Five Easy Ways To Become a Better Networker

From someone that doesn’t like networking

Photo by Tezos on Unsplash

Ten years ago, I didn’t like networking. Or rather, I didn’t like it because I’m not good at it. When I moved to the city I currently live in, I met a few people that Scott Gerber and Ryan Paugh call “superconnectors” — these are individuals that seem to know everyone and thrive by connecting you with people in their network for mutual benefit. I told them I wanted to meet people with an MBA (because I was trying to see if an MBA was right for me) so they put me in touch with several people in their network with MBAs. I had coffees with every one of them and then promptly had no idea how to follow up or continue the conversation, so I didn’t.

Does that sound familiar?

Over time, I realized there were five easy ways to be a better networker — these are strategies that even I, someone not good at networking, can do to be a better networker.

Build the relationship before you ask for something

The number one rule I’ve learned is that nobody likes ‘connecting’ with people that want something from them. Think about the times when someone asked you for time or to grab a coffee — you could tell that they wanted something from you because 1. they had not contacted you for…