Dave is now friends with…

I had one of those “ah-ha” moments last week that I usually make fun of people for saying they have. It was a moment in which I heard something very familiar, but it was as if I had never heard it before. I was in my weekly Chamber Leads Group meeting when someone described a proactive approach to connecting with new people on a regular basis. It allows her to introduce herself in person and – well, that’s about it.

She offers a very specific professional service – OK, that sounds weird – she is a lawyer who specializes in an area for which her new contacts are unlikely to be in the market. But that makes no difference to her, just as she knows the majority of those who see her ads in the newspaper won’t need her either – at least not today. But someday they might, and it is quite probable that they will know someone else who will.

The point is that networking is simply about expanding your circle – connecting to one more person who will know someone else who just may be fascinated to learn more about what you do.

This concept is certainly not new to me, but the utter simplicity of its mission is. I too often rate contacts in terms of the likelihood that they will ever directly lead to business. But that is a short-sided and unenlightened view of the beauty of networking. The truth is that everyone is worth getting to know – not in a Dr. Phil kind of way – but because you have no idea what lies on the other side of that business connection.

Of course, today, network expansion has been made exponentially easier through online tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Trusteria.com and others. Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant at first to spend time on such endeavors, but I now am a true believer. It is a blast to spend a few seconds in your day reading the thoughts of people you know and gaining at least a drive-by view of their lives. It is simple human dynamics – the more you know people, the more comfortable you are with them, and the more likely you will be to think of them when a potential business connection arises.

Online networking is an incredible way to stay connected with friends, reconnect with past colleagues and reach out to people you sort of know but would be much more hesitant to approach at a party.

In Facebook specifically, which is the most visual of the ones I use, you just see someone you recognize, click on a link and ask to be their friend. And unlike my similar strategy used in middle school with the “Do you like me?” notes complete with check boxes, my success rate here has been incredibly high.

It also is a good thing, of course, to join professional groups, attend networking opportunities in person and become part of your community. Pressing flesh is not always my favorite thing to do, but I realize that it is an essential part of the mix in promoting my business and myself.

So let’s encourage each other by connecting online and in person – sharing ideas, opportunities and prospects. After all, we can all use a few more friends.