Three's the Charm

When I spoke on Enhancing Your Executive Presence at the MASS Conference for Women, it was a blast 5,000 women under one roof. My cab driver wondered with amazement what 5,000 women could find to talk about. I think he was shocked when I said, “leadership, careers, finance.” He probably expected me to say, “men, cosmetics and fashion.”

Tory Johnson, founder and CEO of Women for Hire was one of the introductory keynote speakers. She told the story of how she enhanced her networking skills and it went something like this. Early in her career she would go to networking events with a friend and stand in a corner and talk to each other. Then she realized that there was no benefit to that, so she set herself a challenge to meet 3 new people at every event. And she succeeded – she’d speak with the wait persons, coat check valet and others. Being no fool, she soon realized that although it is important to be respectful and appreciative to those who make events possible, these contacts weren’t helping her achieve her career and business goals so she finally bit the bullet and committed to meeting 3 new business contacts at each event. Sometimes these relationships turned into friendships, some yielded business benefits and some went nowhere. But the point is that she went from poorly skilled networker to a strong networker… and you can too.

When you are heading off to a business meeting, conference, or other event take a word of advice from Tory and commit to extending yourself to 3 people you don’t know. If you can set strategic targets (companies represented, specific individuals) – all the better Bring with you your elevator pitch and your Courageous Ask,™ be prepared to Think and Link™ when someone asks you for help.

Network ON!
By Susan Colantuono, CEO and Founder Leading Women and author of No Ceiling, No Walls