What is networking ?
Here , networking refers to "Business networking" . It is actually a low-cost and effective method to create opportunities and contacts, based on referrals and introductions . This can be achieve through either a face-to-face at meetings and gatherings, or by other contact methods such as phone, email, and increasingly social and business networking websites.Business networking sometimes offers a way to reach decision-makers , which otherwise is often difficult through normal conventional advertising methods. It does offer added advantage in personal recommendation and personal introduction, which is key in developing business opportunities. Business networking is a way for you to make the maxim, "It's not what you know, it's who you know.." work for you.
Do not confuse Networking with socialising . When we "network" , we identify the potential people and amount of time we intent to stay "connected" or "engaged" . The more relevant they are , the more time we need to allocate , say in maintaining contact via email or news letter to keep abreast of latest development . Occasionally a short phone call to say hello regarding the news letter or so forth . This way , the potential people we know will somehow get to know us or remember us . So in nutshell , network needs a means to stay systematically "connected" through some form of systems be it through regular emails , news letters , new product launches , etc .
Sometimes there is a social stigma associated with networking . Remember , we network by offering our competencies to somehow for "free" and expect nothing in return . We "invest" our time in maintaining and staying connected with someone systematically and periodically . If that assistance gets returned in some way or another , we should be thankful for the amount of time that we have "allocated" compared to the others who may not have invested time at all . In short we deserve it and should gladly accept it , but we cannot force it or demand it .
