Article

It’s easy to make mistakes when you don’t have the right mindset as you’re networking. One of the most common mistakes is to ask your contact “what can you do for me?” at the first meeting. If you have yet to take the time to build rapport or establish that you are a trustworthy person, making the assumption that someone will help you can often be interpreted negatively and is likely to create an adverse reaction that will result in burning bridges rather than building them. Conversely, getting too personal and assuming a personal relationship exists where one doesn’t, can often push people away. Other common mistakes are making cold calls to strangers and inundating new contacts with sales materials. In both of these situations, people aren’t likely to respond because they don’t see the value in getting back to you, as no rapport or trusted relationship has been established.