A boy meets a girl on the train and what follows is both unusual and unpredictable.
The Marwari boy is quick, upfront and flawless in networking. In five hours from Bangalore to Chennai, the boy cracks a bulk order for customised T-shirts from the girl who happened to be a startup co-founder!
The ‘Shatabdi love story’ with all traits of a B-School ‘Marketing/Networking’ case-study, went viral on the internet BUT for the hardcore networkers, the sky is the limit.
Confessions of a hardcore networker reveal that he has skills to ‘network’ almost anywhere. We bring to you the secret list of a few.
Matrimonial Websites
Thirty-four-year-old Varun Gupta has a matrimonial profile on three different websites. While his parents hope to find the “perfect daughter-in-law”, Varun doesn’t mind some networking through them.
I never had time to take these profiles seriously, till I discovered the untapped opportunity. On matrimony sites, you surf through the profiles of a lot of interesting people with amazing backgrounds and professions. To be honest, I engage with a lot of matrimonial invites simply to build a contact with them. Gradually we switch to LinkedIn and the contacts usually prove very useful, thanks to a ‘personal’ start!Varun, a Hardcore Networker
Funerals
A hardcore networker has skills to strike a conversation with the silent souls and hanging heads. It may sound crude and shrewd, but the opportunity is usually too good to let go since not many at the funeral gathering would network.
Funeral networking is tricky but worth a chance. It purely depends on the mood of the place. Some people see ‘networking attempts’ as a welcome relief to the gloomy atmosphere, a few others find it disgusting, so it all depends. You cannot be seen shaking hands and talking actively. So aim at meeting as many people as possible. This, you see, facilitates future remembrance.Confessions of a Networker
Networking at a funeral comes with a disclaimer; Please do it at your own risk!
Toilets!
In startup spaces like Silicon Valley or Bengaluru where every third person is a founder or a techie either waiting to hire or get hired, networking is the only refuge.
The famous Bangalore joke is – you enter a loo in Kormangla where every lane has 10 startups and you come out with two job offers. How does that happen? That happens with innovative networking skills, and by chasing the right people even at the wrong places sometimes.Tapas, Startup Founder
If striking a conversation inside a loo is not your cup of tea, you can always stroll around the restrooms and wait for the ‘targets’. They are usually pretty relaxed on exit!
Weddings and Marriage Functions
But how far would you go to get the right person on board?
Twenty-eight-year-old Randeep went to Pune from Bengaluru to attend the wedding of a ‘friend’ in hopes of finding the best tech talent in the industry.
The wedding was quite boring but I had better things to do. The ‘friend’ had invited the whose-who of the tech industry. Investors were the icing on the cake! It was one of the most fruitful networking sessions I would say. I could not recruit anybody from the lot, but I did end up finding a co-partner for our startup.Randeep, a Hardcore Networker
You May ‘Trip’ on a Contact Anywhere!
Trains, trips, and travel are exciting opportunities for networking with complete strangers.
From enquiring the about the route to being curious about the fellow traveller’s book to simple eye contact, the hardcore networker has various ways to start a conversation.
Leisure trips with unknown groups give a lot of time to develop contact. My one and only piece of advice; keep the conversations alive throughout the trip and be tactical in digging out the contact details. To come across as a ‘hardcore’ networker is the last thing a skilful networker would want.Confessions of a Networker
(The names in the story have been changed on request)
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