One of the blogs I read frequently is Biz Chicks Rule, which is authored by Kristen King and Bridget Wright. Kristen was interviewed for an article in the Washington Post that was published on Sunday about networking. In fact every businessperson who was interviewed for the article by author, Gabriel Goldberg, is a woman from the Washington DC area, and they give excellent advice to jumpstart your networking efforts.

Here are some of the networking tips given by businesswomen in the Washington Post article:

• Kristen King, a freelance writer, speaker and consultant warned that we should avoid, “talking only about yourself instead of getting to know the other person. If you’re totally egocentric in your marketing, people will avoid you like the plague.”
• Jeanine Cogan, a leadership coach said, networking is an, “opportunity to reveal your character and competence, and to support others in their successes.”
• Ardell Fleeson, a frequent speaker on business networking, reminds us of the importance of business cards and warns against running out of them. Without business cards, the chances for follow-up are slim to none, and networking is worthless without follow-up.

I agree with all three of these tips. Networking is about more than boosting sales or finding a new job. It’s about building long-term relationships and learning from each other. Â

Can you think of any other networking tips to add?