How to Determine Who Should Be in Your Network

A few weeks ago, I met a man at a Business EXPO and he decided to share his way of keeping track of people he meets. I always love hearing how other people approach networking and meeting new people. He proceeded to tell me his system which required a jacket with outside pockets. He said if he met someone that he thought he was going to do business with, he put their business card in his left pocket. If he met someone that he wasn't interested in, he would put them in his right pocket.

I thought at least he's trying to put a plan together to follow up with people right away. He then told me when he got back to his office he took out the cards in his left pocket to call and set up appointments. Unfortunately, he didn't stop there but told me the cards in his right pocket got thrown away! I looked at him and asked, "so which pocket did you put my card in?" He gave me a crooked little smile and didn't say a word.

I was telling a few friends of mine this story earlier this week and they asked, "Why didn't you ask for all the cards in his right pocket?" Obviously he was going to throw them away anyway. I guess I could have but I honestly don't want to just add names to my database unless I made a connection with them personally or they contacted me.

Then I read someone elses blog this week that was a networking guru and he made a new rule this year for all of his social networks and that was if he didn't personally meet them or at least talk to them on the phone, he was deleting them from his contact list! He said he went from 600 connections to 140. Now some people might think that was pretty smart to only work with people that want to work with you. I happen to disagree. What if he deleted someone that could have been his most valuable contact?

Here's my opinion on who to put into your network. Whether you meet them face-to-face, by phone or online, embrace all of them! You should have a "Welcome" sign in front of you at all times. Of course, not everyone will do business with you and that's OK. Building a strong and healthy network of people is so much more than business. You really can't judge a person or predict what will happen.

My advice is to stay open to all connections you make because you'll never know who you might be talking with or who they might know. To make it easier, think about the people you want to meet. Are they someone you respect, admire or believe in? You can actually attract the right people, at the right time, for whatever you need or want.

If people want to get to know you better, let them. Bring them into your circle and introduce them to others. Everyone relies on referrals to grow their business and you can help them by including them in your network.

To Your Networking Success,

Darlene Willman

The Sassy Networker