Business Networking and Sex - Ivan Misner [83]
Ironically, especially men who cling to a transactional approach think they’re saving time by leaving a group they feel isn’t paying off in an acceptable amount of time. They’re hunting, jumping around, not letting their efforts gel. In other words, they’re spending more time, but getting fewer results than women.
On the other hand, a woman in the survey had a very different take on the process, which demonstrates the time women are willing to invest in developing their connections for long-term results:
Both business and life in general are all about building and strengthening relationships. It is important to invest the necessary time to get to know the people and businesses and watch the way they conduct themselves and contribute to your life. Do they solve problems, add value, follow up in a timely manner, ask questions, listen with both head and heart, have the desire to learn about your business, make referrals, and THANK the referring parties? In addition, I feel strongly that it is important to be able to develop the art of giving and receiving business versus being one-sided.
Men are much more likely to see networking as, well, working. I have probably contributed to this attitude with influential language over the years by often telling newbies, “It’s not net-sit or net-eat. It’s net-work!” Men tend to see networking as a business-building task, while women tend to see relationship development as a necessary context within which business may someday be discussed.
Building relationships can be fun, exciting, and invigorating. So women who join multiple groups are probably having a good time, while recognizing that this activity they find so enjoyable is also very likely to lead to new business or professional opportunities over the long run.
Women find connecting with new people and experiencing different personalities interesting and pleasurable. You’ve probably heard the famous Forrest Gump line of the famed movie, “Momma always said that life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.’” In a networking context, you might say women like to try the bonbons. They enjoy the variety and sampling of different personalities. Perhaps they are easier to network with because they enjoy the social aspects of it so much more, as expressed in this networker’s comment:
In general, women are easier to network with. They are more open to a discussion forum. At most of the social networking forums I go to, I tend to sit or talk with mostly women. Men tend to be easier to relate to in a strictly business manner first, then talk to about family or other social issues.
Men, on the other hand, tend to look for what they want in that box of chocolates and then go after it. Remember the guide in the chocolate box that tells which filling is in each chocolate? A man is more likely to look at the guide, and then zero in on the maple nut or cherry cordial, because that’s exactly what they came for. Why waste time on the caramels and nougats when they’re not giving him what he wants? They’re not there to sample; they’re there to hunt, and hunting for business is work__work best done in the one place most likely to yield good results.
He Says . . .
As you know by now, we men are generally results-oriented and transaction-focused. Networking is a key factor to developing the strategic referral relationships that I need to bring home my bounty. My hunting grounds include a variety of casual contact, online and referral networks, service clubs, and women’s business associations,