How to Grow Your Network

I was speaking with a colleague the other day about one of the unpleasant side effects of business networking – the inevitable flood of phone call and email solicitations from aggressive salespeople looking to close a deal. This is hardly an effective way for anyone to grow their personal or professional network. To me, business networking is simple. It’s all about meeting new people and getting them to engage with or, in Facebook terms, to “like” you. It’s about building trust through the establishment of a longer-tem relationship. And getting a business card from someone you’ve just met is the first step.…