I saw this quote the other day in a book on connections by Jeffrey Gitomer, Little Black Book of Connections:
"Your mother taught you everything you need to know about connecting before you were 10 years old:
Make friends, play nice, tell the truth, take a bath, do your homework." ~Jeffrey Gitomer
I really liked this quote. And it's so true. The first rile of networking is make friends. Try to make a personal connection with people before trying to sell them. If you start selling right off the bat, people are going to turn you off and categorize you as either a pest or an amateur. In either case, they aren't going to be interested in having a professional relationship with you.
Play nice is the equivalent of bring them value. Do something to help the other person realize value out of the relationship. By doing this, you make yourself valuable to the other person. Hopefully, they'll want to bring you value as well.
Tell the truth, even if it hurts. How wants a relationship with someone who can't be relied upon to be truthful. The even if it hurts part means, even if you've done something stupid and have to fess up. It takes a strong person to admit that they've screwed up and take ownership and more importantly, find a way to fix the problem so it doesn't happen again. Learning from your mistakes is one of the most valuable parts of making them.
Take a bath. Enough said!
Do your homework before you waste someone's time. If you invite someone to have coffee or a meal with you, make sure you do a little research beforehand. Not only does it show respect on your part, it also makes the meeting more productive. If you know a little about the other person, you can ask valuable questions and not waste their time nor yours.
It's just basic networking.
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