Plan C Networking

The concept of networking is simple…planning to make contacts to share information for personal and professional gain.

Let's take a deeper look at networking.

1. Networking is the most cost-effective tool for reaching an endless stream of influential contacts.
2. Networking is developing relationships with others to help you achieve your goals.
3. Networking is 10 times more effective than any form of advertising.
4. Networking is not about who you know, it's about who knows you.

Networking is a 24 hour process that's about giving as well as getting. You can't expect to attend one networking meeting every six months and get results. You must always be on the lookout for people you can include in your network, and whose network you can join.

People, with whom you network, will ultimately determine your net-worth.

Keys To Successful Networking

Prepare. Successful networking happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Be prepared to answer the question, "What do you do?" Rehearse what you will say. Try to sum up your business, what you need, or what you have to offer in 30 seconds or less.

Seek every opportunity to meet people. Don't wait until you actually walk into the meeting room to begin networking. If you notice people in a parking lot, elevator, restroom, or waiting at the bar, start talking. "Are you going to the meeting? Did you run into any traffic on the freeway?" Have at least three small talk questions in mind. Small talk leads to important talk or open-ended questions. "Tell me about your company? What do you like about your job?"

• Keep plenty of business cards. Always!
  
  
• Follow up. Most networking opportunities are lost because people fail to follow up. Contact your new lead within 24 hours.
  
  
• Do remember that networking is a challenge. Approach new people. Take the initiative. It really does pay off. Whether you are a novice or an expert, you only get as much out of networking as you put into it.
  

by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different

that each of us is special.

Don't set your goals

by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted

the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life,

for without them, life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers

by living in the past or for the future.
By living your life one day at a time,

you live all the days of your life.

Don't give up when

you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over

until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit

that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread

that binds us to each other.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances

that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying

it's impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.

The fastest way to lose love

is to hold it too tightly;
And the best way to keep love

is to give it wings.

Don't dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope;
To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget

not only where you've been,

but also where you're going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored

each step of the way.