Networking guide

Before, during and after

Networking is not a personality trait. It is a short sequence of unglamorous habits, and all of them can be systemised.

Before

Most of the value is decided before you arrive.

1
Know who will be thereScan the attendee or speaker list and pick five people worth meeting.
2
Have one clear sentenceWhat you do, in language someone outside your field understands.
3
Make yourself findableA profile page and a digital card ready to share before you need them.

During

Capture beats charisma. Do the boring thing well.

1
Ask more than you tellPeople remember the conversation where they did most of the talking.
2
Capture immediatelyScan the card in the moment, not at the end of the day.
3
Write one line of contextWhat they care about, or what you promised. This is the line that makes your follow-up land.
4
Set the horizon there and thenDecide when you will contact them while you still remember why.

After

This is where almost everyone loses the value they created.

1
Message within three daysInside the window where they still picture your face.
2
Reference the conversationNot the event. Specificity is the whole game.
3
Deliver what you promisedThe link, the intro, the document. Do it before you ask for anything.
4
Set the next touchpointRelationships die at the second follow-up far more often than the first.

The only rule that really matters

Be useful before you are needy. The people who build strong networks send the link, make the introduction and remember the detail — consistently, and long before they ask for anything. Everything else in this guide is logistics.

Run the system, not your memory

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