“But I don’t have any contacts!” This is the biggest complaint I have heard in law school. Some people have this mythical ‘contacts’, usually through dad or family friends, and there are the other people who are not from such impressive backgrounds and claim to be suffering unfairly because of this lack of ‘contacts’.

I always laughed at these people. There are two rules I have learnt about networking –

• Firstly, there is nothing unfair about knowing people and having a relationship in which they feel glad or obliged to help you. That sort of position comes from hard work and ability to generate value.
• Secondly, you can have your own network (which the uninitiated calls ‘contacts’) even if your dad or uncle does not. Your own contacts are always better than your dad’s contacts.

Good networking skill is a prerequisite of professional success. Without it, your professional life will never have the Midas touch! In this post, I will discuss the ways in which you can develop some basic networking skills.

Whom to meet?

The first thing before you start off networking is to know what sort of people you want to network. Set out your goal for the next three years with regard to what you want to be and what you want to achieve, and approach people who can help you in reaching that position. Make a list of people you want to meet.

Homework before meeting

Before you meet someone, do a bit of homework; make sure that you have looked through the person’s Linkedin, Facebook profile. If you have got some common friends, then don’t forget to collect a bit of information about the likes and dislikes of the person you are going to meet. People generally appreciate the fact that you know more than their name and designation. This acts as a first step for winning people over.

Reach out at personal level

However, just reaching out to people is not enough. Your long contact list on phone or facebook friend list is not the true reflector of the number of friends you are having. Your friends are those you can turn up to in times of need. Networking should be more about making friends. When you meet a person, don’t start selling yourself immediately but create a relationship based on trust and confidence. If you have taken out some time to meet a person you want to network with, give her your undivided attention. Establish a connection by sharing common interests, hobby, and experiences.

Follow-Up

To make lasting contacts, you need to follow up with people you meet or else you will lose touch. According to Keith Ferrazzi, follow-up is the hammer and nails of your networking tool kit. How do you follow up? Once you have met the person, drop a mail, don’t forget to mention some relevant part of the conversation that you had, send thank you note to express gratitude for taking out the time for the meeting if that is appropriate, otherwise send a mail telling them how happy you felt when you met. Never let your network forget you. The most successful guys don’t only develop a good network, they also know how to remain on the top of everyone’s mind. If you come across information that you think may be useful to anyone in your network, take a moment to send it across.

If you want to be successful, you need to learn how to share and care, this is the key to being good at networking. I’ll write more about networking in my next post. Sign up on the top left a corner of this page to make sure that you receive it by mail in your inbox! Share it with friends on Facebook if you liked it. Thanks!