A Networking Story


In 2016 I connected with “John” on LinkedIn.

You see I’ve never met John.

I only know John through the LinkedIn posts that he writes on entrepreneurship.

I like John’s conversational style of writing. 

His posts are very informative.       

I’ve commented and liked John’s posts.  

And he’s commented and liked my posts as well.       

Recently, at work, I was asked to organize a speakers event.

We were looking for two volunteer speakers to come to our office and speak about their experiences in starting up a business.

I thought of John.

I knew that he would be too busy to volunteer his time, and so I asked him if he knew of anyone who would be willing to volunteer and speak at our event.

John referred me to “Michael.”

I spoke to Michael on the telephone for 10 minutes.

Michael was willing to come to our office and speak.

Unfortunately by the time I spoke with Michael, I already arranged for two speakers.

I circled back to John and thanked him for the referral.

The Take-Away’s

1.       Networking doesn’t always have to mean going to a formal networking event, shaking hands with people and exchanging business cards. You can network virtually on LinkedIn. If you find an author on LinkedIn whose articles resonate with you, reach out to them by posting a public comment and liking their article.

2.       You can help someone by virtually introducing people to each other. John was kind enough to introduce me to someone in his network. And I did not forget to thank John for his referral. 

3.       Jeff Waldman in his post “The Holy Grail to Business Success” makes a good point about communicating frequently. Just after I connected with John, we communicated frequently via short messages. Frequent communications helps to keep a relationship going.


4.       I’ve learned that it doesn’t hurt to make an ask of your network (if you have an existing relationship). In fact making an ask can help to strengthen a relationship.   


Also Published on LinkedIn on April 19, 2017
Image Credit:  Pixabay


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