Collecting business cards is not networking
When you start building your network in new territory you might be tempted to collect lost of business cards. This is not networking. This is collecting business cards!
Of course, when you move to a new country, or you change jobs into a new industry, you need to know new people and get their business cards, but this is not enough.
Networking is much more than this. Networking is adding value into your relationships. This is done when you give something of benefit to the other person. Having their business cards in your “business card collection” doesn’t add any value. Neither to you nor to them…
When you receive a business card, you might want to write on the back. Write something you can do that would help the other person achieve their goals. When you enter that card into your address book or file it into your card folder, execute what you wrote on the back. You will start giving something of benefit to other person and thus start the real networking.
When you get a business card, write what you can do for that person!
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