On September 21st we heard from three women in business on how to network on the corporate level and establish connections that will last a lifetime. They explained, meeting new people is so much more than collecting business cards and cigars; it's about lasting relationships. As said by corporation founder Mary B. Relotto, "Networking is essential to success," and is the process of "building authentic connections," with other business leaders.
Melanie Martin-Jones from Porter Wright explained that gaining a personal knowledge of someone builds trust and makes networking a two-way street. She gave a couple pointers:
- You don't need to meet everybody, just the right ones
- Define who you're looking for, for your company
- Follow up on connections
- Go beyond your industry
- Do your homework
- Networking is a contact sport
- Keep a record
- Volunteer
- Be yourself, be genuine
- Shut up and listen
- Don't waste the moment
- Don't expect anything
- Don't take rejection personally
We also heard from Andrea Nameche from Columbus Financial group who spoke about the power of a women's decisions in both the home and business level. Citing that 80-85 percent of all money decisions in America involve women, Andrea made the point that women have a substantial amount of control over their environments, and need to know how to culminate it.
Women intrinsically have incredible networking skills; the next step is to apply to efforts beyond the home environment, and into the board room
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