All About Networking: Past, Present and Near Future

I really like networking, mainly because I really enjoy meeting new people. In a typical year pre-pandemic I’d talk to well over 200 people in casual conversations, and of that more than 100 in one-hour, one-on-one talks. While only a fraction would ever become clients (which I expect), I’d learn so much about how others work, create, and spend their time. For every clinker conversation there would be at least two or three dozen worthwhile talks.

The challenge—ok, what I disliked intensely—was the mechanics and expense of pre-pandemic networking, which required a car trip somewhere (of at least a half-hour, often longer), parking fees in a city or densely-populated town, fees for the event which may or may not have included a PVC chicken and boiled vegetables meal. There were some great people at most events, though as often I’d find myself cornered by someone hawking a multi-level sales promotion that would deliver passive income. Sometimes only two or three people would show up; at other times the networking time was limited to ten or fifteen minutes, followed by a presentation, after which 90% of the audience would bolt for the door. It all added up to a lot of wear and tear on my wallet, car and psyche. 

Enter the era of the zoom meeting. I’m now able to have at least a half-dozen (sometimes more) Zoom meetings a week where I meet people who are at least as interesting and successful as those I met prior to the pandemic. For every “bump in the elevator” meeting missed from in-person networking I have two or three offline conversations in the Zoom Chat box, usually leading to a one-on-one Zoom conversation later. There’s no commute, no lunch fees, no hassles with annoying people trying to sell me their products. Also, during the Zoom call I can check out LinkedIn profiles to learn more about the participants, often uncovering very useful information which adds to the online conversation. Whereas I could have one or two (rarely three) networking events a day before, now it’s sometimes three to five, with the freedom to come and go as I please without offense. 

What about the future? After the pandemic lifts and in-person meetings become as safe as they were in 2019, I’m going to remain primarily an online networker, because that works so well and is exceptionally efficient.  If an organization has a networking event where I can talk with many people over the course of an hour or two, I might go. If I’ve met a person online and we hit it off, I might have coffee or lunch to build the relationship. However, if the event’s a lecture with Power Point slides that could just as well be delivered via Zoom, I’ll stay in my office. The same for small networking groups that meet weekly, and often have only a few people who make it to the meeting.

I look forward to the future, even if I have to start wearing pants again.

Jim Shulman coaches successful entrepreneurs around the world, and loves meeting new people who are working on exciting new projects. Contact him at [email protected] to share your excitement.