One of the hardest parts of networking is the consistency that's required. If you're anything like me you have to contend with natural busy cycles. There are times when you're so busy you struggle to find time to eat and breathe, and other times when things are a little slower and you can afford to be out networking a little more. Read more »

Recently I asked my network through LinkedIn: "What are the visible attributes of a 'Nasty Networker?'" Over 30 people responded through LinkedIn (others replied via e-mail, but I've not included their responses in this post). I encourage you to read the complete question and all of the answers here. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this list. You were all incredibly helpful! I've boiled the answers down into some common categories ranked by the frequency of their appearance   Signs of a Nasty Networker Selfish. Not interested in helping others. Doesn't ask questions. Talks too much. Bashes or otherwise acts inappropriately towards competitors. Uses high pressure and other bad sales techniques. Abuses contact information. Sends spam and other unwanted communication. Ignores business card etiquette. Social climber. Always looking for somebody better to talk to. Not open. Naive and needs education (about proper networking). More interested in the quantity of connections, not their quality. Disrespectful. In the end I think that "Nasty Networking" is driven primarily by either naivete or desperation. I saw a quote recently that suggested that the selfish type of taker networking is not networking at all, but rather Needworking. My hope is that by sharing this list we can help the naive/needworkers get onto the path of true networking. As we prepare to launch the first NetworkInAustin.com events it also my intention to not allow any "Nasty Networkers" to attend. Hopefully the education provided in this post will dissuade anyone from taking these approaches so that we're not forced to ask people not to return. Here are many of the consolidated responses to my question grouped by the categories listed above. Selfish. Not interested in helping others "Doesn't try to help at all" "Selfish and self-interested"    "In short, a 'Nasty Networker' is self centered and disinterested" "Uses every opportunity to speak (including thank you's and announcements time) to give a sales pitch for themselves" "refers less than is referred to him/her (it is ALWAYS better to give than it is to receive)" "Someone who immediately asks 'who does your ....' (phone, insurance, payroll, office supplies...) instead of saying 'who are YOU?' and getting to know you." "100% self-focused -- demonstrations may include: usurping your time while at an event asking for "free" business advice; never offering anything in exchange" "Rude, disrespectful, fast-talking, is not interested in a mutually beneficial relationship, totally dis-interested in you or your needs." "My main beef regarding a nasty networker is one with the belief that it's all about them" Doesn't ask questions. Talks too much "Doesn't ask questions"  "Talk don't listen"    "Talking not listening"  "A 'Nasty Networker' keeps their own interests secret, they listen, and want to 'know', to own, and control." "talks more than listens" "Poor listeners." "Vomitous from the mouth" Bashes or otherwise acts inappropriately towards competitors "Steals from competitors" "Bashing or being condescending towards competing companies or products" "Talks down about their competition" "Some of the most memorable "nasty" networkers that I've come across made an (unfavorable) impression because they were publicly trashing a competitor" "A nasty networker is somebody that comes to an event sponsored by another company and stands next to the host the whole night scarfing their contacts." Uses high pressure and other bad sales techniques "They launch into their sales pitch as part of introducing themselves." "Asks for a one-on-one meeting to get to know you, gives you a sales presentation." "Asks for a meeting because he/she is interested in YOUR business, gives you a sales presentation." "if there is no relationship there, I'll go to the internet before I'd go to a pushy salesperson!" "people will ask you questions about your business at a networking function in a way that seems geared specifically to put you on the defensive--these sort of questions are perfectly appropriate at a pitch meeting or the presentation of a proposal, but I'm not sure a networking event is necessarily the best venue" Abuses contact information. Sends spam and other unwanted communication "Uses the majority of all communications (personal interactions, e-mail, blog, twitter etc.) to try to sell you something" "I've had a couple of nasty networkers that asked for my information and promptly signed me up for their weekly newsletters (or worse, their promotional pieces!) without even the 'great to meet you' email followup to our initial meeting." "I find especially annoying those who add you to a distribution list without asking" "Follows up with email/call that is all about the" Ignores business card etiquette "They give you extras of their business cards so you can pass it on to someone who might need their services ... the first time you meet them!" "Grabbing everyone's cards and then leaving early" "Networks like a bull in a China shop - runs up to everyone with the intro/handshake/business card routine - never listens or asks about anyone else" "Only interested in collecting business cards"  Social climber. Always looking for somebody better to talk to "The person who scans the room looking for for new targets while trying to engage you in some sort of dialogue." "The 'look past you' networkers just nodding until they can talk to someone else." "Lack of eye contact. If a person isn't focused on you, they are 'elsewhere'. They are probably looking for better alternatives vs. talking to you." Not open "They talk only to people they know at networking events." "those who aren't willing to invite new people into their ongoing conversations." "Talk to only people that they know." Naive - Needs Education "I trust that all of these attributes will either be retooled by the novice as they mature and learn ethics or they will be weeded out." "I think most people who are bad networkers are just ignorant and uneducated. I've only met one person in 5 1/2 years at the Chamber who was deliberately hateful." "I guess the 'Nasty Networker' walks the line of desperation. 'I have to make my numbers now so I am going to impose myself on each and every prospect I run across.'" Quantity vs. Quality - is out for quantity versus quality Quantity verses quality Disrespectful I also think networking gets a bad rap from people who are condescending Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time you know that I consistently write about finding ways to add value to your network. A couple of ways that you can quickly add lasting value to those deserving individuals in your network are through award nominations and testimonials. If you pay attention to it you'll notice quite a few requests for nominations for a variety of different awards through out the year. Here are just a few examples: Austin Business Awards - Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Austin Under 40 - Young Men's Business Leage (YMBL) and Young Women's Alliance (YWA) Entrepreneur of the Year - Ernst & Young BiG IDEA Awards - BiG AUSTIN Best Places to Work - Austin Business Journal Keeping an eye out for these calls to nominate and spending just a few minutes to think about the one or two people in your network who are really deserving of this type of recognition. Investing just a few minutes of your time to fill out a nomination form can bring some great recognition and publicity to your nominee. Please don't make the mistake of thinking that somebody else will nominate them. Worst case scenario there is nothing worse than for them to receive multiple nominations. How do you think these awards get won? The most deserving of recognition in your network might not fit a particular award category. That's ok, you can always write an unsolicited testimonial. Again, this act takes just a few minutes but can be incredibly valuable to the person you're testimonializing. Best practice: make the testimonial public. An easy way to do this is to write the Testimonial on LinkedIn. That way the person you've written it for has the choice of whether or not to display what you've written (they'll be thankful either way). If they do choose to add it to their profile both your entire LinkedIn network and their network will be made aware of your kudos. The next time you see a nomination request take 2 minutes to think of someone you can nominate. Right now, choose the one person in your network most deserving of a testimonial (the name should pop into your head almost immediately). Now take just 5 minutes to write a quick testimonial and send it to them. I promise you'll make their day. Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com  

I'm frequently sent LinkedIn invitations by people I don't know. Generally speaking I do not accept these connections, but have in the past written a long winded response explaining why not. Frankly I'm a little tired of doing that so I thought I'd share the philosophy on my blog and just link to this in the future. Plus it might also help you clarify some of your own thinking about how you use LinkedIn. There are two schools of thought on LinkedIn. There are LIONS or LinkedIn Open NetworkerS and then there are the rest of us. (Does that make us closed networkers?) The real debate is between quantity and quality. LIONS believe in quantity and that every connection is valuable because you just never know. I believe in quality networking and work to have some type of relationship with every person I'm connected to. Having a relationship is a tough thing to define. Typically if my fellow networker is here in Austin I want to have had some type of face to face interaction with them. Typically I want this face to face to have been just the two of us (lunch, coffee or some other one on one encounter). If this type of connection isn't possible due to geography or some other type of circumstance I want there to have been some type of meaningful dialogue. Maybe we spent 40 minutes together on the phone or have gone back and forth a descent number of times via e-mail in an online discussion. I try to hold to these standards because when someone uses LinkedIn the way it is intended and finds a connection to someone they'd like to meet where I am the connection, I want to be in a position to make that introduction. If I accept just anyone's connection it's very likely that I have little or no credibility with the person you'd like me to introduce you to. The only thing we share is our LinkedIn connection. This is simply my LinkedIn networking philosophy. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, it just how I play the game. I encourage you to develop your own philosophy. Take the time to learn about the rationale behind being a LION and decide which is best for you. If you choose not to be a LION this does not by any means make you a "Closed" networker. It probably just means you're more focused on real relationships which is where the real business and real opportunities will come from. If you are reading this because you tried to connect to me and I sent you this link you are on the right track! Many who initiate blind LinkedIn connection requests have no intent in ever building any type of meaningful relationship (and would never take the time to read all of this). The fact that you've just read this shows you're clearly not one of these folks. Now that you've gotten this far please send me an e-mail or LinkedIn InMail. I'm sure we can find a way to resolve the issue with our current lack of relationship. Happy Networking! Scott Ingram NetworkInAustin.com P.S. If we're not connected and we should be please send a connection request: Scott Ingram's LinkedIn Profile