There are two types of networkers. The hunters and the farmers. The hunters are the ones who arrive and scan the room looking for their prey, they want to make a sale, they want your business and they don’t beat around the bush. You have hardly introduced yourself and they are shoving their sales pitch down your throat and if they sense you are not interested they quickly lose interest and move on. They are normally the ones who only come once or twice to a group and then say that network group doesn’t work.
Making true connections takes time, I don’t give out referrals willy nilly. I care enough about the person I am referring business to; to make sure I am not setting them up for a bad experience.
Farmers on the other hand have a little more patience, they are willing to till the soil, these are people who join the membership of a network and become contributors (not just financially). They take the time to build the relationships and know that as they build the relationships the business is a natural progression of that relationship. The harvest if you will.
Tracey Olivier