Let People Know What Your Needs Are

In networking, so often we forget to tell others what we need.  For example, if we are looking for a secretary with special skills, we should remember to tell others in our network what you are looking for. At one of my sessions, during an exercise which I conduct, a person mentioned that he needed indigenous plants for a new section of his garden.  The person he was talking to happened to have a friend who was clearing indigenous plants from his garden.  After the session, the ‘middle-man’ introduced the two men to each other.  The giver was pleased that he wouldn’t have to discard his excess plants and that someone could make good use of them.  The recipient was delighted that he could get plants that were difficult to obtain.  The ‘middle-man’ celebrated the success of his ‘networking’ initiative.  All three felt good about the outcome.  What are your needs at present? For example, do you need to buy a second-hand bicycle?  Would you like to know where to take clients for an excellent lunch?  If you are new in town, do you wish to know about networking events? Step 1:  Write down a list of needs - the type that others might help you meet. Step 2:  Next to each, write the name of someone in your network who could possibly give you the information you require, or suggest how you could go about finding it. Step 3:  Take action.  Contact the relevant people.