Make the
connection
Networking demands time and
requires strategy, but delivers rewards
By Trevor Wendzonka | Chamber Staff
verybody has one. Whether it’s propping up a
computer monitor or tucked in a desk drawer that’s
best left unopened, a stack of dog-eared business cards
from faces and places long forgotten is taking up space.
What good is it? That may be a fair question.
What could it have achieved? That’s even better.
“
really get a kick out of going to an
event and seeing a lot of people
running all over the room – a
handshake, a smile, collecting a card and
moving on,” says Rick Horn of The Growth
Coach of Michiana. “Really, at the end of the
event, you should have quality contact
information and an opportunity to stay in
touch … not just a stack of cards.”
Networking is neither art nor science,
and yet it’s kind of both. The only true
requirement is time: an up-front investment,
an allotment for proper follow up,
and an unspecified period of
waiting that brings the
treasured prize
of new
business.
The
value is
immense, if undefined. It’s why the Greater
Elkhart Chamber puts so much effort
into giving businesses a variety of ways
to connect, from the Biz-Ness Before and
After Hours events each month to the stellar
Biz-Ness Expo, a one-day B2B festival of
opportunity.
“
’m sure if you asked my parents,” says
Shaina Poland, an account manager
with Critical Data Solutions, “they’d
tell you I never shut up as a kid. Maybe that
has something to do with why I like
networking.”
That line may bring a laugh, and that’s
the point. Networkers know it’s important
to set the tone for a comfortable and
memorable conversation. In the digital age,
the opportunity to talk with someone face
to face gives people the chance to make the
favorable impression an email or social site
cannot deliver.
“I think, generally, many people have
become more
hesitant