Real Networking

When people hear of "networking" they immediately think of network marketing and MLM and then conclude outright it's a scam. But let me show you what real networking is and how everyone needs it--and I mean everyone who wants big-time success.

Networking means building connections and useful relationships. First, you build connections, and this means making yourself available to all, making friends and looking for useful friendships which you build up as regular connections. Then you seek to build this to the next level of building useful relationships you can later use to help others get connected into a network useful to them. 

Humans are created to network. This was what they meant in the 1950s about "no man is an island." This was what the Hebrews writer in the bible meant when he wrote "do not neglect meeting together" stressing the importance of fellowship. This is what the internet and Face Book are all about. This is why we like connecting with people and relatives and long lost classmates and friends on FB. It's all about real networking. And admit it or not, we do it for a later benefit, consciously or unconsciously. 

We don't just connect with people because of connecting per se. Back in our minds we want to connect so we can easily reach them later for some need in the future--like a reunion, a family matter, a query about someone you both know of, a curiosity about the place where they live, a favor to ask, etc. So we keep addresses and telephone numbers and now, we add friends on FB or we Yahoo Mail. That's real networking.

And if you have a business or just want success in whatever endeavor you have, you got to have connections. It enables you to penetrate more into sources of information or power. To have connections you have to make yourself available, approachable, and accessible. That's why it's baloney trying to avoid social networking sites for fear of revealing your identity or being too wary about accepting friends online. This is the era of getting connected and expanding connections. This is the age of real networking. Personal security? The thing is to be wise like a serpent about it.

Filipinos should benefit much from networking. We like making new friends and getting connected. We value relations and easily make and grow them. We often say friends are our riches. The problem is, we fail to really monetize our connections. 

Meet Clarence. He's a real networker. And he's into sales. He keeps in touch with all his friends and relatives and grows his connections. He maintains sincere friendship with them and at the same time helps them get their needed connections. He acts like an operator connecting calls to different departments. If he learns of someone needing to buy some property, Clarence connects him with a realtor he knows. If someone in his network of connections needs to buy a car, he helps connect the need to an answer--and earns some commission from the connections.

Is that bad--earning commissions from your network? The only thing bad is stealing money. If you're an agent who connects buyers with sellers or products, you deserve commissions. It's a legal way of life in sales.

Meet Robert. He easily organizes parties, plays and performances, events, exhibits, and even simple reunions. This is because of his wide network or connections. He can even have interiors renovated fast because he has connections (and close at that) with interior designers, decor people, suppliers, and carpenters and painters.

Meet Roel. He caters to different offices for their different needs--in fact, every need under the sun. If they need carpets, framed pictures, ID pictures, passports, coffee, lunch, or if they need deliveries, he does them all for them--of course for a fee. He easily does this because he has right connections.

That's the power of real networking. The keys to fruitful networking are friendliness, sincerity, and trustworthiness. And then you become jobless big-time.