Networking groups save time

I network for advocates, those people that will recommend me unreservedly. I find that building trusted relationships and becoming an advocate for others first is the best way of doing this. I look for networking groups where the members have a similar outlook.

A couple of months ago I had the opportunity of hosting a meeting for a group I belong to. I decided to give people an exercise in becoming an advocate quickly. Before that I shared some numbers about my experiences in building relationships within the group;

• Total group members 320
• Members I had met 179
• 121s with members 129
• Furthering relationship 84
• People I advocate 26

Someone then asked how many advocates I had in the room. It was more than 26!

I have subsequently calculated that to achieve this result without belonging to the group I would have had to have attended at least 12 times as many 'open' networking meetings. That would almost certainly have taken me an extra 3 years.

If you're not sure about joining a group then maybe you need to do some sums of your own.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke