In Networking Be a Farmer Not a Hunter

I go to a lot of networking events and I thought I'd share with you my experiences.

I am amazed at the number of people who come to these events expecting to get a lot of business there and then and "work the room", quickly skipping from one person to the next, and if it doesn't look like the person they're talking to needs their services they won't even give them a card. Of course they are only interested in selling their own service, so don't listen to what the other person has to say. Yes, they might get the odd job, but usually they leave, vowing never to return because it wasn't useful for them.

One prime example: I was at an event and a chap came along "to have a look". He runs a local removal firm and I was chatting with him, but I don't think he thought I'd be any use as he didn't give me his details (he hadn't brought any cards with him!). His speciality was doing removals at short notice.

A few weeks later I met a couple who had just sold their house and for some legal reason needed to move out quickly. They had tried all the usual removal firms but no luck, they all needed quite a bit of notice. Now, my mind shot back to this chap I had met, but of course, I didn't have any of his details to give to this couple!

These people are hunters and they are doing it all wrong.

As a networker you should be a farmer. You shouldn't be trying to get work right there and then, but building up relationships with the people you meet. This will lead to a lot more business in the future.

Think of the farmer vs the hunter. The hunter goes out every day to hunt for meat. Yes, he might find and kill an animal, but that's it. Next day he's got to go out again. A farmer looks after his livestock, he puts some aside for lambing or calving, so that he knows not only will he have meat today, he will continue to have meet for months and years down the line.

So we should all be farmers with regard to networking.

I've been going to a free local monthly networking event since it started in May 2007. For the first six months I had nothing from it. But I wasn't worried, I was building up contacts, I had even managed to put some work to these people.

Now, however, things are changing. I'm getting a lot more enquiries and not just from people I've met, but from people they know as well!

Every month, I look out for the newcomers and do my best to make them feel comfortable and at ease. I ask them about their business, etc., and try and be as helpful as possible. Back in December, I was chatting with a chap, we swapped cards and after the event I thought no more of it.

Recently, I had a phone call from a local clinic who want someone to look after their calls when they are out. There's eight clinicians and all their calls will be diverted to us. I asked how had they heard of us. It turns out the chap I was talking to last year is a patient there and he passed on our card!

So when you're networking remember two things:

1/ Be a farmer and not a hunter
2/ It's not just the people you meet, it's who they know that counts.