What do you do if your networking efforts in hospitality management are falling flat?

1 Identify your goals

Before you attend any networking event or reach out to any potential contact, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Are you looking for a new job, a mentor, a partner, a customer, or a referral? How can networking help you advance your career or business goals? Having specific and realistic goals will help you focus your efforts and measure your progress. It will also help you communicate your value proposition and tailor your messages to your target audience.

4 Follow up and follow through

One of the most common mistakes that hospitality managers make when networking is not following up or following through with their contacts. Networking is not a one-time event, but a continuous process of building and maintaining relationships. If you want to get the most out of your networking efforts, you need to follow up and follow through with your contacts. This means sending a thank-you note, expressing your appreciation, asking for feedback, offering help, sharing information, or suggesting a next step. It also means keeping in touch, updating your contacts on your progress, delivering on your promises, and honoring your commitments.

5 Evaluate and improve

Finally, you need to evaluate and improve your networking strategy on a regular basis. Networking is not a static activity, but a dynamic one that requires constant learning and adaptation. You need to track and measure your networking results, such as the number of contacts you make, the quality of the interactions, the feedback you receive, the opportunities you create, and the outcomes you achieve. You also need to identify and address your networking challenges, such as the barriers, gaps, or mistakes you encounter, the skills you need to improve, or the resources you need to access. By evaluating and improving your networking strategy, you can ensure that you are always moving closer to your goals and growing your network.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?