As part of my recurring marketing effort, I love to network with prospects, friends, and colleagues. A great colleague of mine, Mimi McGrath, contacted me last week to grab a cup of coffee and catch-up.
Among a number of items, Mimi wanted to share some observations that she had personally experienced related to content she had read in my new book, Raise Your Visibility & Value: Unlock the Lost Art of Connecting on the Job.
Mimi shared a story with me about a recent conference she had attended as a guest of a member. She sat at a table that was populated by colleagues of the same company. A few minutes into her arrival, one of the folks at the table said, “I have been with this company for twelve years and I do not know anyone at this table, and we all work for the same company! Perhaps we should introduce ourselves.”
In my book, Chapter 4 discusses Visibility Accelerator #1 – Introduce Yourself. In there, I suggest that you proactively introduce yourself to folks with whom you are sharing a table at a conference or a training class. Unfortunately, I assumed that folks at the same table do not know one another. Here is how bad the reality is – Mimi’s table was filled with folks from the same company who did not know one another. That is a huge Introduce Yourself gap!
Next time you are at a conference or training class, take a few minutes to “walk the table” and introduce yourself to others. This could be a great way to meet new folks – even folks from your own organization!
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Ed’s new book, Raise Your Visibility & Value: Uncover the Lost Art of Connecting on the Job is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Please check it out and share the word!
