How To Network Better and Hate it Less
The cheat sheet of an introvert at a business networking organisation
Networking can be a thing of dread. Yet, millions of businesses and individuals are members of networking organisations.
In the UK alone, the Federation of Small Businesses has roughly 160,000 members, Chambers of Commerce serve tens of thousands of businesses, and the Institute for Directors represents over 25,000 business leaders, from all sectors of the economy.
This is because networking is a crucial part of doing business.
One Linkedin survey found that 80% of their members consider professional networking to be important to new job opportunities and career success.
In a study by Forbes and Oxford Economics, more than half of business travellers said that 5% to 20% of their company’s new customers were the result of participating in and networking at trade shows.
The study estimated the return on investment on conference and trade show participation at between $4-$5.99 per dollar invested.
In the employment market, “At least 70%, if not 80%, of jobs are not published, yet most people are spending 70 or 80% of their time surfing the net versus getting out there, talking to employers,” says Matt Youngquist…
