[lifeisstillgood]

Can you expand on that - what do you mean by professional networking - sales people taking leads out for coffee a lot, keeping in touch with folks you used to work with, glad handing at lots of industry events

I think "networking" covers a lot of different behaviours and I am always interested in which ones work

[antonkm]

I also run a successful consultancy, and I wrote this in a similar comment before in 2017. This is how I do professional networking.

"For me to join a network the network has to match these criteria:

* It markets itself as exclusive

* It costs money (say $2k/y for small businesses and scaling prices depending on number of employees)

* Participants are owners or at C-level

The networks are often dinners where the participants get to know each other in friendly settings. I aim for networks with high middle age where I stick out as the younger (am mid-thirties) professional which connects tech with business needs (my niche).

While at a network, do not talk about yourself. Ask about others businesses and interests. These sells take between 6-12 months and are based on trust.

You also need to come prepared.

* Dress as expected.

* Have a web page with referrals so when leads get a bit nosy and Google you you're #1 in search and the page provides the lead with info about great work you've done. I have about 100 visits / mo to my page (my weird name helps for the #1 pos). 90% are primed leads.

* Know your oneliners. Prepare examples of things you can provide. Make them sound natural. Say it without selling in an informal way.

It's about being systematic and selecting only the networks where your dream leads go to. Hoping to get into invite only networks further on."

It's still going strong and we double our billing each year.

[siscia]

How do you get invited in these kind of events/networks?

Given that they market themselves as "exclusive" I suppose I won't find them in meetup.com but still you need to get started somewhere...

[antonkm]

No, Meetup is for meetups, to meet other nerds :)

I Google my way - City + business network.

I also ask people I meet in business about their preferred networks, but only people I would like as a client.

Work your way from there. The networks want to be found, they want your money after all.

Edit, about starting somewhere: Some people work to connect businesses. Depending on your location, these can be Chamber of Commerce, Science Parks, tech hubs etc. Start by asking there and get yourself connected with the formal connections first.

[my_username_is_]

The way I see it, networking is making friends with similar (or at least tangential) professional interests. In different roles and industries, the specifics can be very different. But the foundation of it is the relationship that you have with someone. I would say that my best networking contacts are friends that I know from college, or who I used to work with. These people need to know that you're competent enough to be successful in what you're looking to do. But they're also going to need to enjoy spending more time with you.

It's the people I consider friends that I want to reach out to about working with, and I know that these people would be advocates for me within their respective organizations.

[everdev]

For me it was keeping a client happy and then always saying yes to introductions that would eventually be made. Even if the project wasn't a good fit I'd say yes to the meeting just to build a connection and hopefully point the person in the right direction.

Or for non-clients, just taking time to ask how they're doing, what's new or really showing any spontaneous interest in their life or career. It's amazing how many times I checked in with people that it would remind them of someone they overheard needing consulting.