The Blatant Truth Weblog

Efficient Networking: Six in the City

Do you participate in networking breakfasts or lunches? I don’t necessarily mean group meetings but rather those one-on-ones that you set up in order to get to know a person better, to learn about their business and how you might be able to leverage introductions and connections.

Does it seem like you’re spending an inordinate amount of time setting up and attending these get-togethers and are you even finding it difficult to fit all of these networking “appointments” into an already crowded schedule?

If so, you’re not alone.  Networking is extremely time-consuming and when you factor in the sheer quantity of individual meetings that you must do, it’s no wonder that you might be getting burned out.

If I’ve described your state of mind (um, over-scheduled calendar), well then how about this?

Six in the city.

Let’s take that idea of one-to-one networking engagements and expand them just a bit.

How about if you and your networking contact each invite two other people to the breakfast or lunch. With a little planning and the establishment of some parameters or categories, you can craft a very worthwhile mini networking activity, in which each person in this group of six has the opportunity to make some contacts.

Of course six is not feasible if the networking meeting has to be highly confidential or exclusive, but most often theses breakfasts and lunches are scheduled purely in order for the two people to get to know one another better.

Think about it. You can expand your contacts while managing and using your time in the most efficient manner.

So, who can we invite to lunch?