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Heard a guy at Monday's mixer say networking events are a waste of time
I was standing near the coffee station at the Buckhead Chamber meetup on Monday and this dude in a blue blazer told someone that "networking events are just for handing out business cards to people who never call." I think he's missing the point. I've landed three steady clients just from follow-up conversations after events like that one, including a $2,000 contract with a local coffee roaster named Percolate. Has anyone else had a better experience with real connections from these things?
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emma_lee227d ago
That Blue Blazer guy probably sleeps in that thing at networking conventions for people who hate networking. @david_palmer sounds like we need to start a support group for people who've made business card fish tank decorations.
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kellyallen8d ago
I mean, I was at that same Buckhead thing and I saw that guy too, he was definitely being a little dramatic about it. But honestly, idk if it's that serious either way. Like, yeah, you got a good client out of it, but I've been to probably ten of those mixers and walked away with nothing but a stack of cards I never looked at again. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the whole "real connections" thing gets hyped up too much. Sometimes you just end up talking to one person about the weather for twenty minutes and that's it.
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david_palmer7d ago
Man I've been that guy talking about the weather for twenty minutes more times than I care to count. Last mixer I went to I spent a solid fifteen minutes discussing the proper way to fold a fitted sheet with a woman who sold wholesale rugs. My business card ended up in a fish tank at her house, I swear, I saw it on Instagram later. The whole networking thing feels like a lottery where the prize is a decent conversation. But hey, at least the guy got a client out of his melodrama, which is more than I can say for my three years of forced small talk at these things. Is it really networking if you're just practicing your weather small talk for the apocalypse?
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