Recently, I met fabulous business travelers at Tory Johnson’s Spark & Hustle Small Business Media Mania event who all had interesting stories to tell. The participants came from all over the United States to meet with us. Which begs the question … why did some travel so far? In this day of emails, Skype, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and hundreds of other electronic tools designed to connect us, why would any of us take the time and make the effort to connect in the real world?
The answer is that face-to-face networking still matters. Shaking hands and exchanging cards may feel antiquated, but it is, in fact, part of the ritual that creates a connection. A connection that could lead you to new resources, new vendors, new friends or new business.
One of the challenges for many business travelers is knowing how to make the most of networking efforts. For suggestions, I turned to Women for Hire’s Tory Johnson, who offers lots of great advice for networkers, including these tips related to business cards:
- Don’t pass out your business cards as if they’re flyers – they are only going to get thrown away. Instead, only exchange cards with those you’ve had a meaningful conversation with and only at the end of the exchange.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for someone’s card, even if you perceive him or her to hold a higher status or position than your own. If you aren’t able to get the person’s card, write down his or her name and company when you have a moment so you can look up this person’s contact information the following day.
- Your cards should be clean, kept in a nice case, easy to access and wrinkle-free. Contact information and title should be current – don’t use a pen to make corrections or changes!
- Finally, don’t forget to refill your card case after each event. There’s nothing worse than missing an opportunity to connect because you were careless!
Looking for other networking tips? Visit WomenForHire.com! womenforhire.com/advice/professional_networking/formal_networking_events/
