today. It’s about making connections, yes, but it’s also about constantly testing yourself against other people, bouncing ideas around, keeping yourself honest, in the broadest sense. What is networking and why do we do it? In a business context, we mean social interaction in the pursuit of competitive advantage. It’s hardly new. In Asian societies, the tradition has always been that if you want to do business with someone, you establish a social connection first, often with an exchange of gifts. It was the Anglo-Saxons, for the most part, who thought they could “get down to business” without any such niceties. And it was the Anglo-Saxons who belatedly realised the importance of networking in the latter half of the last century. Globalisation has blurred those traditional cultural differences, and now we all network for all we’re worth. But the remarkable thing about today’s society is that for all our massively enhanced ability to connect, whether via Twitter, Facebook, video-conferencing or whatever, it’s easy to end up feeling quite lonely.1. Open all the networking avenues you can
That means getting involved in every kind of social media, so that you maximise your connections. It means travelling to explore new markets, meet potential new customers and pick the brains of local experts. It means coming home and talking to your staff, your friends and family. And it means being open to casual encounters that might arise from conferences, social events or meetings in public places. But this is only the exploratory stage, the making of connections.2. Build relationships
How do you get the most out of a networking opportunity? The successful networker needs to be able to relax and persuade others to do the same. You can’t do that if you are too determined to sell something, or win an argument. Being extrovert is fine, but being a hustler or a bully will put people on the defensive. Respect people, listen, give them the chance to express themselves. In the end, you can’t fake it – you have to be genuinely open-minded, genuinely ready to listen and learn. Be patient, and opportunity will come your way.3. Follow through
Giving someone your business card won’t persuade them to follow up. If you’ve identified a business opportunity, now is the moment when you need to take the initiative. Remember what they were interested in, and send them an email. Offer them something. Invite them to something. If you have any doubts, check them out. Networking may be much more complicated than it used to be, but at heart it depends on that personal interaction and all that flows from it – courtesy, respect and ultimately, you hope, trust. But if you try to shortcut the personal element, you are asking for trouble. Mark Dixon is founder and CEO of Regus.Share this story