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28 March 2008

Work it

Networking is often undervalued and misunderstood but follow these five tips to make the right connections.

To climb the corporate ladder, you not only have to be good at what you do, but also be able to set up contacts that will make your journey to the top faster and more successful.

Chief executive of the Business Women's Association, Tina Thomson, says networking is possibly the most misunderstood and undervalued business strategy. She believes the following five points on networking are a must:

A business card is simply a tool to exchange when you have engaged with someone long enough to offer it. The exchange is not for everyone; you have to develop a relationship with someone first.

Identify two, or maximum three, people with whom you wish to build a relationship. Choose people you are naturally attracted to; it is important to like the people you will be dealing with.

Concentrate on listening to conversations and be careful of monopolising them. You have two ears and one mouth; so listen twice as hard as you speak.

Talk about anything but work. After you have greeted someone, talk family, leisure anything but business. Talking business crushes any conversation. Remember that people don't do business with businesses – they do business with people.

Networking is only effective if you follow up: 72 hours after meeting someone is the magic time to re-establish contact – any later than that and 90% of the impact will have been lost.

Do you have any useful networking tips? Share them in the comment box below.

Previously published in True Love, Subscribe now and save