Life in Business is a new section that will be incorporated into the NY Lifestyle blog. Let me know if you have any interesting stories to share…
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The other day, I received a text message on Facebook from a business associate I never met. He wanted to get together for lunch to talk about potential business opportunities. We set a date.
The day before the lunch, he contacted me on Facebook and asked if we were confirmed.
“Whoops,” I said. “I never wrote this down in my calendar. Can we reschedule?”
He wrote me back, and said, “I don’t think so.”
I was thrown off. I never got a response like that before. “Why is that?” I asked.
“I do one-on-one networking with people all over the country so we can help each other if possible. I had no agenda, purpose or aim other than to get to know you personally as we have been associates in the field on LI for a long time. I am a bit put off that a professional like you would deem having lunch with me as so unimportant that you didn’t calendar it when I am sure you calendar everything else. And I am also put off that you didn’t even apologize for your error when you read my confirmation. Maybe we aren’t meant to connect.”
Well, Mr. IdkwhouR, I have had thousands of networking lunches, breakfasts and dinners through the years. People confirm and then they forget and don’t show up. Do you know how many times I’ve sat in a diner looking out the window for my next appointment waiting for someone who never shows? It’s the nature of the beast. Things happen!
Which leads me to another point – Are these networking lunches even worth it? Everyone is very nice when you meet but no one seems to follow up. And anyway, to me, they’re a little bit of a waste of time because I don’t find that business actually comes from them anyway. Some of you may differ with me here but I’ve been doing this for 24+ years and a networking lunch is just a networking lunch, nothing more and nothing less.
If someone needs help, he/she will schedule a time to meet. And if that time doesn’t work out, he/she reschedules. If someone isn’t understanding about other people’s time, then that person isn’t worth doing business with.
Agree?
True that!
🙂