I’ve written about networking in the past. But it bears repeating.  As much as I LOVE social media and especially LinkedIn, I realize that you cannot ignore face to face networking.

Recently, I met with a gentleman that called me based on a referral from one of his connections. When I walked into my office away from office, a Panera, I immediately recognized the man with whom I was about to meet.  We had both been at a local chamber networking event. He had been drawn to my booth display and wanted to find out more, but was pulled in several directions and we never were able to connect.

As we chatted, we discovered that our goals and desires to further our business were similar and that we could become excellent referral partners for each other.

The following article was written with job seekers in mind, but from my point of view, everyone could benefit from the suggestions that it makes. 6 Ways To Beat The Ugly Networking Stigma

Here are my questions to you –

1. Do you network face-to-face?
2. What do you gain from your networking?
3. Do you look at networking as a chore or a pleasure?
4. When you network, do you enter into the arena with the pay-it-forward philosophy?
5. If you can’t do business with someone, can you become a power partner or referral partner with them?
6. Do you expect immediate results from your networking activities?