Networking success doesn't happen overnight

A lot of people approach networking expecting to see success overnight, or they think that the people who benefit from networking are lucky. The problem is that they only see the outcomes, and not the work that goes into making them a reality.

Whether it is the friend who is approached about the dream job or the colleague who keeps on landing big clients, it is easy when looking at something from a distance to think that this success is a result of quantum leaps from here to there. Furthermore, it seems to happen to the same people over and over.

This is the wrong way to think about it, and if you are guilty of this yourself it could be holding you back. The problem is that this thinking can result in people sitting back waiting for the big break to come along or looking for a quick fix solution, which will stop you from doing what is really needed to achieve success.

To put a little context into it, think about it like this: if you were to have a heart attack after eating one hamburger, you would stop eating hamburgers immediately — but that’s not how it works!

Like healthy eating, there is a very simple idea at the core of all successful networkers — it is the same powerful idea that explains the success and failure in a lot of areas in life:

While the results from networking may be enormous, they come about from lots of small actions. While the outcomes can be really exciting and life changing, the actions that bring them about can be very mundane and boring in the moment.

This idea can transform your networking. It is simple, but it isn’t easy. It’s not easy because it is hard work and the results aren’t immediate.

Your actions (or inaction) every day is either moving you towards your goals or moving you away from them. Unfortunately most people are oblivious to this point. The actions that will have a huge impact in your business success over the long-term don’t look like they are having any impact in the short-term. Without exception, everyone who achieves success in business through networking does so through the disciplined practice of the right small actions over time.

The simple things in life are easy to do, but they are equally easy not to do… they are completely up to you, and making the right decisions will be the difference between success and failure.

We will be discussing this idea in more detail and how to put these ideas into action in part two of our networking white paper series that will be out soon — sign up here and we will let you know as soon as it is ready to go.

Originally published at blog.headresourcing.com on September 30, 2014.