I am a member of several networking groups. We meet at breakfast or lunch or happy hours and pass around our cards and fliers for upcoming events and classes we are offering or special offers our companies are providing. Most of the time we are each given about 30 seconds to about 2 minutes to do a “commercial” telling everyone in the room about our business and why they should buy our products, use our services or become team members of our multi level businesses.
It’s all about making connections. It’s all about striving to generate new business and make lasting business contacts, friendships and family ties.
BULLSHIT!! – it’s all about the food! especially the free food. Networkers can eat like longshoreman after putting in a hard day at the docks. They eat like actors and musicians and drink like teachers and doctors at a convention … that is if it’s free food and, God willing, free booze. Little, tiny wasted, women can suck up more spring rolls, chicken wings, potstickers, cheese wedges and fried appetizers of a variety of natures than should be humanly possible.
BUT … when it’s not free … not so much!
I run a Friday networking group and I went with a smart decision in order to avoid the embarrassment of having people come to the meeting, sit there with nothing but a free water in front of them and take up space on the restaurant (which they hate). My meeting is at a Chinese restaurant, a very good one, where you get an entire meal for under $6. We are well attended.
It’s not free but it’s the next best thing … it’s cheap.
So … I am off to a networking meeting tonight … great apps and buy one get one drinks. Wooo the frick … hooooo!! If I could only bring in a little cooler, Beth would not have to cook tonight. It takes a lot more than free food to get my wife to a networking meeting!!!!
That’s right. If you could arrange for the Pixar folks to be at the meeting, I would come. Short of that, large sums of cash would be required.