She calls herself “The Goddess of Networking,” a nickname hung on her by the Council of Smaller Enterprises. East side marketing consultant Wendy Simon is perhaps best known for her former role, as the marketing director for the Clevelandopoly project, a municipal-themed board game. Now, on her Web site at www.goddessnet.com, she lists a number of networking tips. None are exactly revolutionary, but we thought we’d pass them along anyway.
- Attend at least two networking events a month, whether you need business or not.
- Attend events where you can learn from peers or where your targeted market is most likely to go.
- Don’t hit people over the head, and go into a whole routine about what you can do for them.
- Ask about their business first.
- Limit your conversation to three or four minutes.
- Send handwritten notes.
- Follow up! If you said you’d call them for coffee, do it.
- Volunteer to help at the event.
- Make it a habit to strike up conversations with people in the bank, movie theater, supermarket, etc.
