Posted by Sherry Chris

At the upcoming NAR conference in November, I will be speaking about the power of networking and how it can have a profound impact on your business. One of the masters of networking is author and professional speaker Keith Ferrazzi who wrote the bestseller Never Eat Alone. Not only has Keith turned his natural networking ability into a very successful business, but he has managed to stay ahead of the curve by using social networking. If you check him out on Facebook he has thousands of friends and he just launched his own social networking site. Go take a look. We are fortunate to have Keith as a member of our advisory board. His wisdom and insight is invaluable.

Networking, like everything in business, is not just about what you take, it is about what you give back. It is my belief that the more you give, the more you will receive. For some of us like Keith, it comes more naturally, for others it is something that takes time and discipline.

Technology has helped make networking a lot easier in some respects. You can now track people’s activities and accomplishments using Google alerts. You can easily communicate to your network via e-mail, Facebook or LinkedIn. You can send a personal note by regular mail. However, never underestimate the power of the telephone. I try to spend at least an hour each day talking to people on the phone.

Some tips on networking:

· Read the book Never Eat Alone

· Develop a system that works for you and stick to it

· Give your network more than you receive

· Use technology to communicate, but don’t forget the importance of the telephone

And if you are attending NAR this year, I would love to meet you at my session on networking. It takes place on Friday, Nov. 7, from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.