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Do you know that in order to engage better with others, you should understand your and your prospective client's networking style?

When attending a meeting with professionals, all you want to do is approaching them to exchange knowledge and business card with prospective clients or partners. However, not all individual in a meeting could be approached directly. For instance, you should consider whether they fit in with your field of interest and expertise, or whether they seem nice and approachable. These considerations will help you get better networking strategy and you will likely meet the right people to add in your networking circle.

Moreover, identifying networking style is important in order to help decide whether you should make yourself involved in the conversation or not – whether you should approach that quiet mindful individual or noisy un-respectful ones.

Dr. Ivan Misner, founder and chief visionary officer of BNI, advised that networking is more about farming than about hunting. Therefore, it is necessary to know the people you want to build a professional relationship with. With that in mind, you should be able to identify the behavioural style of others. In addition, you should know your own behavioural style so you can catch the attention of your networking targets.

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Here are 4 networking style Dr.Ivan shared.

The go-getter style

This style belongs to the brave and “sometimes” mindless people. They don’t pay attention to the risk and tend to be very result-oriented, fast-paced, and impatient individual. They are not afraid to bend the rules in order to achieve their goals in that networking event. Go-getter often targets those who are professionals in their expertise. “They are so focused that they can appear aloof and they are so driven that they forget to smell the roses sometimes,” said Dr Ivan.

Go-getter sometimes can be seen as a direct, impatient, and pushy person.

The promoter style

The promoter is an active and approachable person. They attend networking events to connect with others in a very friendly and fun way. They are also active supporters who urge adoption of or attempts to promote someone or something. Needless to say, they don’t like heavy argument and tend to avoid confrontations because they seek fun in everything. The promoters are idea people and dreamers who excel at getting others excited about their vision. They are also risk taker who base their decision from their intuition.  

The promoter is an individual who is fun and approachable. Every conversation with a promoter can be turned into a business advantage.

The nurturer style

Nurturer individuals are sincere and steady. They are careful in their approach and are supportive of others. Helpful and tender are in their blood. Therefore, you will find that nurtures are patient, kind, caring, and helpful. They are also great listeners and appreciate quality time with others more. So, they don’t like to be pushed or rushed into things. They prefer to approach those who are mutually supportive and reliable. However, one thing you should know is that nurturers are risk-averse. They might tolerate unpleasant environment rather than risk a change, said Dr Ivan.

Nurturer is like a mother, caring and loving. So, relax and disposition approach is suitable for them. Yet, they are not quite a risk taker.

The examiner style

Examiner individual values detail and accuracy. They tend to inspect and analyse person, place, or thing in detail while testing their own knowledge. So, they likely do thorough efficient research before going to an event. Moreover, they tend to be very good conversationalist as long as they know a lot about the topic carried in a discussion. And once they achieve their goal, they leave as quickly as possible, Dr Ivan uttered.

Examiner is a careful individual and tends to be a perfectionist with their decision and goals. Being careful in a speech pattern and decision-making is an ideal strategy.

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