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Sales Speak: 7 Reasons Networking Is Dead — Or Should Be

By Eric Dewey
February 01, 2021

I'm not a big fan of "networking" — that rite of passage for anyone with aspirations of career changes or new clients. It has its place, of course. But it's not the business development panacea many would make it out to be. In fact, I think networking can do more harm than good. To make my point, here are 7 ways "connecting" is better than "networking."

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1.  Networking is about finding ways to know more people. Connecting is about finding ways to know people more.

LinkedIn is one place to go to network with other professionals. In fact, my LinkedIn profile says that I am networked with 5,190 people. That's not right. I am not "connected" to that many people, not in any meaningful way. I can't be. How could I really "know" that many people? Studies, history, and common sense indicate that the human mind is capable of knowing only about 150 people really well. Playing the volume game may serve your ego but it will do little for your happiness, let alone your success. I have about 75 to 100 professionals who I know really well. And this group is from where almost all of my referrals come.

Technically, you could say I am networked with them. But in reality, these people are my "community of connections." "Communities" are powerful things. They are made up of groups of people who care about one another's success, who you trust and respect and who exchange favors and assistance. Connecting is about finding the people most qualified for you to help and who can help you, and building connections with those people. It is about building a self-supporting ecosystem in which all boats rise together.

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